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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.
Reason
Must be Used for Good Purposes
Not much demonstrates the amazing greatness and ability of man as much
as Reason. But, like all divine gifts, we're entrusted to use it for
its
best purpose. But we should never rely on it as a failsafe guide. After
all, we can logically prove and justify both worthy and unworthy
things. A quick-tempered person can go through a long chain of logical
reasons that convince him that he's been treated unfairly and has every
right to be mad. A burglar has logical reasons for his crimes. A
naughty, vindictive child has logical reasons for playing a practical
joke.
Reason is totally subservient to us, and can therefore be used by us
however we please. We can make Reason justify whatever we want, whether
noble or corrupt, great or small. Since we have such a great gift,
let's use it to reason out great matters. If we do, then some day,
we'll be given the opportunity to think out some great service for the
world. The chance to do something great usually comes when we're ready
for it.
pg 64
Reason
Justifies Notions That Have Been Accepted by the Will
'The kettle started it,' is how Dickens begins The Cricket on the Hearth. The
point is, Reason never starts
it. Reason continues it and
finishes it, but it doesn't start it. What starts it and sets Reason
into motion, is usually an idea that the Prime Minister (the Will) has
allowed in. Once it's admitted, Reason grabs it and puts it through all
his assembly lines until it comes out as a finished product. In other
words, our conclusions can't really be blamed on Reason. Reason just
works with whatever he's given. Ultimately, our Will is responsible for
our conclusions. It's our Will who takes in [or chooses to reject] the
foundational idea.
Our Will can be persuaded to admit a concept because it's traditional
and old, or because it's new and novel, or because a man he respects
says so, or because a man he doesn't like says the opposite, or because
it's in his best personal interest to have a certain opinion, or
because it
suits his fancy, or because it makes him look intelligent. There are a
hundred good (and bad) reasons why our Will might go ahead and let an
idea in. If the Will lets an idea in for any of these reasons, he'll
usually tell his Reason in advance what to prove. After all, Reason's
job is to logically prove for us whatever we think is right. Reason
doesn't bring us to conclusions because they happen to be true.
That's why Reason has no right to have the last word on most subjects.
It wasn't up to him to have the first word, and he'll always follow the
lead of that first word. When you make a journey, arriving at the
correct destination doesn't depend on traveling the smoothest roads, or
on keeping a good pace. It depends on starting in the right
direction!
pg 65
Why
there are Different Schools of Philosophy
With this in mind, yet knowing that most people can't resist trusting
Reason as if it was a competent, skilled counselor, it shouldn't
surprise you that some philosophers who are honest and sincere, have
concluded that there is no God. And other men prove that only what we
can see or probe with instruments exists in man. They think that matter
is all there is in the universe, and there's no such thing as spirit,
either in God or man. And there are some philosophers on the opposite
side who have reasoned a belief in existentialism. They claim that
matter doesn't exist. They've proven conclusively to themselves that
chairs, tables, trees and people don't really exist. What we think we see is really only the
idea of those things, and our mind has created the vision of those
things.
Practice
in Reasoning
Maybe the best way to use this ability to reason things out, is to
provide it with lots to do. We can do that by asking ourselves what
causes this, or what causes that, and why people or animals do certain
things. If Reason doesn't practice, it will get sluggish. There are
some people who never wonder about things, or ask themselves questions
about things they see.
pg 66
Chapter
7 - Managers of the Revenue, The Desires (Part 1)
The
Mind Needs To Be Fed
We place the Managers of the Revenue (the desires) after the Intellect
because their job is to do the same thing for the mind that the
Appetites do for the body. The mind needs to be fed. It needs to grow
and produce, just like the body. The body would never think to eat if
it didn't get hungry. And the Mind would never think to feed itself
what it needs if it didn't have certain desires to satisfy. You might
say that the Desires gather the resources that the Mind needs, so we'll
call them Managers of the Revenue.
Desire
for Approval
Have you ever watched a baby playing with blocks? When he's managed to
set one on its end, he turns to his mother for a smile. The little one
isn't happy unless his mother or caregiver praises him. When he crawls
to the window, pulls himself up on the chair leg and says, 'ma-ma,
da-da,' he expects a smile for doing these things. If, instead, his
caregiver looks severe and says, 'no, no!' then his little face will be
crestfallen and he'll cry. No one has taught him that it matters
whether the people he loves are pleased with him. It's born in him, and
is
just part of his make-up as a human being, as a little Mansoul.
pg 67
The Desire for Approval helps him later when he struggles with
conquering a difficult math problem, or climbs a hill, or works to
bring home a good report card. All this time, what he's doing is
bringing raw material to the factory--he's bringing knowledge to his
mind. And he's doing it because the people whose approval is worth
having are concerned that he learns and knows, doesn't waste time in
idleness, and develops habits of working steadily. That way, his mind
will be nourished properly every day, just like his body.
The
Demon of Vanity
But the proper and useful Desire for Approval has its own demons. One
of them is Vanity. We can't live contentedly without the approval of
somebody, but some children and adults choose to seek the approval of
worthless, silly people instead of the respect of the wise and good.
Some boys would rather talk and show off in order to make their
playmates laugh, instead of working and playing in a way that wins the
approval of their betters. People can be vain and can show off about
almost anything--their rich relatives, the fancy parties they go to,
their fashionable clothes, their new pocket-knife, their own
cleverness. But when people show off, like a peacock spreading its
tail, it's always in order to impress someone whose good opinion isn't
worth having. Nice people think well of us just for doing and being our
best. We know that, so we never try to show off for those people. A
person who doesn't care about anybody's approval is stupid. But a
person who wants the approval of unworthy people is vain.
Fame
and Infamy
Another danger is that a person can allow the desire for approval to
take over so much that he can't think of anything else. Everything he
does, whether good or bad, is done to get them noticed by others. He'd
rather that people said bad things about him than nothing
pg 68
at all. Some burglaries, murders and assassinations happen only for the
sake of the infamy that the crime will bring. Sometimes heroic deeds
are only done for the fame they'll bring. Infamy and fame both mean
having a lot of people talking about you. When a person becomes so
obsessed with his Desire for Approval that he's always wondering what
other people will think about him and say about him, he loses
self-respect, which is even more precious than the respect of others. A
person can only have self-respect when the desires, motives and
abilities of their Mansoul are in proper balance.
The
Desire to Excel
Another desire that helps to feed the mind is Emulation, or the Desire
to Excel. We might be learning to ice skate, and we don't give
ourselves any rest until we can skate as well as another boy we know
who learned the previous winter. Then we want to outdo him. Then we
find a better skater and we want to skate as well as him. Then we want
to skate better than him. Soon, we dream of the day when we'll be able
to skate better than anyone in the neighborhood. And finally, we
imagine how glorious it would be to the best skater in the whole world!
It seems like some animals, especially horses, also have this desire. A
horse will be annoyed if another horse is in front of him, and
it motivates him to quicken his pace. And that's just what the Desire
to
Excel does for us. It spurs us to try harder when we get lazy. If one
student reads, we decide to read more. If the other student works at
his lessons, we work more. So, with a little competitive spirit, our
Mind gets the food it needs to sustain itself.
Prizes
and Places
The Desire to Excel has two Demons, just like the Desire to be Approved.
pg 69
First, people can get so obsessed with wanting to get ahead that they
have
no time to think of anything else. They could care less what they learn
about, that's not what interests them. All they care about is good
grades, or a prize, or being in first place or whatever. And what ends
up happening is that the student who does take first place has a mind
so starved that it never recovers its appetite. History, literature and
science seem too uninteresting to spend time on. The whole point of
life becomes getting ahead of everyone else. This is how Emulation,
which was given to us to improve our mind and develop our body, defeats
its own ends. All it cares about is being in first place.
Being
the Best at Unworthy Things
We can err by being too competitive about things that are good in
themselves. But, like any other servant, Emulation sometimes tries to
gain control of Mansoul through unlawful, unworthy means. In the old
days when people were hard drinkers, men wanted to be distinguished by
their ability in drinking lots of wine at one sitting. A 'three-bottle
man' was to be admired.
Distinctions as trivial as that are still sought after by many people,
both adults and children. We should reflect on this and make sure we're
not devoting our lives to a wish to be the best at something that's
unworthy.
The
Desire for Wealth
Everybody desires wealth, some more than others. That desire makes us
willing to work to get the things we need for our bodies and minds.
It's this desire that
pg 70
makes a small boy collect baseball cards, stamps, string and marbles.
And it makes one rich man collect rare, valuable pictures, while
another hoards his money and doesn't spend it so that he becomes a
millionaire.
The
Demon of Selfishness
Just like before, there are two demons waiting in the wings of this
desire. One is selfishness. Once a person allows the desire of wealth
to possess him, whether it manifests in hoarding stamps or art,
figurines or money, he can't think of anything else. Getting more and
keeping what he has consumes his life. He simply can't part with any of
his treasure. He can't be generous. His mind is so preoccupied that he
doesn't even have time to be kind. His focus is on gaining more for
himself, and he becomes a selfish person. When a person's life becomes
consumed with the Desire for Wealth, it becomes Greed. A person who is
always grasping after more wealth is greedy. It may go so far that he
can't part with any of his wealth, not even to take care of his own
needs. A person in this condition is called a miser. But a person who
makes the effort to acquire things as a small part of his life rather
than the most important part, might get enough to share and thus be
generous and helpful to others.
Worthless
Wealth
Another risk is hoarding what's not worth anything. There's a charming
story about a noble couple who spend their lives going on quick trips.
First they're rushing to Palermo, then Moscow, now to Tokyo. Why are
they traveling? Because they hear that one country has a matchbook
cover that they don't have in their collection yet. Maybe this one is
blue, or
pg 71
brown and yellow. The object of their desire is a two-inch match book.
They never stop to ask what makes this ugly little match book so
special. They only know that it's a little different than the rest, so,
at great cost and inconvenience, they rush off to get it. The author of
this story is making fun of the crazy trend that makes people have
collections of one kind or another, whether worthy or not. This trend
results from the natural Desire for Wealth that's inborn in every
Mansoul. But it's up to us to make sure that what we collect has some
real value. Let's start a collection of good books that we'll always
treasure, or art prints from the great masters. Even postage stamps can
be a good thing to collect--if we make the effort to be interested in
the stamps themselves. We should wonder about things like why German
stamps of the 1920's have an image of Germania. If a collection doesn't
have an interest for the mind itself, then it's not worth having. If
you always follow that principle, then you won't be the kind of person
who thinks that silver plate is worth collecting just because it's
silver plate. Instead, you might collect it because you can appreciate
its antiquity, or its associations, or the beauty of its designs.
The
Desire for Power
Another desire that comes naturally for all humans is the Desire for
Power. All children have this from their preschool days in greater or
lesser measure, but the one who has the most, rules the others. The
other children play his games, run his errands, and tolerate him
lording over them all day long. Those who love power the most will get
it. But if they're good-natured, kind, helpful, generous, bright and
amiable, then they'll use their power to keep everyone else happy,
interested and entertained. Power is a good thing if we use it as an
opportunity to serve. But it's a bad thing when all we care about is
ruling everyone else.
The desire for power, also called Ambition, isn't quite the
pg 72
same as the Desire to be the Best. A child who just wants to be the
Best is satisfied to be first. An ambitious child wants to lead
everyone else. I think that an ambitious child is more useful to the
world than one who wants to be the best because, if he wants to lead
the others, he'll have to make himself worthy of taking the lead. He'll
have to be the best, whether he's Class President or captain of the
baseball team. But he must remember that 'pride goes before a fall.' If
he lets himself become proud because he's the leader, then he'd better
be careful! People don't mind following someone who's devoted and knows
his duty. But they'll never follow someone who's proud and
self-satisfied. Just like any other desire, the Desire for Power can
ruin a life if it becomes Master. Once someone starts to be obsessed
with being the leader, he'll stop caring whether he leads for a worthy
or unworthy cause. He'll be just as happy to lead his co-workers in
riot and disorder, as he will to lead them in a noble effort for a good
cause. Many lives have been utterly ruined because of Ambition.
'Managing'
People
There's another danger connected with the Desire for Power. This one is
more harmful to those around us than it is to ourselves. If we always
insist on taking the lead,
it isn't fair to everyone else because it doesn't give them a chance to
lead. We cheat
them out of a part of their lives when we deny them their fair share of
opportunities to practice their leadership skills. We grow stronger and
more capable at their expense. As we get more and more powerful, they
get weaker and weaker. Who is less noble than a person who is always
trying to manage everyone else and always manipulating to get power for
themselves? The best safeguard against this kind of danger is to never take the lead, but to wait until
leadership is thrust on us. Instead of grabbing power, wait until it's
given to us. And when we're in the position of leader, we should use
our power to encourage others to make progress and to help them, rather
than just looking for our own good.
pg 73
Chapter
8 - Managers of the Revenue, The Desires (Part 2)
The
Desire for Community
Another thing that all people have in common is the Desire to be
together. Everyone likes visitors, friends, neighbors, acquaintances.
Little children like playing with other little children outside. Even
as young as two years old, you can see a few of them toddling around
together, talking baby talk with each other, and enjoying each other.
The fun in going to public school is being with children who are the
same age and in similar situations. Young men join clubs, women give
parties, uneducated working class men will hang out together, even if
they have very little to say to each other, and natives of some third
world countries will sit silently in circles for hours. They all
congregate for the same reason: everyone desires the company of others.
We want to see friendly faces, hear human voices, give pleasure and
receive it from each other.
