Sometimes virtue is widespread, governing kingdoms, cities, and provinces, creating laws, developing friendships, and regulating the duties that hold good between relatives and children; at other times it is limited by the narrow bounds of poverty, exile, or bereavement.
But it is no smaller when it is reduced from prouder heights to a private station, from a royal palace to a humble dwelling, or when from a general and broad jurisdiction it is gathered into the narrow limits of a private house or a tiny corner.
Virtue is just as great, even when it has retreated within itself and is shut in on all sides. For its spirit is no less great and upright, its sagacity no less complete, its justice no less inflexible.
It is, therefore, equally happy. For happiness has its abode in one place only, namely, in the mind itself, and is noble, steadfast, and calm; and this state cannot be attained without a knowledge of things divine and human.
But it is no smaller when it is reduced from prouder heights to a private station, from a royal palace to a humble dwelling, or when from a general and broad jurisdiction it is gathered into the narrow limits of a private house or a tiny corner.
Virtue is just as great, even when it has retreated within itself and is shut in on all sides. For its spirit is no less great and upright, its sagacity no less complete, its justice no less inflexible.
It is, therefore, equally happy. For happiness has its abode in one place only, namely, in the mind itself, and is noble, steadfast, and calm; and this state cannot be attained without a knowledge of things divine and human.
—from Seneca, Moral Letters 74
One need not be a card-carrying Stoic, or any sort of refined intellectual, to understand the essence of virtue. The simplest man, if he has an attentive mind and a sensitive heart, will recognize what it means to be, what they call in my new home of the South, “good people”.
If I am genuinely interested in forming my character, it will make little difference whether I happen to be big or small. Yet I may still find myself drawn to a grandeur of scale, believing that the splendor of the circumstances can somehow increase the depth of the commitment. I must remind myself not to be so impressed by the appearance of the setting.
We are quick to praise the lofty gesture of a grinning celebrity, or the story that has a fairytale ending, but we pay little attention to the quiet endurance of an everyman, or a mundane act of kindness that can’t possibly lead to fortune and fame. I see red the moment the politicians and the priests pose for the camera, not because I no longer have any faith in humanity, but because I have learned how deeply such men pervert their own humanity.
Let the braggarts have their own reward, and the rest of us can then engage in the actual tasks, instead of merely mouthing the words. They can offer their thoughts and prayers, and we will be glad to do the real work, asking for nothing further in return. The reason you are most likely to notice the wicked folks first is that the decent folks don’t much care about being noticed.
Yes, there have been prestigious statesmen and philanthropists, and they have certainly done good. There have been far more John Doe’s who offer a helping hand, and they have also done good. Though it will take some effort to grasp this, the merits of the latter are equal to those of the former; a Stoic Turn asks us to measure by the fullness of the virtues on the inside, not by the trappings on the outside.
And as it goes with virtue, so it goes with happiness. We can embrace the same peace of mind in riches or in poverty, in renown or in obscurity—this is why the Ancients spoke of the human mirroring the Divine.
One need not be a card-carrying Stoic, or any sort of refined intellectual, to understand the essence of virtue. The simplest man, if he has an attentive mind and a sensitive heart, will recognize what it means to be, what they call in my new home of the South, “good people”.
If I am genuinely interested in forming my character, it will make little difference whether I happen to be big or small. Yet I may still find myself drawn to a grandeur of scale, believing that the splendor of the circumstances can somehow increase the depth of the commitment. I must remind myself not to be so impressed by the appearance of the setting.
We are quick to praise the lofty gesture of a grinning celebrity, or the story that has a fairytale ending, but we pay little attention to the quiet endurance of an everyman, or a mundane act of kindness that can’t possibly lead to fortune and fame. I see red the moment the politicians and the priests pose for the camera, not because I no longer have any faith in humanity, but because I have learned how deeply such men pervert their own humanity.
Let the braggarts have their own reward, and the rest of us can then engage in the actual tasks, instead of merely mouthing the words. They can offer their thoughts and prayers, and we will be glad to do the real work, asking for nothing further in return. The reason you are most likely to notice the wicked folks first is that the decent folks don’t much care about being noticed.
Yes, there have been prestigious statesmen and philanthropists, and they have certainly done good. There have been far more John Doe’s who offer a helping hand, and they have also done good. Though it will take some effort to grasp this, the merits of the latter are equal to those of the former; a Stoic Turn asks us to measure by the fullness of the virtues on the inside, not by the trappings on the outside.
And as it goes with virtue, so it goes with happiness. We can embrace the same peace of mind in riches or in poverty, in renown or in obscurity—this is why the Ancients spoke of the human mirroring the Divine.
—Reflection written in 10/2013
IMAGE: Le Nain, Peasant Family in an Interior (c. 1642)
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