Are not these robbers, if you examine their opinions?
—Marcus
Aurelius, Meditations, Book 10.10 (tr
Long)
Marcus Aurelius
himself apparently fought battles against the Sarmatians, and I can’t help but wonder
what he must have thought about being an emperor, made for power and war, and
also being nothing but a man, made for justice and compassion.
Those of us who
have killed in battle can surely understand, and those of us spared that burden
can only imagine.
Perhaps the
spider is only following its own nature when it consumes the fly, but what of
the man who kills all sorts of prey? What is his purpose, and what is his
intention?
While I was living
in Boston, people would be quite shocked and offended at the very prospect of a
hunt. It was all a symptom of barbarism, and we looked down our noses at the
inhuman practice of the kill. When I moved to the rural South, I saw something
very different. It was all an expression of livelihood and culture, and we
raised our fists against those who could never wrap their minds around it.
The lines, of
course, are not that easily drawn. Whether Yankee or Dixie, the why is more important than the what. Whatever the walk of life, I have
met many brutal people, and I have met many caring people. Your race, and
background, and environment don’t define it, but your freely chosen character
most certainly does.
Have you shot a
rabbit, or caught a fish, or taken down a wild boar, or even confronted a bear?
I’ve eaten rabbits and fish that I’ve killed, and at that point saw no shame in
it; I can’t speak about boars or bears, though I once nearly pissed myself when
a black bear came into our camp. Was I mistaken in using and consuming what I
had hunted?
Look at what
Marcus Aurelius says. Is it the killing that is the problem, or the pride in the killing? Is it about living out of necessity, making use of the gifts of Nature, or is it about vanity, the
thrill of power and conquest, posing with trophies and puffing up a fake
courage that covers a much deeper weakness?
Lives will end,
and one living being will inevitably take the lives of many others, directly or
indirectly. I once made a very nice stew from a rabbit I shot, and a good
distance shot it was. In contrast, I should also be quite willing to accept it
if that big black bear had ripped me to shreds and had me for dinner. Would it
have hurt? Of course it would. But the bear wouldn’t have killed me just for
fun, like some twisted humans would.
Robbers take
what is not theirs by right, and there is the injustice. The black bear would
have taken what was his by his nature, and for that there can be no blame.
Written in 1/2009
I have been reading Meditations for over a month now really trying to dissect and implement the teachings, and I will say thank you to you for giving your own reflections to not just me but us as a whole. For myself, they have helped me to relate in my own journey for self reflection and becoming a good person.
ReplyDeleteThis section in particular has helped me because of my future career as an officer in the military. I aim to be a man, like you said, of justice and compassion, and I’ve found it difficult to rationalize being a part of this field. But now I realize I don’t want to be the proud spider and I don’t have to be. I can be a man who believes in freedom and tries to share that with others as long as they are willing.
Would love to hear your wisdom on what I wrote, but if not, I find joy in just saying thank you for time!
Thank you for reading and for your comment! The military life brings its own set of challenges, and dealing with the injustices that often accompany war is surely one of them. Still, you will find variations on this in all walks of life, and the key to any of them, as you rightly say, is to seek out your own virtue for its own sake. Only then does the rest make any sense.
DeleteIt may not be your cup of tea, but many soldiers who love Stoicism have found great inspiration and comfort in the writings of James Stockdale. A few texts, though poorly edited, should still be here on the blog, under the "Primary Sources" section.