We
Learn from Other People
We learn when we're together, because most people have something useful
to say that's good for us to hear. We owe it to others to have
something to say that will interest others, maybe something
pg 74
we've seen, or read, or heard or thought. When Queen Victoria was a
little girl, she was introduced to lots of interesting people so that
she could talk with them. She met world travelers, scientists,
inventors, soldiers, and naval men. She would read and think about the
subject that they were involved with before she met them so that she'd
be able to enjoy talking with them. That way, she'd have something
useful to say and she would be knowledgeable enough to learn something
from them. If you know a little about botany, a botanist won't mind
sharing something about plant lore with you. If you know a bit
of history, a historian will take time to tell you what he's doing in
his studies. But if you know absolutely nothing about their subject,
you could be with the greatest poet or adventurer or painter, and have
nothing to discuss but the weather! Royalty and other great people
understand this. They want to get most of their information first-hand,
so they need to be knowledgeable about various subjects. They're able
to learn about the latest discoveries in astronomy from a real
astronomer who's making those discoveries, and they can learn about
evolution from Darwin himself, and so on. Sometimes we envy privileged
people because they have so many opportunities to hear their
information first-hand. But don't forget that, in order to have any
kind of productive conversation with the most capable people, there has
to be a twofold preparation that princes and other dignitaries have to
undergo. The amount of time and effort it takes them would surprise
most students. When they enter into a discussion with a learned
specialist, they bring two things to the conversation. They bring a
cultivated and intelligent mind, and some working knowledge of a broad
range of subjects. With those two items, we could make the most of our
opportunities with anyone we meet, too. It seems to me that people
usually get whatever it is they're ready for. I don't know if this is
some kind of divine rule, but it seems to be true to me. At any rate,
preparation is always wise, and it's a good idea to be ready for the
best in conversation with whoever you might meet. If you do this, then
your natural
pg 75
desire for society will do its job of collecting mental nourishment for
your mind.
But it isn't just experts and specialists that we can learn from. I've
seen impolite people in a room, or even sitting at the table, who
didn't say a word because they didn't think the person next to them was
worth talking to! Yet they think that, if only they had a chance to
talk to so-and-so, who they admire from a distance, then they'd have
lots to say! This isn't just bad manners and rude. It's also foolish,
and they only hurt themselves. There's not a person alive who doesn't
have some bit of knowledge, or experience, or who hasn't had some
thought of his own. There's a good story told about Sir Walter Scott.
He was traveling from London to Edinburgh on a stage coach and the man
sitting next to him wouldn't talk. Scott tried bringing up the weather,
crops, politics, books--every subject he could think of, and we can
assume there were many from a man of such varied interests. Finally, in
despair, he asked, 'Well, what can
you talk about, then, sir?' 'Bent
leather,' said the man. And Scott went on to have 'one of the most
interesting conversations I can remember.' Everybody has his pet
subject that he likes to talk about, if we only have the ability to
find out what it is.
Dangers
Related to the Love of Socializing
The Love of Society has two dangers related to it. One, as I said
before, pertains especially to vain people who like to be flattered at
any cost. They'll choose friends who are inferior to them and who will
pretend to look up to them and praise them a lot. The other danger is
the same one that applies to all of our other natural desires. The
craving to socialize might take possession of our whole
pg 76
lives and gain control of Mansoul. One woman gossiping with her
neighbor from her doorway says, 'There's no harm in it' of the girl who
chats with her friends in the morning, plays tennis in the afternoon,
and then goes out every evening. In fact, the girl does little but
chatter here and there all day long, and has nothing to show for it.
Some people are so busy running here and there, seeing and being seen,
talking and being talked to, that their minds are practically starving
for their own thoughts and resources. Although people don't lament over
this like they do when a life is ruined over alcohol or some other sin,
yet a life is still ruined just as completely, though their friends
don't seem to mind.
Community
is a Feast Where Everybody Brings Something
Any community, even if it only consists of two or three people, is like
a
potluck where each person has to bring something to the table. Young
people often feel intimidated by this because they feel like they have
nothing to say, unless they're with one or two close friends or family
members. But be encouraged. Even intelligent listening is something
worth offering, and it's something that everyone likes! There are more
people who are good at talking than good at listening. You've probably
been amused to see a group of people and notice that everybody is
talking at the same time and nobody is listening. Listening with the
entire mind is an act of delicate courtesy that draws the best from
even dull people.
People who don't have much culture can only talk to their own kind, or
to their own specific 'friends.' Car people have nothing to say to
anyone but other car people, guys who are into dogs can't talk to
anyone except other guys who are into their dogs, school boys
pg 77
can't talk to anyone but other school boys, school girls can't talk to
anyone but other school girls, sailors have nothing to say to anyone
but sailors, soldiers with other soldiers. This is natural, as the
proverbial saying goes; 'Birds of a feather flock together.' But it's
not a good idea. Why limit ourselves to our own little pond
when we can have a share in the whole world?
The
Desire for Knowledge
There's one Desire that truly is for the mind what hunger is for the
body. I've saved that one for last. It's the Desire for Knowledge,.
Everyone wants to know--but some people want to know about things worth
knowing, and some people are happy knowing about unworthy, trivial
things. The desire to know about unworthy things is called idle
Curiosity. 'Where did you buy it?' 'How much did it cost?' 'What did
she say?' 'Who was there?' 'Why aren't they on good terms?' and so on,
are the kinds of questions that Curiosity asks. It seems harmless
enough to satisfy your curiosity with scraps of news and gossip about
one celebrity or another, or a notorious murderer, or a famous
millionaire, or a politician, or military hero, or admirable lady, or
dancer. Curiosity relishes newsworthy tidbits about any or all of them.
Curiosity is just as eager to know and share the latest trivia about
satellites, computer processing speeds, or whatever. But that's just
psuedo-knowledge. The desire for real
knowledge would lead a person from the thrill of processing speed to a
serious study of computer technology. But idle Curiosity is content to
know a few facts about a subject, instead of really understanding it.
Idle
Curiosity and the Desire for Real Knowledge
In the same way that candy and pastries satisfy hunger without really
nourishing and sustaining the body, so Curiosity satisfies the mind
superficially with the tidbits of trivia that it gathers. The person
who allows
himself to be merely curious doesn't have any desire to really know. And that's too bad, because
pg 78
every person is born with a natural desire to explore the mysteries and
fascinating subjects that are available to the Intellect. I mentioned
them earlier. The minds feeds on knowledge about great
subjects--History, Literature, Nature, Science, Art. That's what it
needs to grow. The mind digests that kind of knowledge in the same way
that the body digests healthy food. Great knowledge makes a person 'magnanimous,' which means a person
who has a great mind is interested in lots of things, and can't be
much bothered about petty, personal matters. It's a tragedy to lose out
on such a wonderful possibility--and all for the sake of petty scraps
of trivia about people and things that have nothing to do with each
other, and not much relevance to our own lives!
Imitation
and the Love of Knowledge
The love of Knowledge is the most noble of all our Desires. But if any
of the other Desires gain control of Mansoul, the love of Knowledge
will be squeezed out and deprived of its share in Mansoul. This is
especially true when Imitation replaces the love of Knowledge. People
sometimes take the trouble to learn about
knowledge, or math, or history, or poetry, in a frantic, eager way--but
not because they love those things. They do it because of some prize,
or rating, or reward given for looking
knowledgeable. But Knowledge has her own rewards, and she reserves them
for those who truly love her. She only pays us lifelong joy and
happiness when Knowledge is precious to us and satisfies us for her own
sake. A person can't be unhappy if he delights in Knowledge, not just
to show off how smart he is, or to be superior to others, but simply
because Knowledge is such a worthy thing to seek. Such a person is able
to
say, 'My mind is like an entire kingdom to me.' No matter how
displeasing his life circumstances might be, he's able to escape into
the kingdom of his mind, and he can find joy and entertainment in the
pg 79
fascinating, beautiful and wonderful things he's stored there.
Grades
and Knowledge
Some children enjoy going to school, not because of what they learn
there, but because they get grades that make them feel superior to some
of their peers. They need to understand that grades and first-place
standings and passing tests are all the reward they'll get from their
education. John Ruskin said, 'They cram to pass their tests, instead of
to really learn. The result is that they do pass, but they don't know.' The lasting joy of real
Knowledge only comes to people who love Knowledge for the sake of
knowing, not to those who use knowledge only as a way to get good
grades or to advance themselves in life.
All
People have Powers of Mind
There's a lot more we could say about the House of Mind, but this is
probably enough for now. In reading about Intellect, Imagination, the
Sense of Beauty, the Desires and the rest, you might have been amazed
and surprised to recognize that all of those things are a part of your
own self. It's even more interesting and surprising to realize that
these same amazing abilities and possibilities are a part of even the
underprivileged kids living on the streets, to a lesser or greater
degree. The degree varies because the more of these things that our
parents and grandparents had, the more we will probably have, too--they
can be hereditary, although that's not always the case. But, except in
the tragic case of the mentally challenged, no child was ever
born who wasn't gifted with these great possibilities to some degree,
whether his parents were civilized or savages. And that's a good reason
for us to give every person in the world the opportunity to be
pg 80
everything they were born to be!
Managing
Our Thoughts
We don't have to let this knowledge of ourselves be like a burden we
carry on our backs. Once we learn something, it will come to our mind
when we need it. We don't have to strive to keep it in mind constantly.
For instance, you don't have to constantly go around reminding
yourself, 'If I put my finger in the socket, I'll get shocked.' You
just know that's true, so you don't do such a foolish thing. In the
same way, once you understand the effects of only caring about what
grade you'll make, you'll naturally try to put your mind and interest
into your schoolwork for the sake of learning. That information isn't a
burden.
It immediately makes learning become more enjoyable. A king's castle is
no more of a bother to the king than a shepherd's cottage is to the
shepherd. Yes, the king has lots of treasures to take care of, and he
has to remember how to keep them safe, and how to use them and
appreciate them. But he has no trouble making the appropriate
arrangements, and everything gets taken care of without him having to
worry about it. That's the way it is with managing our thoughts. That's
all there is to it. Knowing that we have to manage our thoughts,
knowing that we're capable of doing it, knowing when and how to
interfere with our thought process--this isn't everything, but I think
it's half the battle.
pg 81
PART III - The House of Heart
Lords Of The Heart: I. Love
Chapter
1 - The Ways Of Love
The
Lords of the House of Heart
Every Mansoul is born into the world, not just with Rulers in his House
of Mind, but also Rulers in his House of Heart. Their job is to bring
him happiness. Nobody can be happy all by himself, therefore, their job
includes helping him to bring joy to others. The two Lords of the House
of Heart are Love and Justice.
Love
Like any king, Love has his own Lords in Waiting. They are sympathy,
good will,
empathy, thoughtfulness, magnanimity, thankfulness, bravery,
faithfulness, modesty, and cheerfulness. Have you ever thrown a stone
into the water and watched the circles it makes ripple outward? They
spread all the way to the shores, and affect even the land on the
farthest side. The most distant ripples become so faint that they're
barely noticeable, but the ones closest to the stone are easy to see.
That's the way our love is.
pg 82
Our home is the center, where our love begins. From there, our love
widens until it includes everyone. Nobody except Jesus ever knew how
much he could love, or how much he could do for love. But the soldier
who
risks his life where the fighting is the hardest to rescue his friend,
or the mother who tends to her sick child and wishes she could give her
own life to make him feel better, or the nurse who sacrifices her body
and soul to help sick people -- these people have a taste of how much
love there is in a human heart.
False
Loves - Self-Love
There are lots of imitation loves going around, ready to take control
of the House of Heart and usurping the rightful lord. We know what it's
like to be demanding, selfish, and jealous with the people we love
most, even our own mothers, and call it love. And it is love, but it's
Self-love, the crudest, lowest kind of love there is. Yet it has its
place and is necessary and proper to make sure we take care of our own
lives, things and interests. If we didn't have Self-love, we'd become a
burden and a bother to others. But too much isn't good. A person who
only loves himself and thinks only (or mostly) of his own interests,
pleasures and gain is called a selfish person. His mind is so
preoccupied with his own feelings and matters that he doesn't have time
to think about anyone else. He doesn't give much love, and he doesn't
deserve to get much in return. But, sad to say, there's often a mother,
sister, wife or a friend who showers great love on him, and endures a
lot of hurt because of him. It's comforting to know that, in these
cases, it's the one who loves who's happier, not
pg 83
the one who receives love and gives no love back. The person who loves,
lives in the kingdom of God every day, but the person on the receiving
end doesn't. One kind of selfishness isn't as easy to spot as the
person
who only thinks about his own fun and comfort. It's the person who
selfishly makes demands all the time on those who love him. He wants
their time, their thoughts, all of their attention, and always insists
that they be with him. If he doesn't get the attention and affection he
demands, then he gets irritable, offended and jealous. He imagines that
he acts this way because he loves his friend so much. But the truth is,
he loves himself so much that nobody, whether it be his mother or a
friend, can meet his standard for the love and consideration that he
thinks he deserves.
Philandering
Another false love likes to kiss and hug and touch and always be with
the person he loves at the moment. Kissing and hugging are appropriate
ways to express true love in the right time and place, but they don't
constitute love by themselves. They aren't even always necessary in
love. But some people spend their whole lives philandering, first in
love with one person, then another. They're really indulging their
lust, not real love. Lust can't survive on the signs of real love.
Love is a pearl of great price hidden within every heart. But, since so
many people pass off counterfeits to themselves and their friends, it's
a good idea to learn to recognize real love when we see it, or when we
think we feel it.
Real
Love Delights in the Other Person's Goodness
Love delights in the person it loves. It's natural for humans to
delight in what's good. The
pg 84
hearts of even the most savage and degraded people have been won over
this way. They've watched lives of goodness, unselfishness and beauty
lived in front of them day in and day out, and those lives have drawn
them because it's part of their nature to be drawn to goodness.
