Their punishment is to be as they are.
Is one discontented with being alone? Let him be deserted. Is one discontented with his parents? Let him be a bad son, and mourn his lot. Is one discontented with his children? Let him be a bad father.
“Cast him into prison.”
What do you mean by prison? He is in prison already; for a man's prison is the place that he is in against his will, just as, conversely, Socrates was not in prison, for he chose to be there.
I recently sat through an uncomfortable meeting with some fellow faculty, where an art professor, who usually comes across as a kind old hippie, was possessed by the spirit of vengeance. She apparently felt slighted by the words of a colleague, and so she had summoned us to help her spill his blood.
“He needs to pay! Who’s going to make him pay? We all need to make sure he pays!” Variations on this theme went on for some time.
I didn’t particularly take to the fellow in question either, yet I couldn’t help but think that what I happened to dislike should never be a measure of retribution. If he was indeed in the wrong, his actions were already his undoing, and there was no need for me to add any more fuel to the fire.
Most people find my attitude ridiculous, perhaps even offensive, though I will still insist that it isn’t my place to hurt someone else, simply because he has caused hurt. Besides the fact that two wrongs don’t make a right, where one evil merely compounds another, I am also working from the principles that virtue is its own reward, and vice is its own punishment.
If I am to understand the Stoic Turn in all its aspects, I must never confuse justice with revenge. It can certainly be right to correct an imbalance, to ask that what was selfishly taken must be fairly restored, and to find a way for compensation to lead to reconciliation. Once I demand to see the pain of another to erase my pain, however, I am driven by an anger against my enemy instead of a love for my neighbor.
Review the basics of Stoic morality, and you will see why. Where is human good? Only in our own virtues. Where is human evil? Only in our own vices. The only benefit and harm that come to us, therefore, are the result of our own thoughts and deeds. What greater reward could there be than living well? What greater punishment could there be than living poorly?
We get what we deserve, and Nature does all the paperwork for us. Whenever I am unhappy with myself, with my situation, or with other people, my very judgements are themselves the source of my discontent.
The worldly man does not understand this, since he determines everything by what happens to him, not by his character. Don’t lash out at him for believing as he does, as he is already suffering enough from his delusions.
It isn’t just a matter of fine theory; my life has shown me, in its many ups and downs, that I am a miserable wretch when I do wrong, precisely because all the twisted ideas and bitter resentments are nothing but excuses to escape my responsibility for myself.
In contrast, my most peaceful and joyous moments have followed from an informed conscience and a selfless heart. Yes, it’s that simple. Once you attempt it, with sincerity and humility, the difference is immediately apparent.
I spent some time working in prison ministry during my Wilderness Years, and I saw with my own eyes what happens when we try so hard to make others suffer. They become no better, and we become no better, because the deepest suffering is from the inside, not from the outside.
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