But let us admit, indeed, that he meant what Posidonius says; even so, the conclusion is false—that secrets are not entrusted to a habitual drunkard. Think how many soldiers who are not always sober have been entrusted by a general or a captain or a centurion with messages which might not be divulged!
With regard to the notorious plot to murder Gaius Caesar—I mean the Caesar who conquered Pompey and got control of the state—Tillius Cimber was trusted with it no less than Gaius Cassius. Now Cassius throughout his life drank water; while Tillius Cimber was a sot as well as a brawler. Cimber himself alluded to this fact, saying: “I carry a master? I cannot carry my liquor!”
So let each one call to mind those who, to his knowledge, can be ill trusted with wine, but well trusted with the spoken word; and yet one case occurs to my mind, which I shall relate, lest it fall into oblivion. For life should be provided with conspicuous illustrations. Let us not always be harking back to the dim past.
With regard to the notorious plot to murder Gaius Caesar—I mean the Caesar who conquered Pompey and got control of the state—Tillius Cimber was trusted with it no less than Gaius Cassius. Now Cassius throughout his life drank water; while Tillius Cimber was a sot as well as a brawler. Cimber himself alluded to this fact, saying: “I carry a master? I cannot carry my liquor!”
So let each one call to mind those who, to his knowledge, can be ill trusted with wine, but well trusted with the spoken word; and yet one case occurs to my mind, which I shall relate, lest it fall into oblivion. For life should be provided with conspicuous illustrations. Let us not always be harking back to the dim past.
—from Seneca, Moral Letters 83
I do understand why the Stoic ideal of the sage means that the virtues must operate together as a whole, so we either possess them or we don’t, but for those of us who are still striving to achieve this noble goal, it is quite possible to be diligently approaching one form of excellence ahead of the other. I know I was making some progress toward prudence long before I made any attempts at fortitude, and I certainly had more practice at being just than I did at being temperate.
Quite contrary to the superficial stereotype of the useless drunk, I have known a good number of sots who were reliable and solid in other aspects of their lives, sometimes remarkably so. I suspect this has something to do with a particular personality trait expressing itself in a healthy manner at one end, yet in a sickly manner at another, and such extremes will only resolve themselves when the whole person is brought into balance.
There is, however, a serious risk in treating a fatal flaw as if were a lovable quirk, or even in assuming that a lesser vice is a necessary condition for a greater virtue. I spent too many years convinced that a lifestyle of drinking was meant to go along with being the tragic intellectual, when avoiding the sauce entirely would have done so much more to elevate my awareness. Better late than never, I suppose.
Though it might not be the best parallel, reading about Tillius Cimber makes me think of Winston Churchill, who was renowned for an incredible ability to hold his liquor. His enemies whispered their stern disapproval, while his friends merely smiled, but here was a man whose voluminous consumption of scotch, champagne, and brandy did not make him any less trustworthy.
If you think the example too remote, I remember one of my best professors, a fellow of immense integrity and kindness, who always had a tumbler of Bushmills and soda within reach, from morning until night. Should I have found this admirable? Not at all; I eventually realized how deeply I admired him despite this foible. There is no use in romanticizing any weakness of character, even as there is never any cause for a wholesale condemnation.
I do understand why the Stoic ideal of the sage means that the virtues must operate together as a whole, so we either possess them or we don’t, but for those of us who are still striving to achieve this noble goal, it is quite possible to be diligently approaching one form of excellence ahead of the other. I know I was making some progress toward prudence long before I made any attempts at fortitude, and I certainly had more practice at being just than I did at being temperate.
Quite contrary to the superficial stereotype of the useless drunk, I have known a good number of sots who were reliable and solid in other aspects of their lives, sometimes remarkably so. I suspect this has something to do with a particular personality trait expressing itself in a healthy manner at one end, yet in a sickly manner at another, and such extremes will only resolve themselves when the whole person is brought into balance.
There is, however, a serious risk in treating a fatal flaw as if were a lovable quirk, or even in assuming that a lesser vice is a necessary condition for a greater virtue. I spent too many years convinced that a lifestyle of drinking was meant to go along with being the tragic intellectual, when avoiding the sauce entirely would have done so much more to elevate my awareness. Better late than never, I suppose.
Though it might not be the best parallel, reading about Tillius Cimber makes me think of Winston Churchill, who was renowned for an incredible ability to hold his liquor. His enemies whispered their stern disapproval, while his friends merely smiled, but here was a man whose voluminous consumption of scotch, champagne, and brandy did not make him any less trustworthy.
If you think the example too remote, I remember one of my best professors, a fellow of immense integrity and kindness, who always had a tumbler of Bushmills and soda within reach, from morning until night. Should I have found this admirable? Not at all; I eventually realized how deeply I admired him despite this foible. There is no use in romanticizing any weakness of character, even as there is never any cause for a wholesale condemnation.
—Reflection written in 12/2013
IMAGE: Hermann Ker, The Drunken Cavalier (c. 1880)
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