Finally, they've given the love and reverence in their own hearts to
the person whose goodness brought them so much joy. It isn't just that
the person was good to them. In some cases, they never had a personal
word or even a look. But someone was watching them, thinking, and
finally loved them back. Maybe some day we'll know the full stories of
all of the heroic soldiers and missionaries, the saints, who did
good things simply because they themselves were good. Right now, we
only know about a few--St. Francis of Assisi, Elizabeth Fry, General
Charles George Gordon. Any time we hear that someone has been
raised from a degraded life to civility, whether they're from a
civilized country or a third-world country, we can be sure that it's
because they saw somebody living a holy life in front of them. More
than
anything else, Love delights in the goodness of the person it loves. It
would never for any price make its beloved be less loving to everyone,
less dutiful, or less useful in service to others. Influencing his
friend to do something unworthy would seem to Love like burning his
house down around his head.
Love
Seeks the Happiness of his Friend
Love always wants the one he loves to be happy. He would never make his
friend uneasy by being annoyed, sullen, jealous or distrustful.
Love
Seeks to Be Worthy
Love tries to be worthy of the person he loves. In the same way that
his friend's goodness brings him joy, he himself will try to be a
better person to make his friend happy.
Love
Wants to Serve
Again, Love wants to
pg 85
give and serve. The specific gifts and service will depend on the age
and position of the friends. A child's gift might be obedience. A
parent's gift might be a wise rebuke. In both cases, Love makes it a
priority to offer service. The Apostle says, 'Don't love in word or
tongue, but in deeds and truth. That might be phrased, 'Don't be
content to merely express love in words or hugs, but show your love by
serving and trusting.' Any Love that doesn't trust is either misplaced,
or unworthy. There are other signs of love, but these signs are evident
in all true love, whether it's between a parent and child, two friends,
married lovers, or those who work to ease the suffering of the degraded
and distressed, and those they help. Notice the word 'degraded.' It
means literally, 'to step down.' It's really a hopeful word because, if
it's possible to step down, then it's possible to step back up again,
too. Every heart has all the great possibilities of Love. To touch that
potential in another heart, one has to give Love from their own heart.
Animosity
But in every Mansoul, both ours and everyone else's, there are opposing
possibilities. We're calling those opposing qualities demons of the possibility. We're
all capable of being warm and friendly, and liking and loving other
people. We're all also capable of being distant, hostile, disliking and
even hating others. Why? There's a hint in the old joke from Punch magazine: 'He's a stranger,
let's throw a brick at him!' We often dislike people because we don't
know them. The best way to get over that is to think about the person
and try to imagine things from their point of view. If we do that,
we'll find things about that person to kindle friendly feelings in us.
It's unusual to feel real hatred, and it's usually
pg 86
caused from feeling resentful about being hurt. We need to try to
remember that there's one part of The Lord's Prayer that's conditional:
'Forgive us our trespasses, as we
forgive them that trespass against us.' There's nothing in our
strength that lets us forgive. It's only when we're in the love and
presence of God that we can forgive past hurts. When we forgive
someone, that's a way of showing love.
Before we consider the specific ways that love is manifested, let's
think about Love's wonderful Lords in Waiting.
pg 87
Chapter
2 - Love's Lords In Waiting: Pity
Heroes
of Pity
Have you ever seen a baby pat his caregiver's face to make her feel
better, or hug his kitten and say, 'Poor kitty!' after stepping on its
tail? That's because there's a little wellspring of Pity in every
baby's heart. That doesn't mean that the baby won't pull the kitty's
tail to see what happens--but that's only because he's curious and
wants to know. If you can make him understand that it hurts the kitty,
he'll be sad and say, 'Poor kitty!' A little girl might come home and
cry in her room because she saw a strange dog being beaten. Pity wells
up from her heart into her eyes, and makes tears. I know a little girl
who could never bear to listen to the story of Joseph in the pit.
Sometimes little boys are too dignified to cry, but they might run from
the room during a tragic story, or a sad sight, because they're afraid
they might feel like crying if they stayed. When people get older, they
often have too much self-control to cry. But even if they don't
actually cry, when they see someone suffering or something sad, they
still feel a pain in their hearts. That's the pain of Pity. Pity's job
seems to be to inspire us to help people who are suffering. Many
tender-hearted people have been so filled with Pity that they've given
up their lives to comfort and help the people who are suffering. You
may have heard of one Hero of Sympathy named
pg 88
Father Damien,
who gave up everything in his comfortable life so that he could help
and comfort the suffering lepers on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. Or
E. J. Peck,
the 'loneliest man in Queen Victoria's dominion.' He left his family to
share the love of God with the Innuit people of Alaska. If we think
long and hard about any suffering people, until their suffering feels
real to us, we'll have a sick pain in our hearts until we can find a
way to ease their pain. The thousands and thousands of noble martyrs
gave up everything they had in life to serve suffering people because
they took thought of them until they had to do something. Sometimes one
of these noble Heroes of Pity will work and care all day and night to
care for just one suffering person. Sometimes their heart will be
filled with the suffering of many poor people. Sometimes the
person who needs a great act of service will be a stranger. Sometimes
it will be our own father or mother, or sister, or perhaps our own
child. There are
many, many people suffering in this happy yet tragic world. But, thanks
to God, there are also many people who feel Pity enough to help.
Idle
Sympathy
I said that Pity's job is to inspire us to help. But there are some
people who enjoy the luxury of feeling sympathy without ever being
bothered to do anything about it. They say, 'That's so sad!' and might
even shed a tear or two when they hear the sad news, but they won't
lift a finger to do a thing to help the suffering person. In fact, such
a person generally prefers to feel sympathy for imaginary people who
don't need any help. They enjoy crying over a tragic book or movie.
These people are rather pleased with themselves because they think they
have sensitive hearts. But their tears are like springs in limestone
that coat everything soft
pg 89
with stone. Every inclination to feel sympathy that doesn't result in
some kind of action to help will add to forming a heart of stone. The
most difficult people to convince to help are the ones who allow
themselves the luxury of empty sympathy.
Self-Pity
There's another kind of people who have a strong, active inclination to
Pity, but their sympathy is all given to one thing. No sorrow or pain
or concern outside of that one object can move them. These are the
people who feel sorry for themselves. Anything that happens to them is
enough reason for them to be filled with self-pity. They feel sorry for
themselves because their tooth hurts, or because they don't have blond
hair, or because they're not pretty enough to be noticed, or because
they're tall and clumsy, or because they always have to get up too
early, or because breakfast isn't just what they wanted, or because
their sibling gets something they don't, or because someone they admire
doesn't notice them or says something like 'Hurry up,' or 'sit up
straight,' or something else they don't like. They feel like these
things are unbearable, and the poor pitiful person goes around all day
with a long face. As they get older, they complain about all kinds of
friends who offended them, neglected them, or misunderstood them. A
person who feels sorry for himself thinks that 'nobody understands'
them. Even if they're reasonably healthy, they may become a
hypochondriac who has a pain here, or a feeling there, and they
complain about every detail to the doctor constantly. The doctor might
have sympathy for this unhappy patient. He knows that the real problem
is more serious than the person even imagines. It's Self-Pity, and he
has no medicine for that, although he might prescribe bottles of water
or placebo pills to humor the person. You might feel like laughing at
pg 90
such a sad state of mind, but the Demon of Self-Pity is actually a
dangerous enemy. Self-Pity has made many people, even some who seem so
strong and good, waste their whole lives brooding over some imagined or
magnified distress. No resident in the House of Heart has alienated
more friends or done more to steal the joys of life.
How
We Can Defend Ourselves
Our defense is two-fold. First, we should never let ourselves dwell on
something that hurts or is uncomfortable. When we're sick or have a
pain, it's up to us to keep our minds well and joyful. There are some
people who are suffering a lot, but they can still be cheerful and
comforting enough to be the mainstay of their home. We have to be even
more careful not to let our minds revisit any incident that offended
us, whether it was intended or not. We can't even let ourselves think
about it for an instant. A minor little thing can be blown out of
proportion in our minds so much, that, like a dime held up so that it
blots out the sun, we can't see our friend's love and kindness. It can
blot out entire happiness, and shut us up in a cold, dark prison of
oppressive discontent. If we never allow ourselves to reflect on minor
annoyances, we'll be able to handle big ones gracefully. If we don't
dwell on small pains, our great pains will be easier to endure.
The other way to defend ourselves against idle pity is even more
effective. We can spend our time thinking of others. We can be quick to
notice their needs and sufferings, and be ready to help. It's
impossible for our minds to be absorbed with two things at the same
time. If our thoughts are busy considering others, both near and far
away, in our own family or in another country, then we won't have the
time or inclination to feel sorry for ourselves.
pg 91
Chapter
3 - Love's Lords In Waiting: Goodwill
'Change
the World, or Accept It'
Normally, people talk about benevolence as if it means nothing more
than giving money or help to needy people. But it's possible to give a
lot of help without being benevolent, and it's also possible to be
benevolent without giving a lot of financial help. Benevolence means
having Goodwill towards everyone. The wise emperor Marcus Aurelius
described the lowest form of Goodwill: 'Men were born to serve one
another. So, either change the world, or accept it.' The very least we
can do for the world is to accept it. 'The
world' means people,
including people we like. But Goodwill lets us accept the people
who annoy us, and even to sincerely like them. There's probably nobody
that we couldn't like if we knew everything about him, because all
people are born with the same good qualities of the Heart and Mind that
we've been talking about, some more, some less. Although the best part
of a person's real nature might be buried inside him like a diamond
buried under a pile of garbage, it's never too late to clean away the
trash and recover the diamond. Even a depraved criminal might have a
wife who loves him. She
pg 92
doesn't love his depravity, but she can see the possibilities for good
and beauty within him.
A
Person is More Than His Faults
People who have Goodwill understand that glaring faults and
annoying habits don't make up the real person any more than sun spots
make up the sun itself. Therefore, it's not difficult to put up with
his faults. Even better, he tries to correct his faults while at the
same time, giving the same genuine affection or love to the person as
if he didn't have those faults. That's the kind of Goodwill that
parents have for their children, and that brothers and sisters have for
each other, that friends owe to friends, neighbors to neighbors--and,
as the circle widens, we all ought to have for all the people we come
in contact with, and everyone whose work and ways we come across.
Goodwill doesn't call a builder rude names when his door won't shut
right, or his window won't open. He understands that the builder is
probably well-intentioned deep down, but isn't accustomed to making the
most of himself. So he's satisfied to do slipshod work. The gaping door
and the window that won't budge inspire Goodwill to raise the level of
people in general so that other builders will aim higher and turn out
better work.
Goodwill
Stays Busy
Goodwill is no sloth! He can patiently put up with things done
incorrectly, and bad manners that he doesn't like. But he can't
possibly
leave people alone who do the wrong thing. He cares too much about them
to see them ruin themselves with one fault or another. He can't watch
people grow up in ignorance, and can't tolerate sickness or suffering
or loneliness anywhere in
pg 93
the world. So his hands and heart are always busy with some kind of
helpful work.
As you can see, Goodwill does many things, but wherever he looks, his
expression is the same. Goodwill is always gracious, sincere, pleasant,
and approachable. He genuinely likes all people--grown-ups, children,
male or female. He's inexhaustible, too. With so many friends with so
many needs, there's always something for him to do. But he enjoys
everything he does, so it's not hard for him to smile as he goes along.
Goodwill's
Enemies
What a wonderful place the world would be if the wellspring of Goodwill
was free to spring up unhindered in every human heart! But a whole
league of Demons hinder every movement that Goodwill makes. There's the
tendency to be too particular and offended by anything that's
different than what we're used to. Hypersensitivity is always looking
for any reason to resent offenses and insults, no matter how minor or
how unintentional. Faultfinder is always nearby, ready to disapprove
and blame without attempting to help correct the fault.
Selfishness is ready to fill up the whole heart so that not even a
corner is left to be concerned for others. Laziness is there to replace
Goodwill with easy, agreeable Good Nature, who is happy with
everything, as long as he doesn't have to take the trouble to do
anything. Tolerance is just as easy and agreeable with opinions as Good
Nature is with actions. To tolerate, or put up with, the principles and
opinions that guide people's very lives is not Goodwill, it's
Indifference. Real Goodwill is unbiased and fair-minded to other
people's thoughts, not indifferent.
pg 94
The
Peace of Goodwill
Goodwill does so many things that we can only take time to mention a
few of them. But it's good to understand that it means, at the very
least, active Goodwill towards everyone. When we realize this, the
angels' message of 'Peace on earth
and Goodwill towards men of Goodwill' will mean more to us.
pg 95
Chapter
4 - Love's Lords In Waiting: Sympathy
Sympathy is a Lord of the Heart who gets a bad rap. People think that
he's sentimental and that he goes around wiping people's tears and
soothing their distresses. They think that's all he does. But sympathy
has deep understanding. He has great joy, even though he sometimes has
great sadness. Understanding another human being so completely that you
can feel what he's feeling and think what he's thinking is like taking
possession of a whole new world! It's like being able to live the life
of
another person. It's as if the heart expanded and you could understand
what it must feel like to have as much full comprehension as God's
angels.
