Chapter
9
We
shall be pleased with this measure of wealth if we have previously taken
pleasure in thrift, without which no riches are sufficient, and with which none
are insufficient, especially as the remedy is always at hand, and poverty
itself by calling in the aid of thrift can convert itself into riches.
Let
us accustom ourselves to set aside mere outward show, and to measure things by
their uses, not by their ornamental trappings.
Let
our hunger be tamed by food, our thirst quenched by drinking, our lust confined
within needful bounds.
Let
us learn to use our limbs, and to arrange our dress and way of life according
to what was approved of by our ancestors, not in imitation of new-fangled models.
Let
us learn to increase our continence, to repress luxury, to set bounds to our
pride, to assuage our anger, to look upon poverty without prejudice, to practice
thrift, albeit many are ashamed to do so, to apply cheap remedies to the wants
of nature, to keep all undisciplined hopes and aspirations as it were under
lock and key, and to make it our business to get our riches from ourselves and
not from Fortune.
To rule
over something else, I must first manage to rule myself; to be a master over
much, I must first learn to be totally content with little.
Even as
the common wisdom, which really shows itself to be a common ignorance, would
have it that a man becomes more by having more, I should consider rather that a man becomes
more by being more. If I look at the alternatives clearly, it
becomes apparent that I will always find benefit if I first nurture my own
character, and I will always do harm whenever I neglect it.
If I am
nothing in myself, then you could take away anything else, and I would be quite
miserable. You could give also me everything else, and I would still be
miserable.
If I am
something in myself, then you could give me anything else, and I would be quite
happy. You could also take away everything else, and I would still be happy.
The best
training for happiness may well be to receive fewer windfalls from Fortune,
since by these means I can become at peace with being self-reliant. After that,
the rest can take care of itself.
Could it
be done in reverse, from the outside in? A better man than me might manage to
resist the lure of making his life contingent upon conditions, but I know I
would likely botch it up. The cure for dependency sometimes begins with some
cold turkey.
Of all
the classical virtues, we will still praise a sort of wisdom, at least in the
sense that we think it good to figure out how things work.
We will
still praise a sort of justice, at least in the sense of raising our fists to
get what we think we deserve.
We will
still praise a sort of fortitude, at least in the sense of puffing up our
chests against our enemies.
But when
was the last time you saw something approximating temperance? I don’t mean in
the sense of dieting to look attractive, or being picky about sex to avoid a disease,
or adjusting our incomes to save on taxes. These aren’t even approximations;
they are just mockeries, ordered to giving up one pleasure for the sake of
another.
No, I
mean someone who says, and actually means, something like this:
“I will
surrender all that stuff out there, so that I can try to become stronger in here.”
No more mouthing
off. Remain silent and be at peace.
No more
pigging out. Fuel the body, do not feed gratification.
No more
lusting. Only loving.
No more appearances.
Only content.
Replace
being moved with moving. Let the head guide the gut, not the gut enslave the
head. Expect less, and then give more. Discover beauty in the dignity of the
person, instead of reducing the person to a tool.
Become
rich in the soul by gently but firmly reminding the body to stay poor in its rightful
place.
Written in 10/2011
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