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Charlotte Mason in Modern English
Charlotte Mason's ideas are too important not to be understood and implemented in the 21st century, but her Victorian style of writing sometimes prevents parents from attempting to read her books. This is an imperfect attempt to make Charlotte's words accessible to modern parents. You may read these, print them out, share them freely--but they are copyrighted to me, so please don't post or publish them without asking.
~L. N. Laurio
Book I of
Ourselves, Volume 4 of Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschool Series
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Chapters 1-3 The Country Of Mansoul, Its Perils and its Government (pg
1-10)
Part I - The House of the Body (pg 11-32)
Part II - The House of Mind (pg 33-80)
Part III - The House of Heart: Love (pg 81-135)
Part III - The House of Heart: Justice (pg 136-203)
Part IV - Vocation (pg 204-210)
Appendix - Discussion Questions for Book I
Preface
to the 'Home Education' Series
The future of education both in England and overseas is vague and
depressing. We hear various urgent pleas -- science should be the focus
of education, we need to reform the way we teach foreign language or
math, we should incorporate more crafts and nature study to train the
eye and hand, students need to learn how to write English and must
therefore be familiar with history and literature. And on the other
hand, we're being pressured to make education more vocational and
utilitarian. But there's no coherent principle, no real aim. There's no
philosophy of education. A stream can't rise any higher than the lake
it flows from. In the same way, no educational work can rise above the
thought and purpose behind it. Maybe this is the reason for all the
failures and disappointments of our educational system.
Those of us who have spent many years researching the gentle, elusive
vision of education have come to understand that various approaches
have a law behind them, but we haven't yet discovered what it is. We
can make out a dim outline of it, but that's it. We know that it's
all-encompassing. There's no part of a child's home life or school work
that isn't affected by that law. It's illuminating. It shows the value
(or worthlessness) of all the thousands of various educational systems
and programs. It isn't just a light, it's also a measure. It sets the
standard by which to measure all educational work, whether small or
great. That law is impartial and gracious. It will embrace
anything that's true, honest, and respected. It sets no limits or
obstacles, except where too much would be harmful. And the educational
path that the law reveals is continuous and always advancing forward.
There is no magical transition stage, progress is steady from birth to
old age, except that, whatever habits are learned in youth will
determine what choices are made even in adulthood. When we finally see
the law for what it is, we'll find that certain German thinkers --
Kant, Herbart, Lotze, Froebel -- were right when they said that it's
necessary to believe in God, so the most important thing to learn is
knowledge of God. That should be the priority of education. There's one
more way that we'll be able to recognize this perfect law that gives
educational freedom when we see it. It's been said that, 'The best
thing about absolute truth is that it works under every condition we
can think of.' And that will be true of this law. No matter what
experimental test or logical investigation we give it, it will pass.
We still haven't seen an outline or summary of this law. So, until we
have something definite, we'll have to fall back on Froebel or Herbart,
or, if we adhere to a different school of thought, Locke or Spencer.
But we aren't content. We feel dissatisfied. Is it a divine discontent?
If we found a workable, effective philosophy of education, we'd welcome
it as deliverance from our perplexity. Before we find this great
deliverance, there will probably be lots of tentative attempts. They'll
all have the characters of a philosophy, more or less. Specifically,
they'll have a central idea, a basic concept with various details
working in harmony with it. This workable, effective theory of
education could be called a system of psychology. It would have to work
well with the accepted ideas of the time. It wouldn't think of
education as an isolated, shut-off compartment, but as a natural part
life, like birth, growing, marriage, or work. It would create a bond
between the student and the great wide world, connected at many
different points where interest was sparked. I know that some
educational experts want to create that connection in many subjects,
but their attempts are too random. They give a saying here, an idea
there, but there's no common foundation to unify and support education
as a complete unit.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. I don't want to seem
presumptuous. I hope that there will be lots of ideas submitted towards
a working philosophy of education, and that each one will bring us one
step closer to discovering the best possible education. In that spirit,
I offer my idea. The central foundational thought of my idea will sound
rather obvious: the child is a whole, complete person with all the possibilities
and capabilities already included in his personality. Some of the
implications of this idea have been exploited by educational experts,
and fragments of this idea are already pretty commonly accepted by
common sense. For instance, take the aspect that education is the science of making
relationships. That concept seems to solve the curriculum
question. It shows that the main purpose of education is putting the
child in living touch with as much of nature and thoughts as possible.
If you add a couple of skills that help the child self-educate, then
the student will go into the world after graduation with some ability
to manage and control himself, a few hobbies to enrich his leisure
time, and an interest in lots of things. I have two reasons for even
attempting to offer my educational idea, even if my idea is tentative
and will probably be replaced by an even better idea. For the last
30-40 years, I've worked unceasingly to come up with a philosophical
educational theory that works practically. Also, each of the following
educational principles is something that came about by inductive
processes, and has been proved with long and varied experiments. I
hesitate
to share my findings because I know that, in the field of education,
there are many workers more capable and more knowledgeable than I am.
Even they aren't bold enough to offer answers because the footing is so
precarious! They are like the 'angels who fear to tread.'
But, if only to encourage their effort, I offer an amended version of a
synopsis I included in the other volumes of my 'Home Education Series.'
My approach isn't methodic. It's more incidental--here a little, there
a little. That seemed like the best way to make it practical for
parents and teachers. I should add that the various essays in this book
were originally written for the Parents National Educational Union
(PNEU) to provide the society with a unified theory.
'As soon as the soul spots truth, the soul recognizes it as her first
and oldest friend.'
'The repercussions of truth are great. Therefore we must not neglect to
correctly judge what's true, and what's not.'
--Benjamin Whichcote
Whichcote said that the end result of truth is so great that we must be
careful to make sure that what we live by is, indeed, the truth.
1. Children are born persons - they are not blank slates or embryonic
oysters who have the potential of becoming persons. They already are
persons.
2. Although children are born with a sin nature, they are neither all
bad, nor all good. Children from all walks of life and backgrounds may
make choices for good or evil.
3. The concepts of authority and obedience are true for all people
whether they accept it or not. Submission to authority is necessary for
any society or group or family to run smoothly.
4. Authority is not a license to abuse children, or to play upon their
emotions or other desires, and adults are not free to limit a child's
education or use fear, love, power of suggestion, or their own
influence over a child to make a child learn.
5. The only three means a teacher may use to educate children are the
child's natural environment, the training of good habits and exposure
to living ideas and concepts. This is what CM's motto "Education is an
atmosphere, a discipline, a life" means.
6. "Education is an atmosphere" doesn't mean that we should create an
artificial environment for children, but that we use the opportunities
in the environment he already lives in to educate him. Children learn
from real things in the real world.
7. "Education is a discipline" means that we train a child to have good
habits and self-control, both in actions and in thought.
8. "Education is a life" means that education should apply to body,
soul and spirit. The mind needs ideas of all kinds, so the child's
curriculum should be varied and generous with many subjects included.
9. The child's mind is not a bucket to be filled with facts that bunch
up into thought-groups, as Herbart said.
10. The child's mind is also not a bag for holding knowledge. It is a
living thing and needs knowledge to grow. As the stomach was designed
to digest food, the mind is designed to digest knowledge and needs no
special training or exercises to make it ready to learn.
11. This is not just splitting hairs; Herbart's philosophy that the
mind is like an empty stage waiting for bits of information to be
inserted puts too much responsibility on the teacher to prepare
detailed lessons. Students taught this way have lots of knowledge
taught at them, without getting much out of it.
12. Instead, we believe that children's' minds are capable of digesting
real knowledge, so we provide a rich, generous curriculum that exposes
children to many interesting, living ideas and concepts. From this
principle, we can deduce that--
13. "Education is the science of relations," which means that children
have minds capable of making their own connections with knowledge and
experiences, so we make sure the child learns about nature, science and
art, knows how to make things, reads many living books and that they
are physically fit. Our job isn't to teach everything about everything,
but to inspire interests that will help children make connections with
the world around him.
14. Children have two guides to help them in their moral and
intellectual growth - "the way of the will," and "the way of reason."
15. Children must learn the difference between "I want" and "I will."
They must learn to distract their thoughts when tempted to do what they
may want but know is not right, and think of something else, or do
something else, interesting enough to occupy their mind. After a short
diversion, their mind will be refreshed and able to will with renewed
strength.
16. Children must learn not to lean too heavily on their own reasoning.
Reasoning is good for logically demonstrating mathematical truth, but
unreliable when judging ideas because our reasoning will justify all
kinds of erroneous ideas if we really want to believe them.
17. Knowing that reason is not to be trusted as the final authority in
forming opinions, children must learn that their greatest
responsibility is choosing which ideas to accept or reject. Good habits
of behavior and lots of knowledge will provide the discipline and
experience to help them do this.
Principles 15, 16 and 17 should save children from the sort of careless
thinking that causes people to exist at a lower level of life than they
need to.
18. We teach children that all truths are God's truths, and that
secular subjects are just as divine as religious ones. Children don't
go back and forth between two worlds when they focus on God and then
their school subjects; there is unity among both because both are of
God and, whatever children study or do, God is always with them.
These books are called the 'Home
Education Series' based on the title of the first volume, not because
they deal wholly or in principle with 'home' as opposed to 'school'
education.
Preface
'Who was it who said that the appeal to 'know thyself'
came straight from heaven? They were right, it's as true as Gospel. It
came straight from God to the person who originated the saying.' ~ Life of Sir Edward Burne-Jones
Perhaps the reason we fail to pass on moral, Christian principles to
our youth is because our own understanding is sketchy and based mostly
on
appeals to the emotions through songs and stories. Those may be
inspiring, but we can't rely only on them. Emotional response is
short-lived, and the heart is dulled and hardened with too much
repetition. On the other hand, intellectual knowledge gleaned from
clear and ordered teaching seems to be long-lasting and steady.
Children and youths are as able to take in what's presented to their
minds as adults are. And, like adults, they enjoy an intellectual
appeal to their understanding when it reveals to them the basics of
human nature, which we all share.
In this volume, I've assumed that everyone has the potential for all
beautiful and noble possibilities--but that each person is also subject
to attacks and obstacles in various forms. We need to be aware of what
they are so that we can 'watch and pray.' Rules about do's and don'ts
are boring to children and adults alike, but a well-planned
presentation of the possibilities that lie in human nature and their
corresponding risks are sure to be enlightening and stimulating. This
book is intended as an appeal to students to make the most of
themselves. God's law tells them to do this and they have vast
possibilities within themselves to succeed.
Book I (Self-Knowledge) was written for students under age sixteen.
Book II (Self-Direction) might appeal to students of all ages. Young
men and women especially might welcome the opportunity to work through
some of the questions that puzzle them in their own minds. This book
can be used by parents and elementary teachers to help with formation
of character [starting with children
as young as 8 or 9]. If even six students in every school using
this book got a vision of what was possible for them, and what to aim
for, we would see some improvement in character across the entire
nation in a single generation. Our moral teaching has this in common
with our intellectual education: we focus too much on utilitarian
purposes. But something deeper than earning a wage is needed if we want
to inspire students and see profound changes. My intended audience is
boarding school students in the middle to upper forms (Forms III and
up, which correspond to grades 7-12), as well as those indicated above.
The two books have been published separately so that the appropriate
volume can be put in the hands of the students who need it. But, since
parents and teachers should study this material themselves before they
teach it to their students, both books count as one single volume
(Volume 4) in the 'Home Education' series. There are questions at the
back for more serious students. The casual ordering of students by
adults might have more meaning if it were done according to the laws of
human nature as outlined in these books. The scheme of thought seems
like common sense morality, as laid out in Scripture.