Every once in a while, we find almost perfect sympathy with another
person, and we let ourselves become exclusive. We know that one person,
but nobody else. But that makes the gift of sympathy, which should be
used for the good of others, something selfish. Every trait we discover
and come to understand in a person should be used as a key to
understand the same trait in others. If we discover that our words have
the power to hurt that person, or a look can wound them, then we should
use that knowledge to spur us to be kind and careful in the way we deal
with other people. We never know
pg 96
how much power our words or actions have to hurt others. Can you think
of even one person whose heart is touched by a noble thought, or whose
eyes mist over when they hear about some act of heroism? That should
prove that those kinds of things have the power to move the human
heart. And our response should be to give freely from the best of
ourselves that we have to offer. We shouldn't entertain the notion that
such-and-such a person wouldn't understand. If music or poetry or art
gives us joy, then we shouldn't hesitate to share those things with
others. After all, people are made pretty much alike, although their
experiences in life are different. A speaker who understands how
Empathy works will speak in a way that appeals to the generosity,
delicacy, courage, and loyalty of the whole crowd, even though they're
all
different sorts of people. And he does touch their hearts. His own
Empathy and understanding has recognized that something noble and good
dwells within the heart of each person, no matter how unlikely the
crowd may look. And his speech works like a magic key that unlocks the
tree imprisoning the spirit Ariel, and the beautiful part of the human
spirit rises up from the prison deep within the heart.
Raising
the Bar
Empathy is like an eye that really notices others, or like
encouragement that elevates, or
like a strong, sustaining arm to lean on and keep a person from
falling. The great
thinkers (poets and artists) and doers (heroes) have done a wonderful
thing for their world. They have put out feelers to find and draw out
our Empathy. We sometimes say that a picture or poem or heroic deed
'finds us.' We find ourselves thinking the same thought, or reliving
that heroic act, and we feel strengthened and inspired. We owe the same
kind of Empathy to every human being, whether far or near. If we have
anything noble and good within us, let's offer it with the confidence
of knowing that others will respond. If we hesitate and don't give this
Empathy because we suspect that everyone around us is thinking petty,
unworthy thoughts, or doing immoral, mean things and can't do any
better, then we'll find ourselves getting what we expect. Although we
may not realize it, we end up
pg 97
giving our Empathy to what's corrupt and suspicious in others, and that
confirms and strengthens the corruption in them. And, at the same time,
we're locking ourselves into the habit of harsh, narrow thinking, and
stingy, callous living.
Virtue
Goes Out of Us
The power to see, elevate and sustain is the highest job Empathy has.
Even when it's the sadness, worry or pain of others that arouses it, we
can't forget Empathy's highest office. We need to see the disaster from
the perspective of the person suffering, and feel his pain, although
not as keenly as he feels it himself. If we don't suffer, then we have
nothing to give. The Bible says that 'virtue went out of Him' as Jesus
healed. It's only as the virtue of our honor, strength and vitality go
out of us, that we have the ability to help and heal.
Imitation
Empathy
There's an imitation kind of empathy that's common among those who
give, and those who receive. In fact, it can be used to gain
popularity. This is the kind of empathy that sees, but not deep enough.
It sees that the ego of the person suffering might be soothed in the
same way that a caregiver soothes a toddler who just bumped his head on
the table. She says, 'Naughty table!' and knocks over the table! In the
same way, a false empathizer blames the source of the suffering and
makes the person even more ineffective by offering weak pity and making
him feel sorry for himself just when he needs strength to fortify
himself. Self-pity is possibly the final blow of misfortune that can
fall on a man. It
degrades empathy to make the person suffering aware of his own pain
instead of raising him above it. That's even worse than the callousness
that tries to get the suffering person to buck up and brace himself.
It's also more dangerous - at least callousness is more easily
recognized before it can do much harm.
pg 98
Tact
Tact is almost like another word for empathy. Both words are related to
using our hearts to see things from another person's point of view.
Tact recognizes that a harsh word will be hurtful, or that a certain
gesture will offend, or that a word of sympathy will seem like prying.
Tact knows when a smile and kind look are better than words. Tact is
often learned with good upbringing, but the most genuine tact is the
expression of empathy that only comes from understanding what's going
on in another person's mind. Tact works with the other minor
parts of empathy - active interest in what others are doing and
interested in, and a readiness to provide a listening ear. An
attentive,
friendly listener can be the most needed kind of empathy. He's able to
raise and sustain the person he's listening to. Just by listening, he
can increase the self-respect of a person who's just accomplished
something, or seen something, or suffered something that he needs to
talk about. Listening is a true act of service. Every one of us, 'even
the youngest,' thinks too little of ourselves and we tend to lack the
confidence and courage to act on the possibilities inside us. A good
listener can encourage others.
Demons
Related to Empathy
We can't go into all the parts of Empathy, but we need to mention a few
of the demons that threaten it. The worst one is fatal. It's the
self-occupation that comes from Ego. When a person is focused on
himself, his rights, his needs, what he wants, his abilities, or his
lack of ability, his achievements or failures, his value or
worthlessness, then he's like a goblet that's already full. He has no
room to have Empathy for anyone else. The passive form of Ego is
Indifference. Some of its active forms are self-seeking Vanity,
Dislike, and Animosity.
pg 99
Chapter
5 - Love's Lords In Waiting: Thoughtfulness
'The best part of a good man's life
Are the little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love.'
--from Wordsworth
It's interesting that a great poet should put so much importance on
little acts of thoughtfulness in a good man's life. Thoughtfulness is
another Lord of the Heart. I once knew a child who wasn't even old
enough to talk yet, but was kind enough to pull up a chair and pat it
for a visitor to sit down. Even unschooled natives of third-world
countries have kind impulses of thoughtfulness.
Thoughtfulness
Makes Life Pleasant for Others
Thoughtfulness is universal. You'd think that Sympathy, Goodwill and
Empathy would cover everything. If those were all there in the heart,
then thoughtfulness should be a given. But there's a strange thing
about human nature. The best way I can describe it is inertia. It makes
even a sympatheitic, benevolent, caring person slow to do the kind of
little everyday routine things that thoughtfulness is concerned about.
Thoughtfulness's job is simply to make everyday life more pleasant and
comfortable for others, even when those others are only the pets that
we
feed and care for, or our dog
pg 100
who likes to be played with and taken for walks, or our horse that
needs not only food and care but encouragement from a friendly touch
and word. Our family and friends, both rich and poor, provide lots of
opportunities to be thoughtful. A thoughtful person might be described
as
courteous, kind, accomodating or considerate. His thoughtfulness is
shown in a kind word, or by knowing when not to speak, or by his
manner, his attention, what he says, or what he does.
The
Kindness of Courtesy
British people sometimes think that what we do doesn't matter, as long
as our hearts are right. So we sometimes miss the opportunity to do a
kindness or courtesy. We adopt a congenial but distant manner that's
really aloof, and can therefore be painful and a little unkind. We also
neglect routine gestures of courteous greetings. It's good to see
Germans or Danish errand boys tip their hats to each other, or
schoolboys, or porters and washerwomen, without any sense of
awkwardness. But in England, we've gotten into a bad national habit.
This might be one area where both rich and poor can meet. Both share an
unconscious struggle for social status, so both should be able to
afford to be forthright, considerate, gracious and couteous to anyone
in their path.
Singlemindedness
Singlemindedness is a specific kind of thoughtfulness. A person can
only be kind and thoughtful when their attention is focused on the
person they're being kind to, and there's no watching for a
response. All kinds of things have been written and said about kind
actions like getting slippers and footstools, or giving flowers, etc.
There's even one method of encouraging children
pg 101
to perform acts of thoughtfulness by keeping count of how many
considerate things they do in a day. But that ruins it. The very
essence of an act of kindness is that it should be done and then
forgotten. It goes without saying that we shouldn't mention an act of
kindness that we did to the person or to anyone else. But even more
important, let's not keep score by thinking, 'I did a thoughtful thing
for such-and-such, and now look at the way he rewards me for it!' And
we can't think that we can cancel out a kindness done for us by
reciprocating and doing a favor. Worst of all is to expect that, if we
do something for a person, they owe us some great favor, and then act
put out and ungracious if our kindness isn't paid back or even
recognized. How can we escape these pitfalls of thoughtfulness? By
being single-minded so that we don't even know that we're doing
anything unusually kind. It isn't just the poor who are meant when
Jesus said, 'Don't let your right hand know what your left hand is
doing.'
Everyone has kind intentions.
'People are so precious to humans! Even the poorest person
Longs for some moments in his miserable life
When he can know and feel like he's truly been
Himself by being a giver and dealer
Of some small blessing, and been kind to someone
Who needed kindness.'
--from Wordsworth
Thoughtfulness
in Interpretation
The greatest, sweetest and most generous kind of thoughtfulness is
possibly the one we never think about. I'm taking about kindness in how
we construe another person's meaning. We can always take someone else's
words, actions and motives in one of two ways. Human nature is so
contradictory that both ways may be equally accurate. The difference is
in the way we interpret
pg 102
the other person's thoughts. We can give them the benefit of doubt and
think generously of their thoughts. For instance, an awkward action or
comment might just be clumsiness rather than lack of kindness. If
we give the benefit of the doubt, we'll probably be right, which is
only fair to the person. What if we're wrong? Assuming the best of
intentions will have a two-fold effect. It will be more effective than
any criticism at convicting him of unkindness. It will also stir up the
good feelings within himself that we already credited him with. Of all
the causes for unhappiness, the most upsetting is the habit of thinking
the worst of the people we live with. Even good people fall into that
habit. One bad result of this kind of thinking, especially with young
people who are influenced by what their peers think of them, is that
they think they'll get laughed at if they act on a kind impulse. So
they don't act when they feel an impulse to do something thoughtful.
Thoughtfulness that's single-minded in its focus doesn't worry about
those things. It doesn't second guess and assume everyone thinks
they're silly if they act on a kind impulse. It's not always easy to
'be ye kind,' but--
'All worldly pleasures amount to less
Than the joy of doing one kindness.'
--from Herbert
pg 103
Chapter
6 - Love's Lords In Waiting: Magnanimity
Everyone
Has Gracious Impulses
At first glance, it seems like gracious magnanimity doesn't exist in a
lot
of people. We only notice it in the most noble souls. But we are
deceived. All of England was delirious with joy because a siege in the
little South African town of Mafeking ended. People forget their own
concerns, plans, worries, annoyances, even their hunger, cold and
physical needs when they're seemingly warmed and fed by a public joy,
or, in other cases, softened and saddened by a public sorrow. That's
because all people are stirred by what's called a generous impulse. It's a feeling of
magnanimity that allows them to live outside of their own lives, even
if it's only for a moment. One time I heard a magnanimous lecture about
a great poet given to a crowd of thousands of people from different
walks of
life. The comments people made on their way out were interesting. One
man said, with a choke in his voice, 'You know, that man had us in the
palm of his hand. He could lead us on any crusade he wanted!' He was
right. And that's how all noble, world-changing movements have started,
such as the Crusades, or the anti-slavery war in America. A thought
pg 104
was spoken that awakened a magnanimous impulse that's common to all
humans. It's natural for magnanimity to bring forth, and to give, at
the cost of suffering and deprivation, whether it's a little or a lot.
It's not magnanimous to give what we don't want and what we'll never
miss. That's merely good natured. It can't even be called kindness
unless it came from a real thought about the needs of someone else.
Abounding
Trust and Faith in Others
Magnanimity at its best, and with a certain flavor added, is called
Enthusiasm. We'll discuss enthusiasm later. It may help in our
understanding
of this virtue if we clarify that it's often more accurately called
magnanimity when it refers to the nobleness of the mind, and it's
called generosity when it refers to a largeness of heart. A
generous-hearted person has gracious, warm thoughts about life and the
people around him. He could never bitterly condemn entire groups of
people because of their race, language, politics, social class or
religion. He has no patience for the base smart aleck who tells jokes
that make fun of a whole class of people [such as lawyer jokes?] He has
no
patience for the kind of experienced 'wisdom' that's so suspicious that
it expects to be defrauded or cheated by everyone. In the end, a
magnanimous person finds
that he's the one with the wisdom of the world. Because he's able to be
fair and generous, he's able to live his whole life with no hard
lessons
learned from the sin and cheating of others. At the same time, if he
only has five dollars, he spends it freely, with no anxiety about what
he'll do when it's gone. It's his trust and faith in others, rather
than how much he has to share, that distinguishes a generous,
magnanimous person.
pg 105
Generosity
is Costly, but It Has Its Own Reward
In the same way, when it comes to his friends and neighbors, he doesn't
keep track to make sure that everyone gives him what he thinks he has
coming to him of their time, kindness, or service. He allows them to
decide for themselves what they'll do. And most people respond well to
that kind of trust. Don't confuse this with the careless kind of
thinking that allows anything. That is often a lack of self-respect
that causes people to crave popularity. A magnanimous person will have
all different kinds of people as friends. He has something interesting
to say to various levels of intellect, and can find something in common
with almost anyone. He's interested in lots of different things. and
he's open-minded. No matter what he gets interested in, he's
enthusiastic and ready to give it his all.
Generosity is costly because it's always giving, whether it's from the
heart or from the wallet. Yet it pays great reward. After all, the
Bible says, 'Give, and it shall be given unto you in good measure,
pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall men give into
your bosom.' It's a blessing to be a magnanimous person, too. A
generous person doesn't let minor problems, worries or annoyances get
to him. He goes around in a state of calm. There are so many important
things to be concerned about that he doesn't have time for the petty
ones. And he has a lot of important concerns in mind, since whatever
concerns others concerns him, too. But, since his concerns are warm and
glowing concerns of the heart, they are distributed appropriately. He
divides his cares between his intimates and the rest of the world. His
heart is touched by both, but he reserves his deepest care for those
closest to him. He doesn't pretend to love other countries as much as
he loves his own, and he doesn't try to make himself feel the same
affection for the kids down the street as he feels for his own children.
pg 106
False
Ideas that Restrain Generosity
I've been talking about how a generous person acts, but really,
generosity isn't limited to just a few magnanimous-disposed people.
