Musonius Rufus, Lectures 5.4

"Well, then," said Musonius, "that being the case, in the matter of temperance and self-control, is it not much better to be self-controlled and temperate in all one's actions than to be able to say what one ought to do?" Here too the young man agreed that it is of less significance and importance to speak well about self-control than to practice self-control.

Thereupon Musonius, drawing together what had been said, asked, "How, now, in view of these conclusions, could knowledge of the theory of anything be better than becoming accustomed to act according to the principles of the theory, if we understand that application enables one to act, but theory makes one capable of speaking about it?

“Theory that teaches how one should act is related to application, and comes first, since it is not possible to do anything really well unless its practical execution is in harmony with theory. In effectiveness, however, practice takes precedence over theory as being more influential in leading men to action."

I have had the quite unpleasant experience, in certain types of philosophical and theological circles, of working with those who are terribly good at preaching morality to others, while not bothering to do any real practicing themselves. They can be especially fiery in their principles when it comes to chastity, and it becomes quite clear that they are well versed in mouthing all the right words to praise propriety and clean living.

And at first I was shocked when I learned that they were cheating on their wives, or having affairs with their students, or gratifying themselves with all sorts of naughty fetishes. But why was I so surprised? Shouldn’t I have been able to see that their specific brand of pontificating was all about appearances, and that the man who lives for appearances usually has something to hide? He doesn’t want to do the right things, but rather want to be seen as believing the right things.

I ought to be able to recognize when prudence has been twisted into prudishness, because the actual human element has been lost. There may be a love of universal rules, though there is no love for particular people. There may be a respect for the law, though there is no respect for our neighbors. There may be a reverence for the idea of God, though there is no reverence for the presence of God. A concern for what is academic neglects a commitment to what is personal.

By all means, I can learn to speak well about what is good, as long as I remember that all the thinking and the saying alone will mean nothing. It will only mean something when it is lived, and it will only be lived when I have started doing the work.

How often have I pondered cleaning the house, and yet the house is still a mess? How often have I offered “thoughts and prayers” for someone in need, and yet he is still sitting there, lonely, despondent, and unloved?

Start with a proper understanding, but do not end there; the principle in theory only becomes actual when it is exercised in practice. A better life begins with awareness, and then finds its fulfillment when the labor of my hands expresses what is in my head and heart. I come back to one of Mark Twain’s many wise sayings:

Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.

I would suggest that knowledge without action is hardly a thorough sort of knowledge to begin with; there may be some sort of general idea, a vague apprehension of meaning and value, and still it remains totally hypothetical, as if the world inside my head has nothing to do with the world I live in.

However much I refine the terms I use to discuss such a theory, it becomes no clearer from being spoken of with greater complexity. If I really knew it to be true, it would immediately change everything about how I behave, and yet it only sits there in my mind, to be mulled over from time to time, to be brought out for display whenever it will help me to appear wise.

My own intemperance never improved much at all when I read certain books, or memorized certain phrases, or even when I concentrated on it really hard. I rather had to hit bottom, to perceive all too vividly how the way I was living was destroying me, not just my body but also my soul, and only then could I join the theory and the practice together.

I understood when I saw the concrete reality of it, and then there was suddenly no question that I had to change what I was doing. Then following the good example of others, and not playing with words, could become an imperative. I will continue to doubt a truth until I can no longer find ways to avoid looking it straight in the face.

Perhaps I have grown too rough around the edges over the years, but I find that the best lessons in life are those that slap me around. That is what it often takes for me to put theory into practice, and thereby to finally turn the thinking into doing. 

Written in 7/1999