I've expanded the systems of morality that expert ethics authors
formulated. I wanted to include every possible kind of goodness that
might be lying dormant in normal human beings. I've tried to define
certain limits of reason, conscience and the will. Disregarding those
elements is a common cause for bad conduct.
The existence of God, man's capacity to relate to God, and the crippled
and incomplete character that results when man fails to relate to God
are all discussed in the book. These issues are the kind of knowledge
that relates to the purpose of man. The allusions and quotes that
enhance and illuminate the text were carefully chosen from sources that
would be familiar to everyone. The object is to hold the reader's
attention and focus it on the teaching of Sir Walter Scott, or
Plutarch, rather than to use unknown sources. Most people feel more
comfortable with what they already know something about.
AMBLESIDE, May 1905
A rather arbitrary use of terms like
'demon' has been used where it would make the point clearly.
Introduction
'Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control -- these are the only way
to sovereign power.' TENNYSON
A
Dual Self
The very concept of self-management and self-perception implies that we
have a duality within ourselves. There's a part of us that reverences,
and a part that is reverenced. There's a part of ourselves who knows,
and a part who is known. Part of us controls, and part is controlled.
This dual self is probably our deepest, most intimate consciousness,
yet our least-acknowledged. We're a little intimidated by metaphysics,
but even more afraid of self-consciousness, and we don't bother to
consider why we're intimidated.
It's a good thing that we're hesitant to wander into the regions of the
mind that we don't understand because we wouldn't know how to bring
back anything good from there. And it's good that we shrink from the
kind of consciousness of self that makes us aware of our individual
quirks so that we become sensitive, or embarrassed, or even proud.
We've let our fear of danger, like monsters on the right and on the
left, keep us from entering the path at all--yet this path is the way
to the haven where we want to be.
This isn't the time or place to try to give psychological explanations
of our two selves. Our task at hand is to gain a clear idea of what
we'll call our objective
self, whose behavior is controlled by our just-as-troublesome subjective self, which we're all
unpleasantly too much aware of.
The
Unlovable Self
One of the causes of misery for sensitive children and youths is a
sense of worthlessness of their poor, aspiring and all-too-prominent
self. They're painfully aware that they're irritable, awkward, rude and
hateful. How can anybody like them? If their mother does, then it must
be because she doesn't see how unlikable they really are. Vanity, which
seeks for the approval of others, is possible for anyone, even a
good-natured child. But I doubt that conceit is possible for anyone
other than unexceptional minds who are content to shape their opinions
upon what they think those around them think, even when it comes to
their own opinion of themselves.
But for the uneasy youth whose primary job in life is navigating an
unknown boat, a little bit of knowledge about what the boat can carry
and what it can do are helpful. It also helps to relieve a person from
being obsessed with the subjective self. We become aware of it on the
day we eat fruit from the tree of knowledge, and leave the bliss of
unconscious awareness as innocent children. That awakening happens to
all of us. It isn't necessarily something to feel guilty about, but it
does make many of us uneasy and causes us to doubt our worth.
The
Great Self
Any attempt to figure out where each of the selves starts and stops
baffles us. We can't tell where one starts and the other one ends. But
after convincing ourselves that we're just one person, we become aware
again of ourselves as two. Maybe we can say that one is the
unsatisfactory self, and the other is the self of great and beautiful
possibilities, which we sense is an integral part of us. That may be
the best we can do at understanding this difficult concept about our
nature. It might help to think of the human soul as a huge country
estate that we have to manage. By soul, I mean all that we are, both
inside and out: all our powers of thought, knowing, loving, making
decisions, appreciating, willing, achieving. What is a human soul
worth? There's only one authoritative estimate. When the soul is put on
a scale against the whole world, then the whole world, with all its
beauty and glory, is as if it weighed nothing in comparison. But we
miss the value of these words of Jesus because we assume He's speaking
of a relative value, not an intrinsic value. We don't realize that the
soul of a man is infinitely great, beautiful and precious. This is
partly because religion mostly teaches self-abasement and reserve, even
though that's not what Jesus taught.
Emily
Bronte
M. Maeterlinck, a wise author from Belgium, proved how great the soul
is. His proof is all the more remarkable because he doesn't approach it
from a religious perspective, but as an outside witness. He probably
hasn't added anything new to the field of psychology, but he has
reminded us of the great things about life. We need to be reminded of
this again and again, so he's done us a service. His evidence is Emily
Bronte. She was a delicate girl raised practically in isolation, in a
remote parsonage. Yet she was able to write about the depths of human
passion, feel human tragedy, and articulate fruits of human wisdom.
That shows the immeasurable range of the human soul. It's even more
surprising because she wasn't especially virtuous, nor especially
accomplished as compared to someone like Shakespeare, Isaac Newton,
Rembrandt, Dante, Darwin or Howard. When we consider them, we begin to
see how immense the soul really is, and how large God must be to be
able to measure all things, and affect all people. But we don't give
enough credit to the great men in the world because we can only measure
their greatness against our own souls. We can't even conceive of how
great they really were.
Is there any such thing as a little-minded person? Maybe not. Perhaps
all the qualities that make a person great exist in varying amounts in
all of us, but some are developed more than others. That seems to be
what Christ taught, and many poor, seemingly insignificant souls have
proven to be large enough to make room for His greatness.
But here is another example of the lesser being blessing (or cursing?)
the greater being.
Our own under-developed souls are distressfully lacking. Yet, with our
pitiful souls, we determine the eternal destiny of our greater self,
whose limits have never been discovered. It's like the relationship
between a country and its government. The country is the more important
of the two, but the country has to depend on its government, for better
or worse, to develop it.
The
Governing Powers
If the soul is like a country depending on its government to fulfill
all it can be as a person, then who's doing the governing? I can't use
any answers from psychology yet because psychology is still trying to
decide whether the spirit exists or not! Intuition tells me that our
ancient guide, philosophy, won't provide the full answer. What all
people have found to be true of human nature should help in deciding
how to conduct our inner life in the same way that what's found to be
true of the world (like, the times of the rising of the sun) helps us
plan our physical life. The way it seems is more useful for our
purposes, even if it isn't psychologically accurate.
I don't know of any book to recommend for parents to help teach their
children how to live the way I've indicated. The books I know of are
either specifically religious, or specifically about ethics. So I've
written an outline myself of the kind of teaching I have in mind. It
can be used with bright children, or youths from ages 8 or 9 and up.
How
To Use This Book
I think that, when mothers want to teach something to their children,
they should learn what they want to teach, and then talk about it, a
little at a time, perhaps as informal Sunday talks. This would help
children to have a sense that our relationship with God is something
that embraces every facet of our lives. Older students might prefer to
read the book to themselves, or with their parents. If the book is done
as a family, the more advanced teaching that's appropriate for the
older students will go over the heads of their younger siblings.
Ourselves, Volume 4 of the Charlotte Mason
Series: Book 1––Self-Knowledge
pg 1
'Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control,
These three are the only way your life can have sovereign power.'
from Tennyson
Introduction
Chapter 1 - The Country of Mansoul
The
Riches in Mansoul
'Don't you like fair lands?' asks King Alfred, and then he answers
himself, 'Why shouldn't I like fair lands? They're the most beautiful
part of God's creation.' And of all the beautiful places God has made,
the most beautiful is the Kingdom of Mansoul [i.e., the region within
our minds.]
Almost everywhere there, the soil is rich and fertile. Wherever it's
cultivated, there are meadows, corn fields, and orchards with all kinds
of different fruits. There are wild hidden crevices, with rippling
streams bordered by forget-me-nots and buttercups, and birds sing there
and build their nests. There are hazel bushes where you can gather
nuts, and forests with huge trees. There are also wildernesses. They're
desolate, unsightly swamps, but they only need a pair of reliable,
industrious hands to reclaim them and make them as fertile and
beautiful as the rest of the country. Deep under the ground are oil
wells for the taking to provide heating fuel so that every home can be
kept warm and cozy. There are mines, too, where there are practical
metals like copper and metal, and beautiful riches like silver, gold
and precious jewels. When the miners are tired, they can stop and rest
right there because those places have shade trees and pleasant fields
for
recreation. If you listen, you can hear the laughter of
children as they play games and sports.
The
Rivers and Cities
This place has broad, deep rivers for wading and swimming. Ships can
sail on them to carry the things produced in Mansoul to other
countries, and to bring back people and goods from faraway ports.
Mansoul has bustling cities that are pleasant because, although there
are the necessary factories to make the things that are needed for
living and for exporting, there are also beautiful buildings, valued
for the treasures they hold. There are art galleries full of
wonderful rare paintings by the best artists from all different
countries, statues of respected heroes, symphony halls with grand
pianos that can roar like thunder, or tinkle like a baby's laugh, and
all kinds of other instruments. Great musicians come here to play
wonderful compositions they've written. The people of Mansoul listen to
these pieces and great, inspiring thoughts swell inside them. Each
person feels as if he could get up and do something heroic.
The
Books and Playgrounds
Mansoul has impressive libraries that contain every worthy, delightful
book that was ever written. Whenever somebody takes a book off the
shelf and sits down to read, the author comes up to him, leans over his
shoulder, and talks to him about the book. In fact, artists do the same
thing in the art galleries. They come and explain what they meant in
each of their paintings.
None of Mansoul's cities is so built-up that there's no room for parks,
baseball fields, game fields, and places for people to get together for
picnicking, dancing and singing. Nobody needs to be poor in Mansoul. If
anybody is poor, or neglected or malnourished, it's for reasons we'll
discuss later.
Its
Churches and its Delectable Mountains
The most valuable treasures of this country are kept in its most
beautiful buildings, which are its churches. The churches are always
open so that
people can go in and come out any time of day and talk with God as
often as they want, and God comes and speaks with them there. But He
doesn't speak to them only in
the church. He walks around everywhere in that country--in the
workshops, in the art galleries, in the fields. People consult Him
about everything, no matter how trivial or how great, and He advises
the people about all of them.
There's a lot more I could say about this Kingdom of Mansoul, but I
don't want to leave out the most important thing--the 'Delectable
Mountains' where people go to breathe the mountain air, gather the
lovely mountain wildflowers, and stimulate their lungs and limbs with
the refreshing effort of climbing. From the top, they get a spectacular
view that fills them with joy. They can see a good portion of Mansoul
from there, but not all of it. Oddly enough, no map has ever been made
of the country because so much of it is unexplored, and nobody has
discovered how far its boundaries go. That's exciting and pleasant for
the people because, even though here and there they border another
country just like theirs, there are other places where the country goes
on and on farther than the eye can see, where no man has ever been.
Those parts of the country might also be rich and beautiful.
pg 5
Chapter 2 - The Perils Of Mansoul
It's
Government's Fault
You're probably thinking of how beautiful and rich a country Mansoul
must be. But, like any other country, it's subject to many dangers.
But, unlike
many other countries, Mansoul has the means to escape from any of the
dangers that threaten it from time to time. In other countries, the
government is blamed if the poor go hungry, or if the rich are annoyed
because a rooster crows too early in the morning. Those accusations are
usually nonsense, but in Mansoul it isn't nonsense to blame the
government for everything that goes wrong because Mansoul's government
actually has the power to prevent most of the evils that happen in its
country. You'll hear more about how the country is governed later. But
for now, here are some of the dangers that can overtake Mansoul and its
citizens.