Generosity is alive in each of us, ready to help us live a life full of
warmth and openness. But certain false assumptions and petty tendencies
can keep generosity confined in the prison of our hearts, unless some
chance fortunate comment or situation inspires us to let him loose.
When this happens to an entire community at the same time, people
become alarmed and wonder if the whole world has lost its mind. But
what's happened is that we've suddenly burst out into freedom of life
and loosed the shackles that we're used to.
'Every person should take care of his own business' is a false notion
that comes to people with a strong sense of duty, and the realization
that they're limited in how much they can help outside of their own
family. This kind of person shuts out the great, wide world's problems,
and becomes obsessed with the petty problems and details of his own
private world. It's true that we should take care of ourselves. If we
don't, then we become unworthy and a drain to our society's resources
by abdicating our duty and burdening someone else with it. The secret
is to focus fully on our own business when that's what we're supposed
to be doing, whether it's an outside job or our own daily schedule. But
when our work is done, we should consider it wasteful to pay even a
moment's notice to that work. That time should rightfully be spent
considering the concerns of the world outside of ourselves. Whatever
our job is in life, even if it's the tedious drudgery of maintaining a
family, we'll do it better if we discipline ourselves and focus our
attention on the right thing at the right time. That will make us a
better, more open and broad-minded person. And, let's face it, the
fuller a person we are, the more effective we'll be at getting our work
done.
'Every man for himself, and heaven helps those who help themselves' is
another false notion that imprisons our mind in a narrow cell.
pg 107
It isn't every man for himself. It's wise to get out of ourselves and
involve ourselves in the wide current of human life in all of its
conditions and types of people. That's what we should be focusing on.
Another false notion that's usually unspoken but worse than the others
is the secret belief that everybody else is worse than we are and is
therefore unworthy of our help. It seems shocking to see it put into
words, but how else can we explain why we think that one person is out
to cheat us, and another wants to offend us, while we ourselves have no
intention of doing such things to them? Why do we expect to be slighted
or deceived when we know we'd never do that to someone else? It's more
generous to have some faith in others, to trust freely, and expect the
best of contractors, people who serve us, our friends and neighbors,
people we work for, and those who work for us.
'Be noble! Then, the nobility that lies
Dormant in others, asleep but not dead,
Will rise up heroically to meet your own!'
--from Lowell
pg 108
Chapter
7 - Love's Lords In Waiting: Gratitude
The
Pleasure of a Grateful Heart
Gratitude ought to help us live more joyfully and happily than any
other Lord of the Heart. It's so good and cheering to be grateful! The
joy doesn't come from the favor or kindness that was bestowed on us out
of goodwill and love. The joy is that something beautiful has sprung up
from the beautiful heart of someone else for us. Our joy in that other
person's character gives us more delight than any pleasure we might
derive from mere favors. But, too often, we miss this joy. We're too
absorbed in our own selves to be aware of a kindness. Or we're so
pleased with ourselves that we assume that any kindness is only what we
deserve and have coming to us. Young people tend to accept the
abundant, overflowing kindnesses of their parents as routine and
common. So they miss the double joy they could have if they recognized
the love in a hug, or a nice comment, or a special look, or something
specially arranged for them. Parents often do so many little things
above and beyond their obligation as dutiful parents. Kindness is like
a flower that blooms when you aren't even looking for it. Being on the
alert to notice these 'flowers' of kindness can add
pg 109
to the joy we experience in our relationships with other people. It can
add to our comfort and happiness in being taken care of. Let's say you
go to the little corner market, and the clerk, who knows you by now,
adds a little gift to your bag of groceries. Perhaps it's a nice look
of recognition, or a cheerful greeting, or maybe a question that shows
he's interested in you and your family. It might be nothing more than a
friendly smile, but you have a pleasant bond of human relations with
him because he was kind to you. There are two possible responses to
this. One response is to imagine that you're so important that it's
natural for clerks and people to show you special attention. Or, you
might walk away with a lighter heart that's grateful, and takes away
more than it came in with.
A
Grateful Heart Gives a Full Return
Life would be dull and lack the flowers of kindness if we didn't get
more than we could ever pay for with money, or repay with favors. But a
grateful heart pays a good dividend because it gets paid with rejoicing
in the gift and the giver.
There are times when formal thanks are appropriate, but that's not the
only way to show gratefulness. A glance, a smile, or a heartfelt word
of appreciation and recognition will fill the other person and give
them something back for their kindness that brought us so much
pleasure. But we shouldn't bother giving thanks if it isn't simple and
sincere. It should be simple in the way that we focus on the other
person's kindness instead of ourselves. And it should be sincere in
saying only what we feel and no more, or sincere enough not to belabor
the point by pretending to love a gift that isn't of value to us.
Instead, we should focus on the other person.
pg 110
The
Shame of Ingratitude
There's an old story about a city who decided that ingratitude was the
worst of all crimes. They were practical people, so they set up a bell
in an open but remote place so that anyone who experienced ingratitude
could ring it. As time went on, the bell became forgotten. Maybe the
people were extra careful not to commit this offense. But one day, the
bell rang! The whole city rushed out to see who was ringing the bell,
and who the ungrateful accused person was. As it turned out, a donkey
had been
grazing and got his foot caught in the bell rope. As he tried to move
to nibble on what little grass was in the area, the bell pealed. At
first, everyone laughed. But then they noticed the condition of the
donkey. He was almost too weak to stand. The people asked each other,
'Whose donkey is this?' They asked around until they found the owner.
The owner confessed that he had owned the donkey for many years, and
the donkey had served him well. But then he got too weak to be useful,
so he had turned the poor donkey out to make out as best he could on
his own. The citizens decided that the donkey had been justified in
ringing the bell, and they made the abusive owner pay the fine and keep
his donkey. Using other people and making them serve us is ungrateful.
A grateful person has a good memory and an observant eye. He knows when
people who have helped him need his help in turn. He especially values
the people who were kind and helpful to him when he was a child. He
watches for an opportunity to repay their kindness.
Gratitude is ready to rejoice and give thanks for gifts he receives,
even if the gift came from someone who wasn't thinking especially of
him. In fact, the person who gave the gift may have died hundreds of
years
pg 111
earlier. He can be thankful for a delightful or helpful book, or a
great painting, or a beautiful day, or the face of a small child, or
pleasant work, or enjoyable places. As Jeremy Taylor said, he is quick
to 'notice the pleasure in whatever he's doing.' He's thankful for
whatever good comes his way. The pathetic person who thinks that
everything he gets is merely what he's entitled to, and that nobody can
ever give him more than he has a fair right to, is to be pitied. He
misses a lot of joy, and he causes himself a lot of pain and annoyance
as he goes through life. 'Yes, it's a happy and pleasant thing to be
thankful.'
pg 112
Chapter
8 - Love's Lords In Waiting: Courage
All
Of Us Have Courage
The word courage comes from the days when the elite spoke Norman
French, and nobles valued chivalry. The Normans believed that Courage
was something in the heart, and the word reflects that. Courage meant
the whole character of a man. If a man didn't have Courage, then he
didn't have any qualities of manhood. We don't talk about it as much
anymore, but Courage is still an important Lord in the House of the
Heart. Courage should live inside every Mansoul, even the most timid
ones.
The
Courage to Attack
Even a sheep will be brave enough to attack to save her lamb. A bird
will refuse to leave her eggs even when a monster (man) is near. One
time a blue tomtit laid its eggs in a mailbox. Of course, people went
to see it. It was curious and amazing the way the little bird hissed at
the giant intruders! A toddler is brave enough to protect his pets.
Many loving mothers have been courageous enough to sacrifice themselves
to horrible deaths to save their babies. All of us have enough courage
to face any danger, any enemy, any kind of death, if we'd only believe
it. But, like all the other Lords of our Life, Courage
pg 113
has his own demons. They are Fear, Cowardice, Panic, and Anxiety.
The
Courage to Endure
Fear and his friends Panic and Anxiety, are always watching for the
moments when Courage is lulled to sleep by security. When we see the
heroic deeds that all kinds of men are capable of in war, we can begin
to understand that Courage is universal. In England, only those who
want to join the army. But men who are drafted show just as much
courage. It's just as possible for every man to be gripped by Fear and
to act on Panic that comes from Fear. An entire company that was
considered as brave as anyone else has been known to turn and flee from
the enemy.
The
Courage of Calmness
Not many of us will ever face the challenge of a battlefield. Yet a
battlefield isn't as challenging as the thousands of battles we all
face every day in our lives, and we have to face them by ourselves
without the moral support of an army. It takes more Courage to face the
loss of a leg at home because of an accident or sports injury. And the
kind of Courage it takes to face pain and disappointment with calm
endurance is something we all need. Everyone needs strength sometimes,
even if it's only in the dentist's chair! It's good to have confidence
and know that we have all the Courage we'll ever need to face whatever
may come our way - not because we're bolder than most people, but
because everyone is born with Courage, the Lord and Captain of the
Heart. Once we know that we have Courage, we need to be sure our
Courage doesn't fall asleep and betray us so that we panic in an
accident or when we see a wasp or a mouse. It's
pg 114
improper and inappropriate for anyone, no matter how young, to lose the
presence of mind when they're hurt or in danger. When we panic and lose
our heads, we lose the opportunity to be useful to others, and we
become a burden and make a spectacle of ourselves. Anxious fussing in
minor stresses, such as when traveling or during a small household
crisis, or pressure at work, is a form of panic. It's the fear that
things may not go well, or that something might be forgotten and not
get done. Instead of worrying, we should get a grip and remind
ourselves, 'It doesn't really matter. Any undue concern about things is
unworthy of us.' The only thing that really matters is people. The best
thing we can do is to be sure that one person keeps a cool head in a
crisis. Then we'll be sure that one person, at least, will be ready to
help.
The
Courage To Deal With Our Circumstances
The kind of fear that tends to agonize and worry and be disturbed when
circumstances are the least bit stressful, will darken into real
anxiety when we face some success we've always wanted, or some danger
that we've always feared. People get more sympathy for being anxious
because anxiety causes real suffering, and the cause for the anxiety is
often real. Yet we do ourselves an injustice when we indulge in
anxiety. We're all born with the strength of Courage to a greater or
lesser degree. This Courage should allow us to focus on the here and
now without worrying about what the future might bring. Even the most
timid of us can focus on the here and now if we keep our minds occupied
doing what needs to be done now.
That's how mothers and wives can spend months nursing their dearest
loved one with a cheerful smile. If you ask them how they do it,
they'll say that they don't dare look ahead to the future. They live
from hour to hour. By focusing on the here and now, they're able to
bring happiness and even cheerfulness to the sickroom, even though
pg 115
a sad end is the inevitable end they'll have to face. If this kind of
Courage is possible even in the face of grief to come, then surely it's
possible to be brave about facing lesser matters, such as a coming term
exam, or something we'll be losing soon, or an upcoming stressful
situation, or even the worst distress of all - when someone we love
disappoints us by deciding not to follow Christ. Jesus commanded us,
'Don't let your heart be anxious.' The command assumes that we have the
ability to be obedient. That's why warnings are given to those who are
'fearful and unbelieving.'
The
Courage to Stick to our Opinions
The Courage to Attack, The Courage to Endure, the Courage of Calmness,
and The Courage to Deal With Our Circumstances are all important. But
there are some minor forms of Courage that are just as much a part of a
courageous heart. One of these is the Courage to stick to our opinions.
I'm not talking about the latest buzzword that we casually adopt as our
own, those things that 'everybody says' and that we imagine will
startle our less-informed friends. I'm talking about those few opinions
based on knowledge that we can truly call our own.
It's a good idea to examine ourselves and figure out what our opinions
about popular issues really are. If we truly think it through, we might
discover that we don't really have a strong opinion one way or the
other. If
that's the case, let's not be quick to agree with the first thing we
hear. Instead, we should think, ask questions, read about it, consider
both sides. Then we'll be prepared with a gentle, clear, well-grounded
opinion when someone makes a comment like, 'I think it's a bad idea to
send missionaries,' or 'People tend to choose the religion that's most
suited to their personality type,' or 'it's a waste of time to be
concerned about people as a group. Only the elite minds, or the
creative souls who produce art are worth caring about,' and so on. Too
often we have to let people's remarks go unchallenged
pg 116
because we assume they've been carefully though out. But it's
surprising how a single word of simple conviction will silence people
who express the most outrageous opinions. It's our duty to have this
kind of conviction.
The
Courage to be Open
The Courage to be open and sincere can be charming. It's appropriate to
have some discretion. A person who blabs everything about his affairs
with no regard for what should remain private is a bore. On the other
hand, a person who is too cautious, suspicious and reserved has a
fearful and unbelieving heart. That's not characteristic of a noble
heart. How do we know what we should share and what we should keep
private? Examining our motive is our best guide. If we keep something
to ourselves because we don't want to bore our friends with petty
trivialities, that's fine. But if we hold back because we don't trust
them to care, or to be fair, or to be kind, or to understand, then we
lack Courage.
The
Correct to Correct
There are lots of kinds of Courage that different people can have, but
we're only going to mention a couple more. The Courage to Correct needs
to be used with delicacy and gentleness. You can't have a genuine
friendship between two equals without this kind of Courage. The fair,
gentle corrections that young friends give each other are probably more
convicting and effective for them than the more common reproofs that
older people give each other.
The
Courage to Confess
The Courage to Confess openly and directly to the appropriate person
when we've done something wrong or left something undone in the routine
of our day is very strengthening. But the habit of confessing all of
our feelings and
pg 117
thoughts isn't always Courage. When we confess, it's safer to stick to
things we've done or things we've neglected to do.
The
Courage of Confidence
The Courage of Confidence assures us that we're capable and able to do
whatever task comes our way. We won't listen to the gutless fear that
reminds us of our past failures or our inadequacies. The Courage of
Intellectual Confidence enables us to take on the challenge of mind
work with a sense that we have what it takes to succeed. Many failures
are caused by intellectual panic. It's to blame for the times when we
don't try to
understand the line of reasoning of an argument, or when we don't try
to follow an
experiment, and it's a major reason why so many people don't speak
foreign languages. Intellectual panic is also the reason why we tend to
adopt popular opinions. We're afraid we don't have what it takes to
think through an opinion for ourselves that's worth keeping, and worth
sharing with others.
The
Courage to Seize Opportunity
Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar,
'There is a tide in the affairs of
men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on
to fortune.'
The Courage to seize the opportunity when it presents itself is related
to the Courage of Confidence. It's not the same as the haphazard spirit
of recklessness that goes looking for ways to take risks. The
difference is that Courage is ready to take on what comes its way, but
foolhardiness seeks ways to take a gamble. Courage waits for guidance:
'Noble-minded people yield, they believe
That circumstances are like sacred oracles
Speaking God's will to faithful souls.'
(from Charlotte Mason's poem, Moses:
A Study)
pg 118
Chapter
9 - Love's Lords In Waiting: Loyalty
Loyalty
of Youth
Loyalty is what marks a person of character, yet it isn't a mark.
Loyalty isn't something we can put on or stamp on ourselves, it's
something that we're born with. At different periods in time, and at
different periods of life, any one of the Lords of the Heart has
control of
Mansoul. During the Age of Chivalry, it was Loyalty who ruled. Our
young years ought to be devoted to Loyalty and Chivalry. But this
doesn't seem to be a very loyal time that we live in. We seem to think
that our priority in life is to think for ourselves and serve ourselves
for our own pleasure. We seem to think that the world is here to please
and serve our desires, instead of thinking that we're here to serve and
care for the world. We're more interested in ruling than serving. At
least, that's how we think in our lowest moments. Loyalty, whose duty
is to serve, reminds us that we don't belong to ourselves. We're
fulfilled only when we serve out of loyalty.
Our
Loyalties are Already Determined For Us
We're quick to profess shallow loyalty to a poet, actor, soldier or
priest and offer our service. But we forget that, just like every other
part of our lives,
pg 119
it's not up to us to decide where to distribute our loyalties. They are
already determined for us. In some cases, they're part of our duties
and our choice is to be loyal or disloyal. In this respect, it's nice
to be in a country that has a king because royalty provides a visible
exercise in Loyalty. A king is loved and served out of loyalty to his
role as sovereign.
Loyalty
to Our King
One of the best lessons we get from history is in the examples of
loyalty
and service. One of those lessons is the unlimited honor and reverence
given to a king. People would devote their very lives, everything they
had to survive, their children, their allegiance, to the king's cause.
Sir Henry Lee in Scott's Woodstock
is a great example of Loyalty. As we read, it becomes evident that
Lee's fine character and life shouldn't be wasted on such an unworthy
king. But we need to remember that the knight benefited more from his
loyalty than the king did, because it's 'more blessed to give than to
receive.' Our beloved Queen Victoria had all of our loyalty because she
was so loyal herself. Her loyalty was to her people. She understood
that and she served them, and her act of loyalty raised our level of
living.
The
Loyalty We Owe to Our Own People
After our king, it's our country who we're loyal to. Understand that we
owe goodwill to the whole world, but we owe our loyalty to our own
people. No matter how much we admire or like a foreign king, or a
foreign country, our loyalty belongs to our own country, not to them.
It's disloyal to make unfavorable comparisons that put down our own
country and prefer some other country. We may prefer their laws,
government, customs, or weather, but we still owe our first loyalty to
our own country.
Public
Opinion is Responsible for Anarchy
We people from the older generation are saddened, shocked and
pg 120
humbled as we hear of so many kings and presidents assassinated by
people who call themselves anarchists. It shames us because this kind
of crime has no parallel in history, and it's caused because public
opinion hasn't been taught to value Loyalty. We keep hearing about more
and more of these kinds of crimes, and it hits home because we all help
to form public opinion. Every country has people who don't have the
right idea about our duties to one another and that wrong idea
leads them to assassination. But they get those wrong ideas from public
opinion. We've been told that we shouldn't let people hear us say bad
things about our leaders. If we do, then people who hear us might turn
against those leaders and kill them. Kings everywhere will live in fear
of being murdered. We're all bound to one another all around the world
and we influence people even in other countries. That's a very serious
thought. It should make us happy to know that, by being loyal to our
country's leader, we're helping the whole world.
Loyalty
to Our Country
I suspect that people lose a bit of their moral integrity when they
choose to become exiles from their own country. Every tie we have when
we're born is a part of us that becomes a necessary part of who we are.
Patriotism, or loyalty to our country, is a worthy passion. Revolutions
happen when the country's leader has such bad character that upright
people can't be loyal to both him and
their country. Unfair laws, unnecessary taxes, and the oppression of
the poor make men's hearts sad for their country. Loyalty to country
demands honor, service, and personal devotion.
pg 121
Giving the proper loyalty to country takes an intelligent understanding
of the country's history, law and institutions. It requires knowledge
of the country's great leaders and people, the weaknesses and strengths
of the country. It's not the same thing as the ignorant or rude
attitude of an English or Chinese person who thinks that being born an
Englishman or a Chinese makes him better than people born in other
countries, or that his country and his government are always right and
everyone else's is always wrong. But even worse, and even more
dangerous, is the vile spirit of people who think that their country
and government is always at fault, and always worse than other
countries, and praises other countries just so he can make his country
look bad.
The
Service of Loyalty
These days, serving our country may mean merely taking an active
interest
in the issues that concern the government, and informing ourselves
about the social problems that our thinkers are discussing. Even if we
aren't called on to serve the country directly, such as by being
elected to the Senate, we should still give our time, effort and
resources to help our local government. This kind of service is more
nobly in force now than ever. And we rise to the occasion when our
country needs our personal devotion. Things that have happened recently
seem to prove that every citizen of Great Britain is prepared to lay
down his life for his country.
Loyalty
to a Chief
Perhaps the one kind of Loyalty we don't have as much of as they had in
the Middle Ages is the kind of loyalty that every person
pg 122
owes to a chief. Sir Walter Scott gives a perfect example of this in
his character from The
Fair Maid of Perth, Torquil of the Oak. He was the Highland foster
father who sacrificed his life and the lives of his nine strapping sons
to protect the honor of a young chief who he knew was a coward. The
entire incident is written about with sympathy, but without melodrama,
and therefore provides one of the most intense situations in
literature. But this kind of Loyalty still exists today. Most military
junior officers in the army or the navy won't allow themselves to
criticize their commanding officer's character or actions. And the
soldiers still live as if 'It's not for them to give reply, it's not
for them to question why, their job is to do and die.' And, if they do
die because 'someone has made a blunder,' then they have the
consolation that one supreme moment of unquestioning Loyalty to their
king, their country and their commanding officer is probably worth
fifty years of routine mundane life that doesn't feel like real living
at all. At least, that's true if the purpose of life is to teach us how
to fully live. There's a story about some elegant young diplomats
serving as private secretaries to various important leaders. One felt
that he was better than the rest and he grumbled when his boss rang the
bell to summon him. Another had learned the secret of 'dignified
obedience and proud submission.' He said that, even if his boss asked
him to clean his shoes, he would do it. And there are plenty of
examples of splendid Loyalty to heads of households, political parties,
causes, schools, or whatever. They are everywhere.
Loyalty
to Personal Ties
Most people are loyal to personal ties, relatives, friends, those we
take care of. Everyone knows that, whether these ties are something
we're born into, such as family, or something we choose, such as
friendships, or something we're obligated to for lesser reasons, such
as employers, we must be loyal.
pg 123
We know that it's not proper to tolerate unfair criticism about a
friend's character or actions, not even in the privacy of our own
thoughts. If our friend needs to be corrected, we need to discuss it
with him privately and not mention it to anyone else. Our time, our
company, our sympathy and our service are as available as we can afford
whenever our friend needs them. We know that our friend is entitled to
the best of us - our deepest thoughts, our highest dreams, as far as
we're able to discuss them. We're glad to admit it in the case of our
favorite friends. But when it comes to the people who are our friends
by default because they happen to be within our circle, we're sometimes
hesitant to give our best, and we tend to share only our shallow,
routine thoughts. And we tend to talk down to people under us who
we take care of and who aren't as educated as we are. But that's a
mistake. We owe the best we have in varying degrees to all of our
relationships, whether default, chosen, or casual. It's those
relationships that make our lives sweet.
A
Mind That's Constant
Being steadfast is the essence of all Loyalties. One sixty year old man
said that he'd always had his boots made from the same bootmaker ever
since he was first wearing boots. That's the kind of Loyalty we need to
have for all those we owe Loyalty to. We miss out on a lot of the grace
of life by running here and there to find what's most beneficial and
convenient for us in friends, acquaintances, religions, craftsmen,
clerks, preachers and prophets. Maybe we'd get more of what's best if
we stuck to what we have instead of constantly looking around for a new
place to buy everything we need. Loyalty is made up of the strength,
grace and dignity of a constant mind.
Someone might object and say that some people are impossible
pg 124
and unbearable. They'll say that a waiter is lazy, that a shopkeeper is
dishonest, a friend is unworthy, a relative is aggravating, and not
worthy of Loyalty.
But some people that we haven't sought out are going to be permanent
fixtures in our life. What can't be changed should be maintained with
Loyalty. Sometimes it might be best to break ties with someone like a
boss or someone we take care of if it's impossible to give them our
Loyalty anymore. But the split from them should be done simply and with
dignity. We shouldn't indulge in gossiping about their failures and
grumbling about the way we were treated by them. We need to realize
that being Loyal means that we can't allow ourselves to hang onto
grudges about minor personal offenses. Many lives are ruined on the
rock of resentment. Failing to be loyal by holding grudges hurts us
more than it hurts the person we resent.
Being
Thorough
The same principles of Loyalty to people apply to Loyalty in our job or
any cause we commit ourselves to. Wholehearted, thorough effort is
part of this kind of Loyalty. That means that there will be times when
we're seen as unfriendly because we don't throw ourselves into every
new cause that comes our way. We can only do what we're able to.
Loyalty to the projects we've committed to means that we'll often have
to turn down new projects.
Loyalty
to Our Principles
We owe a high standard of Loyalty to our principles. We start out by
being loyal to the principles we're brought up believing. But as we
mature and develop character, we come to have convictions that become a
part of who we are. If we're mature, it won't be popular buzzwords that
we get
from the newspapers or TV or common talk that make up our principles.
We'll have convictions that are really ours because we've worked them
out with thoughtful effort, and maybe even painful feelings. Only a
person who is true to these kinds of convictions is really true to
himself.
pg 125
But Loyalty is expected even of people who aren't true to themselves.
Perhaps the first of these principles is religion. I'm not talking
about our faith in God, that's something different. I'm talking about
the form of religion in which we express our faith [denomination]. It's a safe rule to
not entertain forms and ideas outside of our own religion because we
might risk not being able to hold to any kind of religious convictions
at all. Instead, we become eager for anything new and we start to crave
the excitement of anything different.
The habit of unworthy, petty criticism of church workers or the
religious services we're used to will usually result in a habit of
unstable religious convictions. Loyalty won't let us take part in petty
gossip about our church. It also won't let us run here and there,
church-hopping, looking for more exciting services.
Loyalty's
Enemies
The demons that work to destroy Loyalty are probably Self-interest,
Self-conceit, and Self-importance. Self-interest urges us to look for
what's best for ourselves no matter what Loyalties we have to break.
Self-conceit keeps us so resentful of trivial offenses that Loyalty is
out of the question. Self-importance can't take second place to give
priority to anything else, whether small or great, related to our
country, our church, or our family. These are the enemies all around
us. But Loyalty is within us. It's strong and steadfast. All it needs
to make its enemies flee is for us to recognize where our Loyalties lie.
pg 126
Chapter
10 - Love's Lords In Waiting: Humility
Pride
of Life
The Apostle John lists three things that make men stumble. They are the
lust of the flesh that makes people want to satisfy the desires of
their human nature, the lust of the eye that causes people to make the
delight of beauty their first priority, and the pride of life. The
pride of life is probably the worst one because it's so deceitful.
People who are raised to understand the principles of self-control and
who have been trained to restrain themselves are on guard against the
lusts of the flesh. The lust of the eye isn't a fascinating draw for
too many people. But who can see pride of life coming? Pride is
powerful and can take many forms. Yet Pride is merely the demon-servant
to
another power that's even stronger than he is.
We're
All Born with Humility
We all have humility when we're born. Humility is a gracious and
beautiful Lord of the Heart, and strong enough to subdue its enemies.
That's why Jesus told the Jews that they couldn't enter the Kingdom of
Heaven, where humble souls live, unless they humbled themselves and
became like little children. We think that little children
pg 127
are innocent and gullible rather than humble. But we can only
understand the kind of humility that Jesus was talking about when we
examine the humility of children. We only have two examples of humility
in the Bible to use as role models: Jesus, because the Bible tells us
that He 'humbled Himself,' and little children because Jesus called
them humble. An old writer who has thought a lot about this said that,
in the same way that there's only one kind of sanctification and one
redemption, there is only one kind of humility.