Danger
of Laziness
Perhaps the most common danger is an epidemic of laziness that spreads
over the whole country. The garbage collectors sit around and doze with
folded arms, letting trash and filth accumulate in the streets. The
farmers and harvesters say, 'Who cares?' and don't even go out to plow
or plant seeds. Fruit drops off the trees and rots because nobody
bothers to pick it up.
pg 6
The ships lie abandoned in the harbors because nobody is interested in
anything from overseas. The librarians leave the books to get dusty and
eaten by insects, and they don't go out to find new books. Paintings
get faded and tattered because nobody takes care of them. Nobody thinks
it's worthwhile to do anything at all. The people still play, but play
without work gets boring after awhile, and soon they
don't even bother doing that anymore. So, the people, no matter what
job they're supposed be doing, sit around with dull eyes and folded
arms, nodding off to sleep.
Danger
of Fire
Another risk in the country of Mansoul is the threat of great blazes.
Sometimes a subversive troublemaker will land at one of Mansoul's ports
from some foreign country, perhaps with the intent of deliberately
setting fire to the best things in Mansoul. Or someone may set fire to
things by accident because he doesn't know how flammable they are. And
once the fire has started, the wind carries the flames over miles and
miles of countryside. Everything in its path is consumed--distinguished
buildings, precious works of art, farms with corn already stacked. Only
devastation and ruin are left in its blackened path. Sometimes those
fires are started right beneath the ground of Mansoul itself. I
mentioned earlier that the country has great underground pools of fuel.
Sometimes flammable gases rise up from them. If a spark is dropped
anywhere near these gasses, that's all it takes to cause a wide blaze.
Mansoul needs to be as careful as the people of Switzerland, where a
strong wind
called the Fohn sometimes
blows and
everyone has to put out their fires and lamps.
Danger
of Plague, Flood, and Famine
Sometimes there's a plague epidemic because
pg 7
the houses, the streets and barns aren't kept clean and fresh, and the
drains are allowed to back up.
Sometimes the springs swell and overflow in the hills, the rivers rise
and rush over the banks, and there's a flood. But that's not always a
bad thing because a lot of rotten garbage is swept away. land that's
been washed by floodwaters is very fertile afterwards.
Sometimes crops may fail even though the land has been diligently
tended and good seed has been planted. But neighboring regions are kind
and willing to help Mansoul in times of need, and the next year's crops
are usually abundant.
Danger of Dissent
Another occasional cause for misery in Mansoul is that a spirit of
contention breaks out among a community's citizens. It sometimes
becomes so violent that it results in a devastating civil war. Servants
and employees refuse to obey their masters, the masters don't consider
their workers, and even bicker among themselves. One employee refuses
to do his own job and insists on doing someone else's job. All
necessary work is neglected, and the people are easy targets for envy
and discontent. I could tell you more causes of misery in Mansoul, but
I'll only mention one more. It is by far the worst evil to overtake the
country.
Danger
of Darkness
As lovely and pleasant as Mansoul is when things are going well,
sometimes chilling, soaking mists come from it. They're so dense and
dark that not even a ray of sun can penetrate. There's no light, no
warmth. Nobody can see where they're going for so long that people
begin to say, 'The sun doesn't exists any more,' and some of the more
foolish people say, 'There never was a sun
pg 8
and there never will be.' If they can't see the sun, then of course,
they can't see each other, either, and they bump into each other in the
darkness. It's not uncommon for some places, especially low-lying
valleys, to have frequent fog. But no fog is as thick and heavy, or
lasts as long, as the mists in the Kingdom of Mansoul. The interesting
thing about these mists is that they can be controlled by the
government, especially the Prime Minister. I can't fully explain why
that's true here, but I'll explain more later.
But, just because these dangers threaten Mansoul, we shouldn't think
that it's an unhappy place. On the contrary, it's radiant and
beautiful, busy and happy, full of lots of different interests and the
joy of living--as long as the government takes care of its
responsibilities.
Chapter 3 - The Government of Mansoul
There's
a Kingdom of Mansoul Within Each of Us
I'm going to quit talking about the Kingdom of Mansoul in riddles.
You've probably found it difficult to figure all of the details out,
but that's okay. Whatever doesn't make sense now will be clearer some
day. You might even come up with a better, truer meaning than I
originally had in
mind! There's a Kingdom of Mansoul inside every human being, no matter
how old or how young. Being born as a human being is like inheriting a
huge, beautiful estate--that's how much possibility we have within us
for goodness, greatness, heroism, wisdom, and knowledge. That's why I
said that the boundaries of Mansoul have never been discovered. Nobody
knows the limits of a person's possibilities. Many people go through
their entire lives and never realize this. They have no idea how much
they're capable of doing, feeling, knowing, being. So their lives turn
out poor, stifled and disappointing.
Mansoul is like a great, rich country with a more or less powerful,
peaceful government. There's a part of each of us that has the job of
managing and making the best use of all that's within us. We'll call
that part of ourselves the Government.
pg 10
Officers
of State
There are many Officers of State in Mansoul. Each has his own distinct
job to do to keep Mansoul running smoothly. If every one does his own
work, and if they all work together, then the Kingdom of Mansoul is
happy and prosperous. I'll list the Officers, and later in the book
we'll discuss what each one's job is. The lowest ones are the
Assistants of the Body, or what we call appetites. Then come the
Managers of the Revenue, also called Desires. Then the Managers of the
Treasury, also called the Affections. Then the Foreign Secretary, or
the Intellect, and his co-workers, My Lord Chief Explorer (the
imagination), and My Lord President of The Arts (the beauty sense).
Then is the Lord Attorney-General, that is, the Reason. Then the Lords
of the House of Heart, which are the Lord Chief Justice (the
conscience), and the Prime Minister (the will). There are various other
Officers of State that we won't name now, but these are the main ones.
Above and beyond all of these is the King. Mansoul is a kingdom, after
all.
The
Four Houses
We might think of the various Officers as sitting in the specific House
of Government where they're needed. There are four Houses. They are the
House of Body, the House of the Mind, the House of the Heart, and the
House of the Soul.
Keep in mind that these aren't different parts of a person. People aren't
divided into separate parts. No, they are different abilities that
every person has. Each person must use them if they're going to make
the most of the great inheritance they have--the inheritance that every
person comes into because they were born as a human being.
PART I - The House Of The Body
Chapter 1 - The Assistants Of The Body: Hunger
The
Work of the Appetites
First, we'll consider the Assistants of the Body, not because they're
the most important Officers of State, but because in Mansoul, as in
every other country in the world, so much is influenced by the least
important people. The Assistants of the Body have the power to make
everything else in Mansoul go smoothly or miserably.
The well-being of the whole country depends on them. They build up the
Body, and they make sure that there will be other Mansouls to replace
this one when it passes away. If each Assistant took care of its own
work and didn't meddle with someone else's business, everything would
be fine. But there's a lot of rivalry in the government. Every one of
the members tries to convince the Prime Minister that Mansoul's
happiness depends on him. But if one of these members gets too much
power, disorder is the result.
How
Hunger Behaves
The Assistant called Hunger is the first of the appetites we notice.
He's
pg 12
very helpful. If he doesn't join us for breakfast in the morning, not
enough food is taken in and neither work nor play goes well in Mansoul
that day. If Hunger doesn't sit down to meals for whole weeks at a
time, the Body will begin to show thin fingers and hollow cheeks as
evidence that a good servant hasn't been doing his job. He is easily
offended. If someone says, 'I hate' bread and milk, or eggs, or
chicken, or whatever, and the person dwells on it, Hunger is repulsed
and leaves. But if a person sits down to meals without dwelling too
much on what they're eating, and thinks of something more interesting,
Hunger will help them little by little to clear their plate. And the
result is that nutrients and energy are taken in to build up the Body.
Hunger isn't only fond of treats. He likes things plain and good. But
if a person eats too many sweets and rich foods, Hunger changes his
character and becomes gluttony.
Hunger is a
Servant, But Gluttony is a Ruler
When Hunger becomes Gluttony, he tries to get the ear of the Prime
Minister. He says, 'Leave it all to me, I'll make Mansoul happy. The
only thing he'll want is what I can give him.' Then the trouble begins.
When Hunger was a helpful servant, Mansoul didn't spend too much effort
thinking about his meals until meal time, and then he ate what was set
before him with a healthy appetite. But Gluttony is different. Gluttony
leads his victim to the bake shop window and makes him think how much
he'd like this or that treat. All his pocket money goes for cookies,
donuts and candy. During breakfast, he thinks about what he wants for
dessert at dinner. And then he can't wait for it, and he pleads to have
it before dinner! He's always begging for a little bit of cake, or a
spoonful of jelly.
pg 13
or an extra piece of chocolate. He doesn't pay attention to his lessons
because he has a dollar in his pocket and is preoccupied thinking about
what he'll buy with it. Or, if he's older, he might have a few
dollars, but his thoughts are the same. Gluttony gets it all. A greedy
person snubs his nose at healthy meals and doesn't care about working
or playing because Gluttony has the ear of the Prime Minister. Almost
all of Mansoul's attention is on one thing - 'What can I eat?' Gluttony
begins with a little boy, and sticks with him his whole life. But, as
an adult, instead of obsessing over chocolate caramels, he thinks about
multi-course gourmet dinners that last for hours.
How
Gluttony Affects the Body
But you might think, if Hunger is supposed to build up the body, then
doesn't Gluttony do the job that much faster? It's true that gluttony
helps a person to put on weight, but it does it by adding fat instead
of the
muscles that make the body strong and useful. Gluttony doesn't build
muscle, and it causes illness and health risks.
How
to Avoid Gluttony
The best way to keep this enemy at bay is to stick to Hunger's rules.
The most important one is--don't obsess over your meals until it's meal
time, and, during the meal, talk and think about something more
interesting than food. As far as treats, we all want treats now and
then. But we should enjoy the chocolate or fruit we get at the table,
and not think any more about it. Sweets and fruits aren't always a part
of the daily routine and there's nothing wrong with using a certain
amount of pocket money for them, especially in order to share them. But
a child who spends all or most
pg 14
of his week's allowance on things to eat, or who is always begging for
a snack, is a poor victim of Gluttony. The best plan is to have
something else to spend your money on, a collection, perhaps, or
savings to buy a present or some major purchase that's worth having.
Gluttony will leave you alone when you stop thinking of only food and
treats.
pg 15
Chapter 2 - The Assistants Of The Body:
Thirst
Thirst
Likes Cool Water
Another very helpful Assistant of the Body is Thirst. You'll see how
useful he really is when you remember that the major part of the human
body's weight is made up of water. The water in the body is always
being used up in one way or another, and Thirst's job is to make up for
that loss. Thirst is a pretty simple guy. His favorite drink is pure,
cold water. Actually, he's got the right idea. When you stop to think
about it, water is the only thing we drink, although we like it with
things mixed in it. Sometimes nature does the mixing, as in milk or
fruit. Sometimes we do the mixing, as in tea or coffee. Some of these
mixtures are healthy because they have food value as well as liquid,
most notably in the case of milk.
But Thirst doesn't need or want anything himself in the water he
drinks. He likes it best clear and cool. If we live in hot climates, we
know how delicious cold water is. All little children like water, but
older boys and girls sometimes prefer the variety of something like
lemon juice to give it flavor. There's nothing
pg 16
wrong with this, but it's a bit of a shame that they've lost their
taste for plain water itself.
Drunkenness
Craves Alcohol
You wouldn't think that such a simple, useful Assistant could ever be a
source of danger to Mansoul. But Thirst gets the ear of the Prime
Minister and says, 'Leave Mansoul to me, and he'll never want anything
more than what I can give him.' And he would be correct, except that,
instead of calling him Thirst any longer, we'd have to call him
Drunkenness. Once Drunkenness has a person in his grip, that person
only wants nothing but drink from morning til night.