Humility
is Often Devalued
No Lord of the Heart is as belittled in our thoughts as humility. We
sometimes call cowardice Humility. We say things like, 'I can't handle
any kind of pain, I'm just not as strong as you are,' or 'I can't take
on this project or that job because I don't have the ability that other
people have,' or 'I'm not very smart, it's useless for me to try to
take up reading,' or 'I'm not a good enough person to teach Sunday
School class,' or 'to be interested in spiritual growth.' And sometimes
we call hypocrisy Humility. We might say, 'I wish I was as talented as
you,' or 'as good,' or 'as smart,' while secretly taking pride in
ourselves because our lack of ability somehow seems to make us special.
The person who is most vocal about how humble he is often privately
comforting himself with compensations we don't know anything about.
And, in his own mind, those compensations make him more special than
anyone else.
It's this sort of thing that makes Humility unpopular. People believe
that these people are being sincere, but they've deceived even
themselves. Everyone agrees that Humility is a Christian trait, but
it's a trait that isn't esteemed very highly, and is very rarely asked
for. This mistake in perception leaves a door open for pride to walk in
pg 128
and take over. In our disdain for humility, we prefer to be proud.
We're
openly proud of some advantage we've inherited, or we're proud of our
prejudices, proud of a temper that rages or holds grudges, proud that
we're so easy-going, proud that we're idle or careless or reckless.
Even a murderer takes pride in his skill in avoiding suspicion, or
killing his victim. 'I'm so glad I've always kept to myself,' said one
small London servant who didn't believe in being neighborly. There's
hardly any fault or inadequacy or crime that somebody hasn't considered
a distinction to be proud of. We can't do much of anything simply. I
mean, it isn't easy to do something without being conscious that it's
us doing it, and then being proud of ourselves for it.
Humility
is the Same as Simplicity
Many people who are reasonable in most respects arrive at the beginning
stage of self-worship by constantly thinking of themselves. Their
dealings, their dog, their pictures, their opinions, their high
calling, their good works, their information, their religious
convictions fills their whole mind. And that's not because of the
things themselves, but only because it theirs. This pride of life is
subtle and so oppressive. It constantly pressures us to exalt
ourselves. It ruins our relationships with our friends and makes us
hard to get along with because it gives us a tendency to be resentful
and demanding. When we recognize it for a moment, we can only cry, 'Oh,
what a wretched person I am! Who can save me?' But we don't need to
despair, not even when it comes to our hateful pride. He's only an
invader and a highjacker. The Lord of the Heart that he's trying to
displace is Humility. A true understanding of humility will be as good
a weapon as the stone in David's sling against
pg 129
the giant Goliath. Thinking badly of ourselves isn't Humility. If we
honestly think badly of ourselves, that's cowardice. Maybe Humility is
the same as simplicity, which doesn't let us think of ourselves at all,
whether badly or pleasingly. That's what makes children so humble. The
thought of self never occurs to them. When the thought does occur to
them, they become un-childlike and become self-conscious. In the
wonderful first lesson we have about the garden of Eden, the Fall
happened when Adam and Eve became aware of themselves. And that's how
we all fall - we become aware of ourselves
It's good to be humble. Humble people are cheerful and good. They don't
go around with a monkey on their back, or looking like they have a dark
cloud furrowing their eyebrows. We're all born humble. Humility is
within all of us, just waiting for pride to be quiet so that he can
speak and people can hear him. What do we have to do to get rid of
pride and give control back to Humility?
How
Humility Works
First of all, we can't try to
be humble. That's insincere. It's a bad kind of pride. We wouldn't want
to become like Uriah Heap [in David
Copperfield]. That's what happens when we try to be humble. The trick is to
not think of ourselves at all. If we think about how inadequate we are,
then we're pretending to be like Uriah Heap. There are lots of ways to
avoid thinking of ourselves. We can learn about and love birds,
flowers, clouds, rocks, and everything else that nature can teach us.
Thinking about pictures, books, people, anything outside of us, will
help us to escape from the tyrant named Pride who's attacking our
heart. One good idea is not to write about, 'you and I.' There are so
many interesting things in the world, that it's a waste of time to talk
about ourselves. Still,
pg 130
it's a good idea to have some familiarity with the way our tiresome
selves can be. That's why these chapters were written. It's also a good
idea to know that Humility, even though he never thinks of himself, is
at home within each of us.
'If what is great in God's eyes
Is what considers itself small,
Then by that rule Humility
Is the greatest grace of all.
It's truly great, but yet it doesn't
Know it's a grace at all.'
- loosely taken from a poem by
Trench
pg 131
Chapter
11 - Love's Lords In Waiting: Cheerfulness
'It's a proper thing to be cheerful.'
'A cheerful heart goes all day long.'
There's
Enough Cheerfulness in the World for Everyone
In Yorkshire, when their bread doesn't rise and is dense and heavy,
they say the bread is 'sad.' It's the same with us. When we're heavy,
we're like a 'sad' loaf of bread. we don't rise to greet the sunshine,
or to hear the voices of our friends, or to check out interesting
sights, or to acknowledge kindness or love or any good thing. When we
do rise to these things so that a ray of sunshine creeping in the
window brings a smile to our hearts, or we enjoy a bird's song, or a
splash of sunlight dappling the dark trunk of a tree, or the light of a
child's face - it makes us glad. We don't think of Carlyle as a happy
person, but he used to say that nobody who could see a spring day or
the face of a child needed to be unhappy. In fact, there's enough joy
in the world for all of us. More accurately, there's a fountain of
cheerfulness in everybody's heart just waiting to be uncorked.
Sometimes adults say that they envy little children when they hear such
joy bubbling out of their hearts in laughter in the same way that it
bubbles from the
pg 132
birds when they sing. But it's not too late, it's just a choked up
spring. All it needs is for the rubbish to be cleared away, and joy
will bubble up from the weary heart as freely as a child's.
Joy
Can Flow Even in Sorrow and Pain
You might wonder how people can be glad when they have to endure
sadness, worry, need, or pain. But these aren't the things that stop up
our joy. A sad, worried wife of a dying husband, or the mother of a
dying child, will often cheer the patient with funny jokes and pranks
so that they're surrounded with hearty cheerfulness. It isn't that the
wife or mother is pretending to be happy for the sake of the patient.
You can't fake gladness. No one is fooled by forced smiles. What
happens is that love teaches the wife or mother to uncork the fountain
of joy in her own heart for the sake of her beloved, and from her heart
come happy words, little jokes, smiles and cheerfulness. Those things
are better for sick people than any medicine. Even when we're in pain,
it's still possible to be cheerful. We've all been touched by cheerful
comments from lips of someone who was suffering. I'll bet that Margaret
Roper couldn't help smiling through her tears at the funny quips her
father, Sir Thomas More, was making on his way to the scaffold to be
hanged. We're often mistaken about joy. We think it's like ice cream or
chocolate - wonderful to enjoy when it's there, but not something we
should expect every day. But the Apostle Paul said, 'Rejoice always.'
That means, 'Be glad all the time.' We laugh from time to time, we
smile now and then, but the fountain of joy within us should always be
bubbling. It will if we don't hinder it.
Cheerfulness
is Contagious
Before we think about the demons of gladness, let's get one thing
clear. We can't be glad all alone, and we
pg 133
can't be sad and heavy all by ourselves. Our gladness cheers up the
people around us in the same way that our gloom depresses them.
A mother in London once wrote to me about how she took her little blond
two-year-old daughter out for her first walk. The little girl smiled at
the policeman and it brought a smile to his face, she blew a kiss to
the ladies in the laundromat and it cheered them, she smiled at the
garbage man and went along as if she was a little queen dispensing
smiles and happiness. An even better story is told by a religious woman
in a big city. She went outside preoccupied and depressed with routine
worries and resentful grievances about her neighbors. A small child
sitting on the sidewalk looked up at her and smiled. In the warmth of
that child's joy, she went happily on with the rest of her day. There's
nothing as contagious as cheerfulness, and it's good for all of us to
remember that our joy is like a treasure that we own that can meet the
needs of those around us. But it's a treasure that we give without even
missing it, and without being any poorer for giving it away.
Joy
is a Continual Fountain
Each of us has a fountain of joy within himself. It's not an
intermittent fountain, but a spring that never stops flowing. There's
more than enough for every moment of the longest lifetime, with some to
spare. The spring doesn't have to be stopped by sorrow, pain or
poverty. In fact, these obstructions often make it flow even brighter
and more powerfully. This bright joy isn't our own private property for
our personal benefit. It's meant to enrich the people we pass on our
errands, the family members we live with, those we work with and have
fun with. Why, then, do some people go around with a dark cloud hanging
over their head, and depressed worry
pg 134
on their brow? Why are some people dragging, pale, dull and weary? How
is it that some children can go to a fun party, or a picnic, or a
hayride or whatever, and look sullen during all the fun and frolic? How
can some youths be taken on a visit here, or travels there, yet the
most breathtaking scenic views are obscured in their memories by a dark
cloud because they found no joy in them? Why do middle-aged people
sometimes go around with sad, unsmiling faces? Why do some people find
their old age filled with trials and no joys?
The truth is, sadness or gladness has little to do with our
circumstances. We would do well to listen to Marcus Aurelius: 'Don't
let your mind dwell on other people's worries. Pick out some of your
best circumstances and imagine how much you would wish for them if you
didn't have them.'
We're
Sad When We Feel Sorry for Ourselves
Of course, we should derive as much pleasure from our good
circumstances as we can. But don't think that good circumstances are
what make us happy. It's not our circumstances that choke our fountain
of joy, it's we ourselves who
do that. We lose our joy and feel sad when we indulge in feeling sorry
for ourselves. Perhaps someone stepped on our toe, or maybe someone
said the wrong thing to us, or somehow offended our sense of our own
importance. And that's when the demon of self-pity digs in his trash
pile and finds all kinds of reasons, real and imagined, to bring to our
mind and choke the flow of our fountain of gladness. Some people feel
sorry for themselves at various moments. Some indulge self-pity for
days at a time. And some miserable people spend their entire lives
nursing a grudge against the bad luck that life has dealt them, or they
harbor resentment against their friends.
pg 135
Gladness
is a Duty
We only need to focus on this for a minute before we realize how wrong
and tragic it is not to be joyful. We need to tell ourselves, 'I can,
because I must!' Help comes to those who try, and who ask for help. We
may have to remind ourselves many times a day, but every time we chase
away dark thoughts, it will become easier to be joyful and happy.
Cheerfulness is the outward, visible manifestation of joy. You can't
have a crabby face and snappish words if your heart is bubbling with
gladness. The inward, spiritual manifestation of joy is contentment.
You can't be dissatisfied with the little details of your life if your
heart is glad. 'Rejoice always, I'll say it again, rejoice!'
pg 136
Lords Of The Heart: II. Justice
Chapter
12 - Justice, Universal
It's
Important to Know the Functions of Love and Justice
We've already said that two important entities rule in the House of the
Heart. Don't they clash sometimes? As a matter of fact, sometimes they
do. Love tends to be too permissive and sympathetic, and can do more
harm than good. But justice tends to be too harsh and inflexible, and
can drive away the very ones it wants to attract. So we need to
consider the roles that Love and Justice have, and examine the
different parts of them as carefully as we might study a Greek verb, or
a mathematical equation. We can live without analyzing verbs and
equations, but mankind can't live apart from Love and Justice. Their
existence is a fact, and we need to learn how to use them. They don't
have auto-pilot to keep them going in the right direction with or
without us. No, these Lords of the heart need the continual supervision
of the Prime Minister, who is ruled himself by the higher power of God.
Without this guidance, they cause all kinds of trouble in men's lives.
Everyone
Has Justice in His Heart
We've already talked about the ways Love works, and his different Lords
in Waiting. Now let's think
pg 137
about Justice and who surrounds him and carries out his orders. But
first, let's stop to realize what a treasure our sense of Justice is.
It's wonderful to know that there isn't one Mansoul in the world who
doesn't have Justice in his heart, no matter how lowly, ignored,
neglected or untaught. Even an unruly, angry mob will be outraged by
foul play. Everybody understands when something isn't fair. Different
cultures may have their own ways of defining what's fair, but fair-play
for oneself and others is the desire of every person's heart.
I May
Not Hurt Anybody by What I Say, or by What I Do
Justice demands that we be careful every day not to infringe on the
rights of the people we come in contact with. We need to 'do unto
others what we would want them to do unto us.' That means that we need
to be gentle with others, considerate with what they say, and
respectful about their opinions. We owe it to them. We need to be
honest and fair in everything we do. Everything we say should be
accurate, honest, easily understood and sincere. Our thoughts should be
unbiased, appreciative of others and reasonable. What we do should be
fair, honest and honorable.
I
Must Be Fair and Just With Everybody
Fairness to others, their property, their words, their thoughts and
what we do includes parents, teachers, government leaders, and everyone
rightfully in authority over me and my country. It's my duty to be just
with them. In the same way, I need to be fair about the words, thoughts
and actions of my brother, my sister, my friends, my neighbors, and
anyone else who is my equal. I must also be fair about the words,
thoughts and actions of servants and anyone else serving me or employed
by
pg 138
me or my family, both in my home or out. I need to show justice by
being fair to people whose ways of life and opinions are different than
mine. I need to be fair even to people who offend the laws of God and
man. I need to be fair in all these ways to people, to their
reputations, and to their things as far as it's in my power. That means
that 'I can't have ill-will or hostility in my heart. I must never let
my hands steal or my mouth speak evil, or lie or falsely criticize
others.' Also, 'I must never want what belongs to someone else or
resent them for having it. I must learn to work honestly to earn my own
living, and to do my duty in whatever kind of life God has seen fit to
put me in.'