The furniture in his house, his children's food, clothes for their
mother, it all goes to buy more drink. The man's time, health and
strength are all wasted getting more drink until he finally becomes
homeless, friendless, sick and outcast. And all for the sake of drink.
But he doesn't care about his home or his friends. All he cares about
is more and more drink. By far, the majority of the world's sin, misery
and poverty are caused by Drunkenness.
Why
People Abstain
As you know, it isn't fresh, pure water that causes drunkenness. Men
long ago discovered how to ferment a substance called alcohol, and it's
alcohol that ruins thousands of men and women. Many conscientious
people, even as children, make a solemn vow that they'll never even
taste beer or wine or other strong drink, except for medicinal
purposes. They don't abstain because they're afraid they might become
alcoholics, although it's a fact that there's no way of knowing who
might fall into that terrible trap, or when it might happen. They also
abstain because every small
pg 17
act of good helps to stop the spread of evil in the world by setting a
good example to someone else. It's possible that every good example is
noticed and followed by someone, even though the person who set the
example might never know it.
That's one good reason to keep your taste for cold, pure water, and to
appreciate how delicious it is.
Chapter 3 - The Assistants Of The Body:
Restlessness and Rest
Restlessness
Helps Strengthen the Body
I'm not sure what the best name is for the two Assistants I'm going to
introduce to you now. They're both good servants to the Body. I guess
Restlessness and Rest are as good as any other names. You may have
noticed that babies are hardly ever perfectly still when they're awake.
They kick, play with their fingers or toes, crawl, grab, throw, pick
things up, laugh, coo, or cry. Children, too, have a hard time staying
still for very long for lessons. They want to run out in the yard and
see what their pet frog is doing. When school is over, they love to
play outside, racing or tumbling head over heels. Older children like
to
play baseball or football, or ride bikes, or hike in the mountains.
They
think they're doing these things just for fun, but there's more to it
than that. Restlessness, their helpful Assistant, doesn't leave them
alone. He makes them feel uncomfortable if they go too long without
doing something challenging and exhilarating. He's being a faithful
servant by helping to make Mansoul's body strong and supple, able to
swim,
pg 19
ride, jump, run, walk a good distance, hit well, and do every other
thing that the Prime Minister may need him to do. Restlessness has the
job of strengthening and toning the muscles that Hunger has fed.
Restlessness
Can be a Hard Master
Instead of being a good servant, Restlessness sometimes goes too far
and compels people to do things that are too hard for them. He might
push them to row too hard, climb too high, run too far, or jump too
energetically. Or, even worse, the Demon of Restlessness might possess
a person so that they can't settle down to do any one thing, whether
work or play, because they always wish they were doing something else.
That's a sad state to be in. It's only by continuing and persisting at
doing one thing steadily that we master it and learn to do it well,
whether it's baseball or algebra. So it's good to be on guard for the
moment that Restlessness ceases being a faithful servant and turns into
the turbulent Demon who drives people from one activity to the next and
won't let them settle into anything all their lives.
Rest
is a Good Servant
Generally, his brother and co-worker, Rest, steps in to say, 'It's my
turn now,' and makes the person feel tired so that they're glad to sit
down and be a spectator for awhile, or settle on the couch with a book,
or, better yet, get a good night's sleep so that they wake up refreshed
and ready for anything. In this way, the muscles take turns resting and
working. That keeps them healthy and helps them grow strong.
You'd probably be glad to hear of one Assistant who isn't followed by a
black shadow that threatens to ruin Mansoul. But it isn't so. Even Rest
has his Demon. His name is Sloth, and he says, 'A little more sleep, a
little
pg 20
more slumber, a little more folding of the hands to sleep.' That's what
he asks the Prime Minister for. Once Sloth rules in Mansoul, the person
doesn't want to drag himself out of bed in the morning. He dawdles over
getting dressed, is late getting breakfast, is too tired to go for a
walk, finds games too much of a bother, drags his feet over
starting a project, finds making boats or whistles too much trouble,
doesn't feel like collecting stamps, lags in his school lessons so that
he's behind, mills around the baseball field with his hands in his
pockets instead of playing. He never goes out of his way to help
anybody--not because he's unkind or disagreeable, but because it's too
much trouble.
Poor guy! He doesn't even realize that, every day, he's falling more
and more deeply in the clutches of a hard taskmaster. The less he
exerts himself, the less he's able to exert himself even when he wants
to. Restlessness is supposed to keep his muscles healthy and in good
order, but Sloth relaxes and weakens them until it becomes a chore just
to raise the hand to the head, or drag one foot after the other. People
used to be very afraid of Sloth. They called him one of the Seven
Deadly Sins. But it seems like we don't about him much anymore. Maybe
we have so many things to do that we can't stand being lazy.
Nevertheless, if your friends accuse you of being idle about play or
work, or if they call you indolent, or, even worse, lazy, then don't
waste another minute. Pull yourself together, because the Demon Sloth
is upon you. Once you get into his clutches, you're in a bad way. Your
life is very much in danger of being ruined, just as much as if it were
Gluttony or Drunkenness who had a hold on you. But take heart. It's
easy to escape. Restlessness is always on the alert to save you from
Sloth right from the beginning. Get up! Do something, whether it's work
or play.
Chapter 4 - Assistants of the Body: Chastity
How
to Rule the Appetites
We've seen how each of the appetites--Hunger, Thirst, Restlessness and
Rest--is a helpful servant to the body. They work together to build up
and refresh the body. We've also seen that, if any one of these
appetites is allowed to gain control, it can ruin the life of the
person. To save ourselves from this fate, we need to eat, drink, and
sleep at regular times. We need to not even allow ourselves to think about taking it easy,
indulging in treats, or wishing for tastier drinks throughout the day.
Instead, we should have something worthwhile to think about so we won't
spend our time dwelling on things that don't really matter.
Each
Appetite has its Own Proper Time
There's another appetite that's subject to the same rules. It has its
own proper time, just like eating and sleeping. But its proper time
isn't until after marriage. In the same way that eating, drinking and
resting help make us strong, healthy and attractive, this appetite
helps to make sure that people have children. That way, there will
always be new people coming into the world as older people pass away.
This appetite has to do with a specific
pg 22
part of the body. I wouldn't normally discuss it here, but one of our
duties is to keep our bodies pure. It's similar to the case of the Tree
of
the Knowledge of Good and Evil that was planted in the Garden of Eden.
Uncleanness
You remember that Adam and Eve weren't supposed to eat fruit from that
tree. If they did, they would surely die. And you remember how the
serpent came and told Eve that they wouldn't die if they ate it. They'd
be like gods, knowing good and evil. I'm afraid that, in the same way,
people may do their best to make you find out about things you
shouldn't know about yet. They may tempt you to talk about and read
about and do things you shouldn't. They'll tell you that these things
are only natural, that you wouldn't have those parts of your body, or
those feelings about them, if you weren't meant to think and do those
things. It might help you to know that this sin is the sin of
Uncleanness. It's the most offensive and hateful of all sins. It's the
sin that good men and women hate and avoid more than any other.
Purity
The opposite virtue is called Purity. Jesus said, 'Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they shall see God.' That isn't just referring to seeing
Him after they die. That means 'seeing' Him with the eye of the soul.
They'll sense that He's with them, all around and beside them. When
they're tempted with this appetite, they'll remember that, 'You always
see me, God.' And when they think of that, they won't be able to make
themselves unclean with even a thought or a word. They'll turn their
eyes away from seeing anything evil. They won't allow themselves to
read, or hear, or say anything that causes impure thoughts.
pg 23
Glorify
God in your Bodies
This is the way they glorify God with their physical bodies. Every
child who understands this is a hero in God's eyes. They're fighting
the good fight and making the world better. When people who remain pure
get married, their children will be blessed. They'll be good, healthy
and happy because they have pure parents. God places the choice between
good and evil in front of every one of us, just like He did with Adam
and Eve. We can choose to obey, or disobey. Adam and Eve sinned and
death came into the world as a result. If you allow this sin in
yourself, if you even begin to have a thought that you'd be ashamed to
tell your mother about, then death will begin in you. Something in your
body and soul will begin to die. Fight the good fight. Don't be a
victim of unholy curiosity, like Adam and Eve were.
Our
Appetites Are Our Servants, Not Our Masters
Be careful that your appetites, which are necessary to your body, serve
you and don't become your master. Above all, remember that sin and
slavery to any of our appetites begins in our thoughts. It's our
thoughts that we have to rule and keep in control. How do we rule them?
It's very simple. When an evil thought comes, just think of something
else, something really interesting and nice. And say a little prayer in
your heart that God will help you as you do that.
pg 24
Chapter 5 - The Attendants Of The Body: The
Five Senses
The Assistants of the Body have their own Attendants, who act like
pages. They have a useful role, but, like the Assistants, they need to
be watched carefully for two reasons. First, to be sure they do their
work. And second, to be sure they don't become tyrants. Even though
they're just servants, if they're indulged too much, they'll try to get
total control and rule of Mansoul. People sometimes call these
Attendants our feelings, but
we'll call them sensations, since they
work through the five senses.
The
Sense of Taste is Pleasing and Useful
One of these, the sense of taste,
is not only pleasing, but is very
useful. When food doesn't taste good, it can be a signal that it's not
healthy. Taste is an excellent servant. People who know how to manage
him well will be satisfied and enjoy simple foods like milk, bread and
butter.
But,
if Taste is Pampered, It Becomes Our Master
People who pamper their taste become a servant of their sense of taste.
They complain that they don't like oatmeal, or they don't like chicken
or potatoes or eggs. Things have to have strong flavors to satisfy
their sense of taste. And, the older they get,
pg 25
the more difficult it will be to please them until it takes a
professional gourmet cook to make things good enough for them. The best
rule is not to allow yourself to get picky about food. Just eat
whatever is set in front of you. A wise person will even be glad when
something is served that he doesn't really like, or when he has to take
bad-tasting medicine. It gives him the opportunity to keep his sense of
taste in proper perspective, and make sure that it remains a servant
and not
a master. It's a good idea not to talk about our likes and dislikes. In
fact, it's good to not even know which flavor of jelly is our favorite.
Smell
Can Be Lazy
The sense of smell is another assistant. He's really a pretty good guy,
and he doesn't usually try to get control of Mansoul except as an ally
of taste. When he goes around smelling wonderful foods and making Taste
crave them, he's annoying. Other than that, he's harmless. But he does
have one fault that's bad in a servant. He can be lazy. Since his job
is important, his lazy habit has to be dealt with.
Smell
Should Give Mansoul a Lot of Pleasure
Smell could be the source of a great deal of pleasure. There are so
many subtle, wonderful odors in the world, such as the evergreen scent
of the box-hedge, or lime trees in bloom, or bayberry leaves that can
be carried around to add a pleasant scent as we go about our day. But
that's not all smell does.
Smell
Should Serve on the Board of Health
Smell should be quick to detect when there's any foulness in the air,
or any unpleasant, unhealthy odor around, no matter how faint. All
odors are really tiny particles floating in the air. By
pg 26
breathing them, we're taking them into our bodies. We only eat three or
four times a day, but we breathe in and out countless times every day
and night. It's probably even more hazardous to our health to breathe
in toxic odors than it is to eat food that isn't quite healthy,
although neither one is good. But, in some people, the sense of smell
has become so inactive that they're able to lean over an open sewage
drain and not notice any bad smell. The next thing we know, we hear
that they're sick, and it doesn't occur to anyone to blame that lazy
servant, Smell, for causing the trouble.
Practice
in Detecting Odors
It's a good idea to practice catching every sweet, wonderful fragrance,
and learning to differentiate the leaves of different trees, various
flowers, food smells, clothing materials, by smell alone. This would
keep the sense of Smell in good working order. Then he'd be able to
detect whether the air is fresh or foul as soon as he walks into a room.
Touch
is All Over
The Five Senses include five assistants, but the next three aren't so
much Attendants to the appetites--they're Assistants themselves. Touch
is very pervasive. he's all over the body at the same time. There are
only a couple of places, like the nails and teeth, where he isn't. He
collects a lot of useful information. He's the one who figures out
whether things are hard or soft, hot or cold, rough or smooth, piercing
or scratching, pricking or burning.
Touch
is Very Useful
You can understand how necessary Touch's job is. Without him, a person
might accidentally put their finger into the fire and never know it was
burning.
pg 27
Knives could cut, pins could prick, frost could bite, and fire could
burn, and we'd be oblivious, even while the body was being seriously
injured. Some people have a delicate, extra sensitive sense of touch,
especally on their fingertips. This helps them to work with delicate
things like watch springs and fine lace.
The
Touch of the Blind
Blind people learn to get the information from their fingertips that
their eyes would normally tell them. They can even learn to identify
the faces of their friends by touch, and whether they're well or sick,
happy or sad. Sometimes you hear that a person has a 'soft touch' when
he plays piano, and it really does seem as if his fingers aren't just
feeling the keys of the instrument, but the music itself.
A
Kind Touch
Some people, especially mothers, have such a kind touch that their
hands seem to smooth away our troubles. This kind of touch is only
learned by loving. Shakespeare thought that little Prince Arthur had
it. And many children do have comforting hands.
Practicing
Touch
The people who have the keenest and most delicate senses are also the
most fully alive. They get more interest from life. So it's worth our
while to practice using our senses. For example, we can shut our eyes
and learn to tell the difference between different kinds of cloth,
wood, metal, leaves, hair, anything at all, by feeling it.
Touch
Tries To Gain Control of Mansoul
It might come as a surprise to learn that a simple, useful servant like
Touch is no different from the rest. He watches for a chance to rule
the rest of of Mansoul. Have you ever found it
pg 28
hard to focus on your lessons or other work because something was
pricking, or you had a sting, or a cut that was hurting? When people
allow themselves to dwell on these trivial things that can't be
changed, they have no attention left to think of worthwhile things.
That's how one of the least members becomes tyrant over all the rest.
Do you remember the story of the Spartan boy and the fox? (Plutarch
mentions it in his Life of Lysander; the boy died rather than complain
of the pain of scratches while trying to conceal a fox under his
cloak). We don't need to go as far as the Spartans. After all, if
something painful can be taken care of, we should say something, or do
something to fix it.
It's
Good to Have Little Things to Put Up With
And yet, I think we should be glad to have opportunities to tolerate
little discomforts once in a while--a scratch, a cast, a scratchy
sweater--to help us learn not to dwell on such trivial matters. One
time, a man had to have his leg cut off. This was before Sir James
Simpson had discovered chloroform. The man was determined to simply not
think about the pain. He managed to keep his mind preoccupied on other
things so well that he wasn't even aware of the operation. That would
be too much for most of us, but it's not too much to try to bear a pin
prick, or even a bee sting, without making a fuss about it.
Sight
Brings Half Our Joy
The last two senses bring a lot of joy to Mansoul. I don't think they
have any serious faults as servants except for laziness and failing to
pay attention. Half of our joy in life come through our sight. The
faces
of the friends we love, bright sunshine, lovely flowers, green grass,
flickering sunlight on leaves, pretty clothes,
pg 29
small treasures, pictures, mountains, rivers, the vast ocean--our joy
in these things wouldn't be as great if we couldn't see them. Kind
friends would read to us, of course, but it wouldn't be the same as
taking a copy of the book and nestling in the branches of an apple
tree, or curling up in the corner of a window seat to read. The blind
are to be pitied. But there are others who are just as bad off, or even
worse, than blind people.
Eyes
And No-Eyes
Do you remember how Eyes and No-Eyes went out for a walk? No-Eyes said
it was boring and there was nothing to see. But Eyes saw a hundred
interesting things and collected all kinds of treasures in his
handkerchief. The people I know are either like Eyes, or No-Eyes. Do
you want to find out which one you're most like? I'll ask a couple of
questions. If you can answer them, then we can say you're like Eyes. If
you can't answer them, then you need to learn to answer them, and a
thousand other similar questions. Describe your living room from memory
without leaving out any details. Name a tree (it can't be a shrub) that
has green leaf buds. Do you know of any birds that have white feathers
in their tails? If you don't know things like these, then you have some
work to do. The world is a huge treasure chest full of fascinating
things to see, and every one of them is a new source of enjoyment.
Hearing
is Another Source of Joy
There's also a lot of enjoyment to be had from listening. But it's a
joy that many people miss because, for them, Hearing is a lazy servant
who doesn't do his job.
Have you ever been outside on a spring day and thought that the only
sound was the voices of you and your friends? And then suddenly
everyone was silent and you realized that nature had been putting on a
whole concert and you hadn't even noticed a single note of it? At first
pg 30
you may have picked up the calls of birds. Then, little by little, you
began to detect high voices, low voices, middle voices, small notes,
loud notes, and you wished you knew who was singing each of the songs
you heard.
The
More We Listen, the More We Hear
Then, as you listened more, you heard more. The hum of the grasshoppers
became so noisy that you wondered how you were able to hear your
friends earlier. Then the buzzing of bees caught your attention, and
then you
noticed the droning and trumpeting of smaller insects, and maybe the
bubbling and gurgling of a stream. The place you thought was so quiet
was really full of lots of different sounds and you wondered how you
could have been there for so long without even hearing them. That's
what happens when Hearing falls asleep on the job. Keep him awake and
occupied. Make him try to hear, and to discover a new sound every day
without any help from sight. It's a good idea to practice listening
with the eyes closed.
Some
Nice Sounds
Have you ever heard beech leaves fall, one by one, in the fall? That's
a beautiful sound. How about the tap, tap of a woodpecker, or a thrush
breaking the shells of snails on a rock? You can probably tell the
difference between a car and a motorcycle by the sound. But can you
tell a van from a car, or a delivery truck from a bus? Can you
recognize the different footsteps of all the members of your family? Do
you know the sound of every buzz and beep in your house? Do you really
listen to people's voices, and can you tell from their tone whether
they're sad or happy or pleased or annoyed?
Music,
the Great Joy We get From Hearing
Hearing should tell us lots of interesting things,
pg 31
but the one great and perfect joy that hearing gives us is music. Lots of people have put
their most beautiful thoughts into books, paintings, and architecture.
And some have put those thoughts into musical scores, to be sung with
the voice, or played on instruments. And these musical compositions are
so filled with the thoughts of their writers that people who love music
can tell who composed the music they're listening to, even if it's the
first time they've heard that particular piece. So, in a way, it's like
the composer is speaking to them and they love hearing what he has to
say. Even the youngest children can sometimes get some of this ability.
For example, I once knew a little boy, three years old, who could tell
when a piece his mother played was by Wagner. She played for him a lot,
and he listened. Some people
are better at this than others, but we could all improve our ability to
do this to some extent if we listened.
How
to Get a Hearing Ear
Take every opportunity you can to really listen to music. I don't just
mean songs, although those are nice, too. When you're listening, ask
whose music is being played. Little by little, you'll discover that one
particular composer has one kind of thing to say, and another composer
speaks in a different way. These messages of the musicians can't be put
into words, so it's impossible for us to hear them if we don't train
our ears to listen. One thing that helps to hear music is learning the
notes so that you're able to tell with your eyes closed what any note
is that's played on a piano or sung the voice. That can be as much fun
as doing a puzzle. If you aren't very good at it at first, don't be
discouraged. Hearing, like anything else, comes with practice. The time
will come when, from a whole
pg 32
group of singing birds, you'll be able to tell the difference between
the different voices. You'll know which is the thrush, which is the
blackbird, which is the white-throat, which is the black-cap, which is
the wren,
which is the chaffinch. Imagine how happy it must make a person when
every
bird's note sounds like the voice of a familiar friend!
pg 33
PART II - The House of the Mind
Chapter
1 - Ourselves
'Ourselves'
is a Vast Country Still Unexplored
When we think about our bodies and the amazing things they can do, we
can't help saying to ourselves, 'Your works are great and marvelous,
God!' Now let's consider that inner self, which is even more wonderful.
We can't see it or touch it like we can our physical bodies. It's the
part of us that thinks and loves and prays, and is happy or sad, or
good or not so good. The inner self is like a vast country, and
most of it is still unexplored. Or, it's like a great big house with
halls and hidden rooms and closets around corners, so that it's hard to
find your way around it. People generally speak of 'Ourselves' as being
made up of Body, Mind, Heart, and Soul. We'll do the same. It isn't the
only way to think of it, but it's the most convenient, in the same way
that it's more convenient to say, 'The sun rises at six and sets at
nine,' than, 'The earth revolves around the sun every day and the part
of the earth where we live first gets in sight of the sun at about six
o'clock in the morning in March.' Saying, 'The sun rises and sets' is a
better way to describe
pg 34
it. It's not only easier to say, but it's how most people are used to
thinking of it. In the same way, everybody seems to know about his own
heart and soul and mind. Although it may be truer that we aren't
divided into parts, but our whole person has different abilities and
can do many different things at different times.
Self-control,
Self-knowledge, Self-reverence
Sometimes it feels like we have two selves inside us. One wants to do
something wrong or foolish, and the other one says, 'You shouldn't.'
One of the most important things we need to learn in life is how, when
and where to use that other self. We call it Self-control. But before
we can
have true self-control, we need to know about ourselves. We need
self-knowledge. A lot of people think they're different from everybody
else, but that's not true. Self-knowledge teaches us that what's true
for other people is also true for us. Then, when we discover the
wonderful abilities and immense possibilities of Mansoul, we won't be
filled with pride. Instead, we'll be self-reverent, and we'll have
reverence and pity for even the lowest, most reprobate people because
we'll understand that each one of them is also a great Mansoul,
although their Mansoul might be neglected, ruined, or decayed. Man's
most important duty is governing his own Mansoul. Now let's look at
the Members of the Government.
pg 35
Chapter
2 - My Lord Intellect
Introduces
Mansoul to Delightful Realms
We'll begin with My Lord Intellect. As the Foreign Secretary, he's the
one who manages dealings and establishes relations with other foreign
kingdoms. Through him, Mansoul enjoys more freedom because his
provinces are
plentiful and his states are stronger.
Science:
a Vast and Joyous Region
One of those provinces is science. This is where stars are measured,
the ocean depths are sounded, the wind's energy is harnessed to serve
man, flowers reveal the secret of how they grow, and the grains of
sand tell their history. Science is a huge, happy realm. The people
there are always discovering new things, and each new thing is
wonderful because each thing isn't a separate, isolated event, but is
part of a whole. The realm of science is so immense that one of the
wisest, greatest travelers there who discovered many things said, when
he was an old man, that he felt like he was only a little child playing
with pebbles on the beach. Do you, too, want to travel in the pleasant
land of Science? My Lord Intellect will introduce you to the people you
need to know, and do everything he can to make your path smoother.
pg 36
Imagination
Adds Enjoyment to the Traveler
Intellect's partner is My Lord Chief Explorer, Imagination. I mentioned
him earlier. He usually goes with travelers and cheers them by bringing
wonderful new visions before their eyes.
History
is a Pleasant Place
Another domain that Lord Intellect has the key to is History. He sends
Imagination as a messenger and companion to the eager traveler. Of all
the wonderful places in the mind, I think the domain of History might
be the most appealing. In an old movie, you see people living and
moving, dancing, walking, whatever they happened to be doing at the
time the movie was filmed. History is a little bit like that, only it's
even more interesting. In old movies, the people are small and not very
clear. No matter how closely you look, they don't get any clearer. But
history shows you people wearing what people used to wear, moving,
looking and talking like they really used to, doing important business
or having fun. The closer you look at and study any one person, the
more sharply he comes into focus until he might seem even more real to
you than the people you live with.
History
Shows
Think for a minute about all the centuries that have gone by, and every
country with its own population of living, moving people. Think of all
the little tidbits you hear and read that bring to life some of the
interesting things that happened and make those people seem very real,
like that letter that a little boy sent to his father 4000 years ago in
Egypt. He wrote that he
pg 37
wouldn't be good or do his lessons unless his father took him to a
great festival that was coming up. It seems that even little boys who
lived in Egypt 4000 years ago weren't always good! From one story, we
can imagine Alcibiades walking the streets of Athens, handsome,
amusing, charming--yet so reckless, proud and unprincipled that not
even Socrates could make him good. Or maybe we can imagine King Henry
VIII walking arm-in-arm with Sir Thomas More in his garden at Chelsea,
and More's beloved daughter Margaret staying close by, and bringing her
father candy after the king had left.
We
are Making History
We can imagine the workers, the blacksmith at his forge, the farmer
plowing his field, and the maypole with children dancing around it.
Once our Intellect has opened our minds to history, we feel like we're
in a great, exciting world, full of fun things, sometimes full of sad
things, too. Finally it dawns on us that, just like those people, we're
making history! We're all part of the world. The people who lived
before us were very much like us. If they weren't, we wouldn't be able
to understand them as much as we do. Some of the people might have been
worse than us and they might have lived through worse times than we do,
but we also meet a few great, noble people who make our hearts yearn to
be like them. And that makes it easier for us to understand our own
times. We see that we live in an age and country as great as theirs.
There are plenty of opportunities for heroes, and if some of those
heroes do their great deeds in a quiet way so that the world never
hears about it, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference. Any time
something good or heroic is done, no matter how small, many people will
be better because of it. In fact, it's
pg 38
been said that the whole world is better because of one life lived
dutifully, and that will be true until the end of time.
We
Can't Feel Comfortable with History Unless We Use Our Imagination
But, in order to understand how this works, we need to read history and
think about what we're
reading. We're indebted to historians, such as Heroditus, the first
historian, who used their imaginations to mentally picture people and
events from the past after they had read and studied about them. They
could imagine that everything was happening right before their very
eyes, and then write it down for us to read. But their effort in seeing
and writing down history doesn't do us much good unless our own Lord
Intellect invites our Imagination to join us as we think of things and
try to figure them out in our minds until they become real and alive to
us.
Mathematics,
a Land of Mountains
Another realm that's open to Intellect has an uninviting name.
Traveling there can be difficult because of steep rock faces that have
to be scaled, and deep ravines to be crossed. The land of Mathematics
is full of mountains, but the air is crisp and refreshing, and great
for the health, although some people find it too thin for their lungs.
It's different from most mountainous countries. It's impossible to get
lost, and every step is on firm ground so you can't fall over a cliff.
People who work or play here are exhilarated from the effort of
climbing, and satisfied because they find Truth. Once in a while
Imagination needs to accompany travelers, but not very often. More
often, Lord Attorney Reason goes along.
Philosophy
Explores Mansoul
Another domain that makes things interesting for Intellect
pg 39
is lovely Philosophy. We already know a little bit about this land
because it's the land of Mansoul itself, with its mountains, dark
forests and unexplored wildernesses. Philosophy offers fascinating and
fun journeys. The traveler who goes there learns many lessons about
life, although the footing isn't as stable and firm as it is in the
mountains of Mathematics. Still, precise certainty isn't everything. To
seek, to venture, and to find a foothold step by step is also
exhilarating. Every step forward is a place to rest and relax.
Literature,
a Rich, Glorious Kingdom
The most easily accessible as well as the most pleasant and satisfying
of all the realms that Intellect travels in, is the lavish, magnificent
Kingdom of Literature. Intellect can't travel here alone, Imagination
has to come, too. It helps when The Beauty Sense joins, too. It's
wonderful to be with good company. When Intellect
travels in the lovely land of Literature, he becomes intimate with the
best people from all ages of history, and all countries of the world.
Poets and novelists paint pictures for him, and fill his world with
profoundly fascinating and engaging people who live their entire lives
right before his very eyes. He has lots of acquaintances, and a few
friends who tell him their secrets. He meets Miranda (The Tempest),
melancholy Jacques (As You Like It), terrible Lady Macbeth (Macbeth),
Fenella (Peveril of the Peak by Sir Walter Scott), the Fair Maid of
Perth (by Sir Walter Scott). A
whole crowd of people, each uniquely different, lives in his thoughts.
pg 40
How
to Recognize Which Books are Truly Literature
Notice that there's a rundown place nearby where you're introduced to
people and they paint pictures for you. But the pictures aren't so
intense and full of meaning that you can still see them even when you
close your eyes, and the people you meet don't captivate you enough for
you to imagine what they're doing and saying in your thoughts. There's
as much difference between this place and the Kingdom of Literature, as
there is between a scenic snapshot and the real place the picture is
supposed to represent. It's an insipid waste of time to wander around
in that outer region. Yet lots of people spend a large part of their
lives there, and never once even get within sight of the beauties and
joys of the real Kingdom of Literature.
Besides comparing the two places and the people in them, there's
another way to tell the difference between Literature and the barren
land on its borders. If Intellect wants to try this test, he'll need to
let the Beauty Sense help him. Read the next two examples and see if
you notice any difference in their 'flavor.' See if the first one gives
you a sense of delight and joy in the very sound of its words, separate
from the actual meaning they represent. Do the words sing to you?
'That time of year, you may see in me
That yellow leaves, either a few or none at all, hang
Upon the branches as they shake from the cold,
Like bare ruins of choir lofts where the sweet birds sang so recently.'
Now read the next passage:
'Household gods!
Happiness will only exist on earth
When men feel your sacred power, and love
Your peaceful joys.'
pg 41
Do you notice that, although the second example is true, thoughtful,
and expressed well, yet it lacks a certain charm in the words that
makes the verse strike our hearts with living power? If you can't see
any difference in them, maybe you will some day. The trick is to focus
on the words themselves and wait to feel their force and beauty. When
words seem so perfectly suited that no other words can be substituted,
and there are so few words that not even one can be removed without
spoiling the meaning, and the words are so fresh and musical that they
awaken a sense of joy within you, then you know--you're reading real
Literature, whether it's prose or poetry. A lot of wonderful literature
can only be discerned by using this test.
The
Beauty Sense
Intellect has one more region where he can go. This region is very
beautiful and wonderful. Intellect can't go here without Imagination.
And even more important, he'll need an educated ear and eye that can
recognize the lyrical quality and beauty in words and how they're
arranged. It's the Beauty Sense who holds the key to this delightful
palace. There are few joys in life greater than beauty, or more
constant. Yet it's impossible to define what beauty consists of. Some
of its elements are color, form, proportion, and harmony. Words can
have those qualities, and therefore, words can be beautiful. That's why
the Beauty Sense is needed to fully enjoy Literature.
Beauty
in Nature
Beauty doesn't just exist in Literature. It's everywhere--in fluffy
white clouds in a blue sky, the gray trunk of a beech tree, a kitten
playing, the graceful flight
pg 42
and lovely colors of birds, the hills, valleys, streams, golden fields
of buttercups, and a broom tree in full bloom. Nature is full of beauty
and enjoyment. People like the poet William Wordsworth who watch nature
closely and know her intimately will always have an active Beauty
Sense, and it will always bring them joy.
We can't get away from Beauty. Perhaps the most beautiful thing of all
is the face of someone we love.
The
Palace of Art
We can find beauty in the way a tasteful room is arranged, and its
color scheme, or a nice dress, a pretty book cover, the metal hinges
and knob on a door, if they're done artistically. And here's another
region of beauty that can be entered by people whose Beauty Sense
allows them to do more than just see the beauty in things--their souls
become so filled with the beauty that that they see and hear, that it
spills out in their own beautiful creations. They create paintings,
statues, glorious churches, elaborate decorations, symphonies, sonatas
and simple tunes. If we stop to consider how much there is for us to
enjoy, we can't help but admire how good God is for putting us in a
world so full of beauty, and for giving us a Sense of Beauty that lets
us see and hear and, in a single moment, be overwhelmed with pleasure.
There's beauty in art and in nature (maybe
because nature is God's
art?).
The
Hall of Imitations
Like every other of the good gifts we've received, this one is also
subject to neglect and wrong use. It's not enough to live in the midst
of beauty. We also have to keep our Beauty Sense sharp and alert, and
make sure that it's always
pg 43
quick to discern what's truly beautiful. A poet says this about a man
who had lost his Beauty Sense:
'A primrose by the river's brim
Was just another rose to him
Just that, and nothing more.'
He totally missed the subtle aspect of beauty. He saw a river, and a
flower, but not the pretty way it grew right there. The danger for us
is that, in the same way that a bleak, barren land lies right on the
border of the Kingdom of Literature, there's also a dull, dreary place
that we can go into and mistake for the Palace of Art. It's called the
Hall of Imitation. In this hall, people are busy painting, sculpting,
molding and making things, Even the sun itself works many hours so they
can take photographs. And the sun is as good an artist here as anyone
else. You see, in this hall, people have the notion that the purpose of
art is to make an exact copy of what they see in life. The 'artists'
work hard trying to get the color and shape exactly like it is in real
life. They paint photo-quality pictures, or life-like figurines. Yet,
the whole time, they're missing the whole point. They don't see the
subtle presence of Beauty in what they're looking at. Many people allow
themselves to be deceived this way. They live their entire lives
without even once entering the Palace of Art, and they only perceive a
little bit of the Beauty of nature. It takes training to really see and to have our eyes opened to
take in the joy that was created for us in this beautiful life.
Intellectual
Life
I can't tell you any more right now about the wonderful and boundless
pleasures that are open to Intellect and his Assistants. But if you've
understood any of what I've already said so far, you'll be surprised
pg 44
to find out that many people live in a narrow confined space. They
rarely step out into one of the two worlds we've been considering. The
Intellect finds happiness in knowing, thinking, imagining and
understanding. Its joy comes from the variety of different things we
know, think, imagine and understand. Everybody's mind is busy thinking
about one thing or another, but lots of people spend their time knowing
and thinking about small things. There's nothing wrong with thinking of
trivial matters sometimes, but some people think about them all the
time and don't have room for the kind of great thoughts we get from
seeing or hearing great things.
A boy can be so preoccupied with his baseball card collection, or the
next soccer game, that there's no room in his mind for bigger things.
Baseball cards and soccer are okay, but it's wrong to miss
opportunities as great interests come and go, and aren't even noticed
because we're too busy thinking of these other things. Or, students can
be so obsessed with school grades, being top in their class, or getting
a scholarship, that they never realize that their lessons are supposed
to unlock doors into fascinating, intellectual wonderlands. Once they
graduate, they close their books forever. As adults, they live lives of
narrow interests. They hardly have any interest in the great, wide
world, either past or present. That's what it means to be a slave of
knowledge instead of its joyful master. It's much better to be like the
man that the Bishop of London wrote about: 'He had the rare gift of
being able to master knowledge and make it his servant. He didn't let
knowledge make him its weary slave.'
pg 45
Chapter
3 - The Demons Of The Intellect
Laziness
Keeps us from Starting
Just like the physical body, the mind has its own demons. There are two
that plague the intellect. One is a kind of sluggish inertia that makes
us not feel like starting anything except the routine, mundane matters
of our everyday life. But if we only get up and begin, our Intellect will rouse
himself, strong and eager, to begin his work. Marlowe's Faust says,
'Are you sincere? Seize this very minute.
Whatever you can do, or dream about doing, begin it!
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Just get started, it will seem to be fun.
Once you begin, the work is soon done.'
Once started, the work is fun, we enjoy the project, and time flies.
Yet, the very next time we face a project, Intellect does the same
thing. He drags his feet and procrastinates. We have to spur him to get
him started, but, once he begins, the project goes along fine. It's
good to remember this, because if we give in, Intellect will balk every
time a project presents the merest challenge.
Habit
Goes Over and Over the Same Ground
The other demon of Intellect is Habit. As you know, Habit is a good
servant but a bad master for both the mind and the body. When he's
allowed to act like a bad master and override the Intellect, he ruins
life and makes it very narrow. When Habit rules, the Intellect
pg 46
is not at all lazy. He works and works--but he keeps going over and
over the same ground! Day after day, year after year, he repeats the
same thing. The material may be worthwhile. It may even be necessary.
But the mistake is in never learning about anything else. It might be
the same routine of school lessons, studied mechanically without ever
really considering what's being learned. It might be constantly
thinking about household crafts, business, racing, football, fashion.
Those things all have their place, but to confine the mind to them is
like harnessing a sleek thoroughbred racehorse to a circular pony ride.
We
Shouldn't Spend All Our Time in One Field of Thought
It isn't just the mundane affairs of daily life that keep our minds too
preoccupied to have a wide range of interests. Some people get into one
of the great fields of thought that we've already mentioned. They are
so interested there, and find so much to do, that they stay there until
they're incapable of finding their way to any of the other great
fields. The greatest man of science in our age was one of those
unfortunate people. He lost himself in science so that he could no
longer enjoy poetry, appreciate paintings, or even reflect on God. [Darwin??] And
all because he couldn't tear his mind from the study he had spent his
life immersed in. The people who lived during the Renaissance, when the
greatest things were accomplished, the greatest pictures were painted,
the greatest buildings were designed, the greatest discoveries made,
were very insistent on one point. One man was expected to be an
architect, a painter, a sculptor, a poet, and a scholar besides.
Everything he did was done well. Everything he learned became part of
his daily thoughts and added to the enjoyment of his life.
Vasari, who wrote a biography of Da Vinci, wrote, 'He had a divine and
marvelous mind. He was excellent at geometry
pg 47
and was thus able to not only sculpt . . . but to prepare many
architectural plans for buildings. Even though he was still young, he
was the first to propose using the Arno to make a canal from Pisa to
Florence. He made designs for mills and other machines that could be
run with water power. And, since painting was going to be his
livelihood, he studied drawing from real life.'
A
Magnanimous Mind
It might be a mistake to think that, in order to do one thing well, you
have to be single-minded and do just that one thing, and think about
that one thing, all the time. The truth is, we should learn about
everything we can. We need to spend some of our time learning more
about Nature, Art, Literature, Mankind, and history and the times we
live in. That's one of the ways that we become better people. The more
a person is, the better he'll be able to do whatever it is that he's
supposed to do. Let us be like Leonardo Da Vinci -- let's have a spirit
that's 'always noble and magnanimous.'
pg 48
Chapter
4 - My Lord Chief Explorer, Imagination
Living
Pictures
We've mentioned My Lord Chief Explorer, Imagination, as a companion of
Intellect, but he really deserves his own introduction. He's amazing
and, as mentioned earlier, he has the ability to create a whole series
of
living pictures about any region that the Intellect can think of. Great
artists who create poetry, stories, paintings, architecture or music
are able to express and show the rest of us part of the wonderful
visions that Imagination has revealed to them. And we can appreciate
and enjoy their work because our own Imagination does the same thing
for us in a lesser degree. Our Imaginations make us pictures and poems
inside the private room of our minds. Little children try to express
what they see in their minds by playing. They act out things, but often
in strange ways. Since they don't know the complete facts, they jumble
things up. They might call a cow a hyena, and they sincerely expect to
meet lions and tigers in every cluster of bushes.
The
Cultivated Imagination
The more we know, the richer and more fleshed out our Imagination will
be. Have you read Feats
pg 49
on the Fjord? The author,
Harriet Martineau, never even visited Norway. Yet nobody could describe
life on the fjords more vividly than she did. That's because her
imagination felt comfortable in foreign lands and in different
historical eras. Have you ever considered that Sir Walter Scott must
have lived in all the different times and places in his imagination
that he wrote about? No wonder people called him a wizard! In order to
have a well-stocked collection of pictures in our imagination, we have
to read a lot and work to imagine the things we read about to ourselves
in our minds.
Imagination
Must Not Make Pictures of Self
Imagination is wonderful at adding to the joy and depth of life. But,
unfortunately, it too has its demons. They are Sin and Self. Every
person imagines. You might imagine that you're a Princess with golden
hair and blue eyes and a long, beautiful silk dress. The Prince comes
and accomplishes some great heroic deeds that make the world stand in
awe. Then he kneels in front of you and asks you to marry him:
'Little Ellie with a sigh
Says, I want a noble lover
Riding on the best of steeds.
His love shall bear no trace of lie
And with him I will discover
The swan's nest among the reeds.'
Or maybe you imagine that you are Prince Valiant himself. You conquer
the Paynim and capture many lands. The King makes you his chief man in
war and sits next to you at the celebration feast. These are lovely
dreams, and there's not much harm in them, unless you spend so much
time dreaming that you aren't doing.
Remember that life is made of doing,
not dreaming. When people
criticize us,
pg 50
it can be comforting to dream of all the wonderful, beautiful
things we'll do, such as caring for the sick and building homes for the
poor, and buying gifts for the parent who found fault with us. We like
to imagine how everyone will admire us for our beauty, or kindness, or
cleverness--especially people who made fun of us. It's satisfying to
imagine how kind we'll be to them and the presents we'll buy them--and
to picture to ourselves how sorry they'll be for treating us badly!
I don't think it's right to use our Imagination in this way. For one
thing, while we're preoccupied in our dreams, we're missing
opportunities to do. And,
after we've dreamed of ourselves as a superior and lofty person, so
good and wonderful, we become easily offended. Then our Imagination
stops creating visions of our goodness and starts magnifying the faults
of our friends. Imagination tells us that Mom doesn't understand us and
can't see what a great person we are. Or Dad isn't very nice, or Shelby
is always noticed more than we are, or school lessons are too hard, or
going for a walk is too much of a chore, or visitors are bothering us,
or any book that isn't just stories will be boring. And, little by
little, we begin to turn into the very people that we imagined to be so
displeasing.
And then even our best friends will have to admit that we're boring and
disagreeable, irritable and resentful. They'll say there's no pleasing
us. They'll complain that we won't join in games, or get interested in
any kind of plans. They'll say that we don't care to be pleasant with
anyone, and that we don't care about helping anybody. Children will say
that we're always grouchy, and they won't try to coax us to play with
them. Older children will think we're grumpy
pg 51
and they'll leave us alone. It frustrates us because, in our own minds,
we see ourselves as wonderful people. We have beautiful thoughts about
the kind things we'll do for all those people, and we can't understand
why people won't show a little gratitude!
Disarming
the Demons
The truth is, the others are more accurate in their assessment of us.
Consider -- who is the main person in all the fantastic scenarios you
create, and in all the plans you imagine? If you have to admit that the
main person is you, yourself, then your Imagination has been spending
too much time making pleasure-houses for Self, when it should have been
collecting images of the wide, rich world all around. Correct
Imagination's vision, and put this glorious servant to work doing his
rightful duty. Then your friends will look forward to seeing you
because you'll have so much to say, and you'll be interested in so many
things. You'll no longer trouble them (or yourself!) with that touchy,
critical, grudging Self who can be such a tyrant. In fact, you'll
discover so many fascinating things to think about, that you'll hardly
have a spare minute to think about yourself! Throw Self out as soon as
he intrudes on any vision in the Imagination. One good tactic is to
take your Self by the shoulders, look him right in the face, and laugh
at him for being so ridiculous. That's what's called 'the saving grace
of a sense of humor.' People who can laugh at themselves don't make
themselves seem absurd by putting on airs and forced manners. Another
help, though not quite as effective, is when the people you live with
can laugh at you and tease you. Learn from their laughter. Put up with
their teasing with good humor.
Living
Pictures of Sin
The second demon of Imagination is Sin. Have you ever heard people
remark that 'there seems to be an epidemic of burglaries' or 'an
epidemic of murders'? They might be right.
pg 52
These things can run in epidemics. They're contagious in a curious way.
People read about a crime in the newspaper. They let their Imagination
dwell on the graphic details. The incident becomes a living image in
their mind that they can't get rid of. And sometimes, the end result is
that they attempt the same crime themselves! That's why it's not always
wise to read newspaper accounts of crimes. Even if you aren't tempted
to copy the wickedness, the horrid image of it remains in your mind
once you've allowed your Imagination to paint a living picture of it
inside you.
Unclean
Imaginings
There's one kind of sin that we have to be especially careful not to
impress into our mind. Once we do, that kind of sin will haunt us all
our lives. That kind of sin is uncleanness. If people talk about those
kinds of sins, don't listen. Walk away and find something else to do.
If you come across the mention of these sins in your reading, even if
it's in a book of poetry, or classics, or history, teach yourself to
shut the eyes of your Imagination so that your thoughts won't become
defiled. Never knowingly read anything, or listen to anything that
might lead to unclean imaginings. I once visited a young dying woman.
She was married, nice, and good, but she told me an awful thing. She
said that her preparation for death had been made miserable, and she
couldn't even pray because horrible images of uncleanness would come to
her mind. She said she had never thought of such things before, but I
wonder if at some time in her life, maybe years and years before, she
had allowed her mind to wander to such thoughts. She had forgotten all
about it, but an evil spirit took this opportunity as she was dying to
bring them back to her memory. Stay away from all unclean talk, and all
unclean reading. Avoid them even more than you would avoid a deadly
plague.
pg 53
Living
Pictures of Horrors
This isn't really a sin, but it's foolish to let your Imagination
create living pictures of horrors, tragic accidents, falls from steep
cliffs, ghosts, and other frightening things. Once we make a picture in
our mind, it's there to stay, and it may show up at any moment to
torment us.
Someone who has a tendency to be afraid of such things might say, 'But
how can I help it?' That's a foolish question. It's foolish to ask that
about any evil we might fall into. Yes, we can help it. Resisting them
is what the battle of life is all about. In this particular case, you
can find help by hurrying away from those thoughts and thinking about
something else. If such terrors come at night when you can't do
anything or read anything, you can still try to think about something
else. One idea might be to think about the last story you read. Go over
it in your mind.
pg 54
Chapter
5 - The Beauty Sense
The
Demon of Exclusiveness
Our Beauty Sense adds so much joy to our lives that it's hard to
imagine any danger attached to it. But there is one. It's Exclusiveness
that makes the beauty Sense too hyper-sensitive, whether in music,
painting, one's surroundings, or even natural scenery. Exclusiveness
seeks to persuade the Prime Minister that the joys of Beauty are so
full, and so satisfying, that nothing else is necessary to make life
complete. The Intellect has no luck trying to interest the person in
exciting new fields of research. Good, useful work presents itself, but
to no avail. Urgent duties clamor for attention, but are ignored. A
person who gives himself up to the intoxicating effect of Beauty makes
himself believe that Beauty and Goodness are one and the same. And he
comes
to think that a person's Duty is to seek pleasure in whatever way he
likes
best. Even people are pushed aside to make way for Beauty.
We
Are Not Allowed to Choose Our Lives
Instead of accepting the relatives, friends and neighbors that God
sends into our lives, the person devoted to beauty chooses them for
himself. He doesn't care to know about anyone except those who have the
same view of life that
pg 55
he does. It's the same with places. He can't tolerate anything that's
unpleasant or ugly, so he refuses to go where working people and poor
people have to live. And the result is that he misses out on the
happiness that his Beauty Sense was supposed to bring him. True
happiness comes from doing work, being useful, having wide interests,
and, last and least of all, enjoying pleasure. When people put enjoying
pleasure above everything else, even when the pleasure is Beauty, they
miss the very thing they seek. They become weakened physically, and
fretful and discontented in their spirits.
A
Paradise of Pleasure
But fear of that pitfall shouldn't keep us from enjoying the paradise
of pleasure that our Beauty Sense can bring us to. We just need to be
careful of two things. First, we shouldn't allow ourselves to get any
notions about being superior to our neighbors. And, we need to make it
our duty, as much as we can, to bring Beauty to places where it doesn't
exist. If we keep these two thoughts in mind, then the Demon of
Exclusiveness won't have any danger for us.
pg 56
Chapter
6 - My Lord Chief Attorney-General, Reason
Reason
is
an Advocate
I mentioned My Lord Attorney-General earlier, as a partner of
Intellect. But, really, he's a very important person in Mansoul. In
fact, he's so important that he sometimes gets control of the entire
government. Reason has impressive abilities, and an independent
character. You can get an idea of how Reason acts by watching a great
lawyer promote his cause in court. He brings up one argument after
another to prove his point, and he articulates each one with skillful
clarity. His arguments bring those listening to an inevitable
conclusion - at least, it seems
inevitable, until the lawyer for the other side speaks! Have you ever
witnessed your own thought processes? It can seem as if another person,
an appointed attorney assigned to your defense, was bringing up point
after point, until you couldn't help coming to a conclusion. Do you
remember Prospero from Shakespeare's The
Tempest? He neglected his duties as a ruler, and his brother
intended to kill him, but exiled him instead on a desolate island, with
his little daughter, Miranda.
How
We Reason
I imagine that this is the kind of thing Prospero's Reason said to him:
'The
part of man that thinks
pg 57
is the most important part of him. It's better to live around thinkers
than common, everyday people. The greatest thinkers in the world are
found in books, not in my court. I should let common, everyday people
worry about the affairs of common, everyday people. My brother Antonio
is capable of governing as well as I can. But he can't read for me, or
think for me, or devote his time to improving my mind for me. Those are
things that I have to do for myself. And there's my child to consider.
I want her to grow up to be a thinker, so I need to prepare myself to
be a fit teacher for her. Considering all these things, it's obvious
that I need to give up my affairs and devote my time to my books.'
As these thoughts went through Prospero's mind, it wasn't him saying
them to himself. It was his Reason saying it to him, and for him. Every
point that his Reason brought up is true--but not the whole truth.
Prospero's Reason wouldn't have used those specific arguments if
he hadn't been a student and lover of books. Reason usually starts with
a notion that was already in the person's mind to begin with.
Now let's imagine what Antonio's Reason might have said to him: 'It's
shameful the way my brother neglects his dukedom. The government is
going to ruin. Every man just does whatever he wants. He expects me to
rule for him, but everybody knows I'm not a Duke. I have no real
authority. If he died, I would inherit the dukedom, and I'd do my best
to straighten everything out. His neglected subjects would be so
relieved! Come to think of it, taking his life wouldn't really be such
a crime because the sacrifice of the one man would mean the benefit of
the entire dukedom. Things are getting worse and worse every day.
Something has to be done. There's nobody else to get rid of him, so
I'll have to do it myself.' Antonio's Reason rushed to provide him with
all the
pg 58
arguments he needed to justify the ambitious idea he already had
secretly entertained in his mind.
How a
Good Man's Reason Works
A good man's Reason rushes to provide him with undeniable arguments for
the good actions that his good heart wants to do. John Howard
was undoubtedly
convinced by many sound reasons that the difficult task he thought of
was a simple, direct course. He saw the inside of a prison by chance,
and he couldn't shake thoughts of its misery. His Reason probably
said, 'People have no idea that such horrors exist. Someone needs to
tell them. Whoever tells them needs to know his facts. He'll need to
know the conditions of more than one or two prisons. When the plight is
fully known and discussed, and when Parliament considers it, I'm sure
that new laws will be written and reforms set in motion. Prisoners will
start to be treated like human beings, instead of kept in such filth,
misery, sickness and sin that I saw. And why shouldn't the man who
exposes this plight be me? The idea first came to me; maybe it's my
calling. It's true, I'm in rather delicate health. But, if I die, what
better way to die than doing my duty? Yes, it's true, I'm grieving, but
at least I have no ties to keep me home. And I have plenty of money for
the costs. I'll do it. I'll sacrifice my life for this duty.'
In this way, the good man's Reason argued for what he wanted to do. But
if God's compassion hadn't put the concept of pity into his heart, his
Reason could just as easily have taken the opposite line of reasoning.
He might have been persuaded that this job wasn't right for one man,
but needed the governments of countries to take care of.
pg 59
Reason's
Role in Good Works and Great
Inventions
Every great work of kindness that benefits the sick, helpless, sad or
ignorant is the result of a chain of arguments that some person's
Reason provided for him. And his Reason did this because, in each case,
a notion of pity first came to the man. Every great work or invention
has been reasoned out step by step. Have you ever been to a museum and
seen the trunk of a tree that was hollowed out by burning to use as a
canoe? That was the result of some impressive reasoning, as brilliant
as Marconi's wireless radio. The man who discovered how to make the
canoe had never seen a boat before. He had to figure out a way to cross
the waters all by himself. He had no prior examples to get inspired
from because his was the first boat that existed. We'll think about how
he got his idea later. His reason worked it all out for him.
What
is Meant by Common Sense
Most of the routine, simple things we do--like brushing our teeth,
combing our hair, using manners at the table, were originally reasoned
out. We have no idea who worked them out in the beginning. People don't
reason them out any more. They just accept them by what's known of as
common sense. In other words, just about everyone agrees that certain
ways of doing specific things are the best ways. Every once in a while,
a reformer comes along who reasons out the old things with a fresh
perspective, and comes to a different conclusion. His conclusion might
be right or wrong. For example, perhaps common sense has told most
people that it's best to wear boots or shoes. But then a reformer comes
along and persuades everyone, with a good line of reasoning, that it's
pg 60
even better to wear sandals. Someone else will disagree and say that
it's better to go with bare feet, and now people are forced to stop and
think about the issue and use their Reason on something they assumed
was settled a long time ago.
Everything
We Use Has Been Thought Out by Someone
It's interesting to look around a room or out in the street and try to
consider the line of reasoning taken by the person who made the first
chair, or key, or wheelbarrow. We appreciate things more when we
remember that somebody had to think out each thing. But thinking things
out like that is fun, you know that yourself. Maybe you've said, 'I
have a great idea! Something my uncle said gave me the idea, and then
the whole plan came to me quite clearly, one step at a time.' Perhaps
it was an idea for a new game, or for building a ship, or for designing
apartments to give lower income families more space. Whatever the idea
is, it's exciting and fun to just sit still and listen as Reason does
his work and creates the whole plan complete before your very eyes.
It's no wonder that so many people think that there's nothing in heaven
or earth that's greater than human Reason. Nothing else is more
surprising in the way it works, or more searching in its conclusions!
You remember how revolutionary France put Reason on a pedestal. They
practically worshiped Reason. The French nation believed that no man
had a duty to do anything except what his own Reason told him to do. If
his Reason dictated it, then it was his solemn duty to do it. And you
remember that some pretty horrible things were done in the name of
Reason.
pg 61
In fact, that period of history is known as the Reign of
Terror, even
though all the atrocities that were committed were justified by the
Reason of the men who did them. People don't say that Reason
reigns anymore, but many thoughtful and good people believe that there
is no
higher authority than man's Reason. They believe that acting according
to one's Reason is the most that can be expected of anyone.
Good,
Sensible People Can Come to Opposite Conclusions
It's true that good laws, projects for the public good, great
inventions
are all the result of Reason. But you might be surprised to hear good
people talk and try to convince others of something that their own
Reason has told them. The Reason of equally good, intelligent people
can bring them to totally opposite conclusions about war, peace,
politics, religion, education, public works, fashion, diet--in fact,
intelligent people can disagree on any subject you can think of. That's
the reason there's controversy in the world. People think they can
convince other people by using the same arguments that their own Reason
used to convince them. And they could, if everyone else didn't already
have arguments just as convincing on their own side. In fact, the side
of an argument a person is on, generally depends on his own Will:
'Convince a man against his will.
He'll have the same opinion still.'
We need to remember that Reason is a personal servant to every person,
and will play on his master's side. A person's Reason will work to
convince him of what he was already inclined to believe in.
Reason
is not Infallible
You know that the Pope is said to be infallible. That means that he
can't be wrong, and that every decision he makes has to be
pg 62
the right decision. Many people say that of Reason. They say that
Reason is infallible. But if two equally intelligent and equally good
people are passionately convinced by their Reason of two things exactly
opposite, then their Reason can't both be infallible. At least one of
them has to be wrong. Perhaps one of them believes that a certain war
is the duty of his country, and the other believes that the war is a
crime. They can't both be right. Since all men (unless they're idiots
or insane) have this same ability to Reason, then we can only
conclude that Reason is not infallible. Not all final conclusions are
correct. It all depends on the notion from which the reasoning began.
Anarchists
We've all been saddened to learn that there are some people in the
world who believe that their one duty in life is to take the life of
some royal person or ruler. These people are anarchists. Although we're
horrified to even think about their crimes, it's not difficult to
follow the chain of logic that makes it look reasonable in their own
eyes, no matter how wrong it may seem to us. The word anarchist means
'without rule.' The goal of anarchists is to put an end to all national
rule and government, whether it's a kingdom or republic. Why? Because,
they say, every man has his own Reason and can rule himself. No person
should have a ruler over him. This example shows how an error in
thinking can lead to the worst of crimes.
Reason
in Math
Reason is never more delightful or perfect
pg 63
than in math. In math, people don't begin their line of logic with a
notion that influences them to lean towards one side or the other. In
math, little by little, truth unfolds itself to us. We're designed so
that absolute, certain truth is a perfect joy to us. And that's the
kind of joy we get from math. And there's great satisfaction from
standing and witnessing our own mind work out a difficult problem.
There's a case recorded where a mathematician went to bed with a
difficult problem on his mind. He put a pencil and paper beside his
bed, and thought he slept peacefully all night. But when he woke up,
there was the problem worked out very clearly. He must have done it in
his sleep.