It's
Within Our Ability to Be as Fair as We Should Be
By now it should be obvious that thinking fairly, speaking sincerely,
and acting with justice to all people all of the times takes some
serious reflective thinking. In fact, it's the study of a lifetime. It
might seem discouraging at how much is expected of us to so many people
if justice wasn't already a natural part of our hearts. Justice is
within us, just waiting to rule, and he has his own Lords in Waiting to
help him. Impartiality, genuineness, clarity, honor, and all the rest
are our servants to command. Our task is to find the right path in the
Circuit of Justice, and to recognize what we owe to others as
circumstances come before us. If we understand what's fair, we'll
always be ready to do the right thing with everyone. It's wonderful to
have that kind of knowledge. It's like having Coins of Justice at our
disposal. It's good to be able to walk around the streets of Mansoul
with those coins in our pockets, knowing that we have what we need to
pay our way wherever we go. Many poor souls
pg 139
wander around as paupers. They have the same Coins of Justice, but they
don't know it. Therefore, they don't use them. They might as well be
blind because they're constantly focused on their own rights and what
everyone else owes them. They're too preoccupied to notice other
people's rights and their own obligations to everyone else. In other
words, they're unable to be fair and just.
Our
Own Rights
You're probably wondering, 'What about me? What about my rights? Don't other people have
obligations to me?' Yes, we all have rights. They're the exact
same rights that other people have. We need to learn to think of
ourselves as just one of the rest, with the same rights that everyone
else has, and no more. Other people owe us the same duties that we owe
them and no more. When we realize that, we'll have a better perspective
of ourselves and see reality a little more clearly. There's a wonderful
lesson in the story of the man Jesus healed who was blind. At first, he
couldn't see anyone at all. Then his eyes were partially opened and he
could see men as if they were trees walking around. Finally, he was
blessed with complete vision and he was able to see people as they
really were.
pg 140
Chapter
13 - Justice To Others
Maybe you heard the recent tragic news about the young German officer
who
ended up in a duel on his wedding day. It hasn't been that long since
men in England thought it was okay to make a man pay for a minor
offense by killing him, or making him kill the person he had offended.
But now we understand that it's wrong to physically hurt anyone. Bosses
aren't allowed to beat their trainees, and mistresses aren't allowed to
beat their maids. In fact, as a nation, we try to make people treat
everyone else with respect. Children have benefited from this more
accurate idea of justice. At one time, it was acceptable for those in
authority over them to whip them, pinch them, squeeze them, or smack
them. People thought it was healthy to feed them only bread and water,
or lock them in a dark closet when they were naughty. But now children
are valued and loved; they're rarely beaten. That's because, once
people understand what's right, they're eager to do what's fair and
just. There are still countries where people don't see the harm in
hurting others. Recently there was a bandit in Italy who admitted to
killing twenty seven people -- not because he wanted their money or
pg 141
valuables, and not because they had hurt him. He killed them because,
years ago, a relative of theirs had killed his brother! The man
believed that vengeance was fair play. He had a concept of justice, but
it was a misguided concept. This incident shows how necessary it is for
us to be taught so that we can think clearly when we're faced with the
difficult question of what's fair and right. This is one of the areas
in which people make the most mistakes.
Thinking
Fairly Requires Knowledge and Consideration
Thinking fairly about the personal rights of other people requires that
we have enough knowledge and judgment. But Imagination can help us to
come to the right conclusions. It's good for a boy to recognize his
mother's love in the beautiful way she makes everything neat, or to
remember that the maid has enough to do with her regular job. Having
enough work to do brings satisfaction, but too much work ruins a
person's life. He will think about these things and therefore be
careful about minor details like wiping his feet when he comes in, or
keeping his toys and projects in the family room, or not leaving a
trail of fingerprints, clutter and damaged things wherever he goes. He
knows that this kind of carelessness ruins other people's comfort, and
makes more work for someone else. A young lady who thinks about others
won't rush a seamstress to get her new dress done by a specific date,
even if it means the seamstress's poor assistants will have to work
past midnight to get it done. She uses her Imagination. She can imagine
assistants with pale faces and circles under their tired eyes, or, on
the other hand, alert and cheerful assistants happily and carefully
sewing her new dress. This kind of care not
pg 142
to hurt others should guide us in everything we do. For example, it
should prevent us from always buying from the cheapest store, where,
most likely, underprivileged workers have been paid next to nothing in
'sweat shops' to make the merchandise so inexpensive. Familiarizing
ourselves with the real value of things will help us to live just and
fair lives.
Gentleness:
People Whose Feelings are Hurt Will Suffer Physically
Overwork, not enough food and outright abuse aren't the only ways to
physically hurt the people we deal with. If you hurt a person
emotionally,
they'll suffer physically. That's why we shouldn't push people in
crowds to get the best place. We shouldn't shove others around to get
the most out of things for ourselves, even when it's during a good
sermon. We should yield to others when we're walking on the street, and
make room for others in public seating areas such as buses. When we're
rough in these small matters, we might not hurt people enough to
require a trip to the emergency room, but we do create a situation of
mental anxiety and distress that can have even more long-lasting
effects. We all know how soothing the presence of a gentle person can
be. Such a person's tone of voice and movements show enough imagination
for him to recognize that the people around him have feelings, and
therefore he doesn't want to do anything to make them uncomfortable.
The demons who cause us to be unjust to other people are usually
Thoughtlessness, Selfishness and Cruelty.
Courtesy:
A Word Can Hurt as Much as a Punch
When we remember how easy it is to hurt people physically through their
minds, we begin to understand that a word can hurt as much as hitting a
person. Not using manners can hurt a person as much
pg 143
as depriving them of food. Once we realize this, we'll be polite when
others speak. We'll listen without contradicting and we'll try to
understand them. When other people express their opinions, no matter
how different they are than ours, we'll keep ourselves from privately
writing them off in our minds or mocking or arguing with them. Instead,
we'll listen politely when we don't agree. If we do that, we'll
discover that when it's our turn to state our own opinions and we do so
gently and modestly, the other person will be more likely to receive
them tolerably.
We
Aren't Free to Think Bad Things About Other People
We aren't allowed to run wild in the world! To go around like a bull in
a china shop, running into whatever crosses our path, might be
tempting, but it's no way to act. Nobody is born to be a thug. The
noble Justice within our hearts always reminds us of the rights of
others. Once we consider that they're people just like us, we realize
that they have rights regarding their character and reputation. Most of
us know that we're not free to think whatever we want to about our
parents or others in authority over us in school or at work. Some of us
don't allow ourselves to entertain unpleasant thoughts about our
brothers, sisters or anyone we live with. And a few people are careful
about what they think about friends and acquaintances. But there are
very few people who are careful about what they think of the integrity
of outsiders, like the plumber, or the state representative who governs
us, or someone we met outside our circle.
Fairness
to the Character of Others
Justice is holding court within each of us, and it demands that we
think fair thoughts about everybody, whether near or far away, superior
or under us.
pg 144
When we make up our minds to think fairly, Justice has a group of
servants ready to help. Their job is to take care of this very issue,
and they're ready to serve as soon as they're called.
Impartiality
Impartiality wants to help. He offers us eyeglasses that have the power
to bring faraway things into focus, and make dim things more clear.
When we wear these, we can see around corners and understand the other
side of an issue. We see that Mr. Jones may be cranky, but, after all,
he's still trying to do what's right. The boy in the story who wrote
home about his teacher, 'Mr. Temple can be difficult, but at least he's
fair,' must have been wearing his Impartial eyeglasses. His Impartial
schoolmate sees that Brad isn't really a sneak, he's just a shy boy
who's anxious to fit in. Impartiality suggests to us that Miss Jenkins'
annoying comment wasn't meant to be spiteful, she was just being
awkward. Impartiality points out that even government employees are
conscientious and want to do their best, that the pastor probably does
try to practice what he preaches, that the often-criticized plumber
really does take an interest in his work and wants to do a good job.
Even in cases where the person doesn't have the best intentions and
isn't trying his best, we should pity him and help him if we can. After
all, in these cases, the person has probably had a tough time all his
life. Impartiality shows us that people from France, Germany or Russia
have good qualities that even we would do well to strive for. It
reminds us that a Democrat or Republican, whichever he may be, has
something to teach his opponent. But Impartiality doesn't take sides.
He doesn't think to himself, 'My
family (or country, or political party, or school) is pretty sure to be
right about everything, and it's the best there is in the world!' He
understands that the other side, whether it's family, school or
country, might have something to say that's worth
pg 145
hearing. Fair play in everything is his motto. In the end, that makes
him the most loyal supporter of whichever side he belongs to.
Prejudice
The opposite of impartiality is Prejudice. Prejudice offers you a pair
of eyeglasses, too--but his eyeglasses aren't clear and they don't let
daylight through. His eyeglasses are rose-colored, or black- or green-
or yellow-colored, depending on the situation. We can't see people for
what they really are when we're wearing these eyeglasses. Instead, all
we see is that one person is black, another person is as rosy as the
dawn, someone else is an evil yellow or sickly greenish, depending on
the warmth, or envy, or hatred or jealousy that Prejudice puts in our
minds. That's all we see, even though we don't know anything about the
character of the people we're looking at. People who let Prejudice
cloud their minds are unable to be impartial, whether the Prejudice is
in favor of those they like, or against those they dislike. In fact,
dislike itself is actually Prejudice. Real [agape] love sees the truth clearly
and without bias. There's enough beauty in the people we love, and
enough right in the causes we care about, that we don't need to be
afraid for the light of day to show us what they truly are. We don't
need the eyeglasses of Prejudice to protect us from the truth.
The love we have for our country won't be blind patriotism if we love
her with impartial love. Our country is great and glorious, and can
bear the harsh light of day. But what about the friend who claims to be
candid by exposing the fact that the whole country is headed for ruin,
or who goes on and on about one of our faults in the name of honesty?
It's true that a superpower like ours needs to be gentle and careful,
and it's probably true that we're guilty of the fault our friend is
harping on. Maybe we are too
nitpicky, or lazy, or selfish, or whatever. But our friend is wrong to
magnify one part of the whole picture out of proportion and making too
much of a single fault or weakness, as if that's all there is. We can
learn a lesson from such a person, even though he's no fun to be
around. But
pg 146
we need to determine to only use the spectacles of impartiality. They
bring the complete picture out in accurate detail.
Respect
Impartiality never acts alone. At his right side is Lord Justice's
other Servant: Respect. Nobody can be just and fair if he doesn't
follow the Apostle Paul's command to 'Honor all men.' We tend to object
and claim that we only honor those who are worthy of honor. But that's
just another way of saying that we can pick and choose who we should
think fairly about. The fact is, we should treat every person, man,
woman or child, with honor. That isn't just because of the natural
brotherhood of man that we have because we're all children of the same
Father, but because, within every person we meet, there are the same
Rulers of Mansoul--Love, Justice, Intellect, Reason, Imagination--no
matter how dormant they might be. It's only when we honor all men that
we see how worthy of honor they are. The stark light of impartiality
may show us another person's faults, but that same stark light will
also show us that one single fault, no matter how annoying, doesn't
make the whole person. Even the worst-natured person has some beautiful
qualities that demand our reverence. Hardly a day goes by that we don't
hear about the hidden good in some unsuspecting soul. Honor means that
we owe it to others to be gentle with them, to listen to what they say
courteously no matter how boring or long-winded we think they are, and
to respect their opinions, no matter how foolish we think they are. A
person with irrational opinions will be more likely to listen and
consider the other side if his own opinions are listened to
respectfully.
Conceit
Why don't we honor each other? Because we're blinded by our regard for
ourselves. We're so absorbed in thinking about ourselves that we can't
see the beauty in the
pg 147
people around us, even though we might look up to total strangers [such as football stars or movie actresses].
Ego and self-absorption are the demons that prevent us from giving
honor to those we should honor.
Discernment
Notice how the servants of Justice work together. Impartiality is
accompanied by Respect, and Respect is supported by Discernment. People
talk about being deceived by this or that, and we hear about people's
affections being disappointed or their friends being disloyal. But all
of those things don't have to be. Every House of the Heart has a modest
servant of Justice whose name is Discernment. If you let him do his job
unhindered by Vanity or Prejudice, then he'll bring you a very accurate
report about the character of everyone you meet. He'll show you the
faults, the virtues, the good and the evil of everyone you come in
contact with. Even more than that, he'll hold his mirror up to your own
Mansoul so that you'll be able to see that, even though a particular
person has good points as well as faults, the specific faults that he
has aren't above tempting and snaring yourself. Therefore, that
person might not be the best one for you to choose as an intimate
friend. Some people neglect to discern the character of people they
meet. They ruin their lives by joining themselves to the wrong person,
not because of the goodness in that person, but because the two of them
share the same weaknesses. We owe honor to everyone, but Discernment
comes alongside to help us be fair to ourselves by choosing people to
befriend or to serve whose characters will strengthen our own.
Appreciation
Discernment can be too zealous to find fault, so another servant of
Justice is there to help. This servant is as exquisite and delicate as
Shakespeare's sprite, Ariel. This servant's name is
pg 148
Appreciation. His job is to accordingly weigh and consider the strong
points and good qualities of a person, country, cause, book, or
painting. Appreciation is a delightful companion in the House of the
Heart. He continually brings in reasons for joy. It's so pleasant and
refreshing to detect a streak of unselfishness here, or manners in that
person, or honor somewhere else. He helps us to notice and value the
beauty of perfection in a person's work, whether that work is a great
poem, or a thoroughly swept room. It's good to recognize the unique
beauties in another country and to discover that their people have
positive character traits that are different from the people of our own
country. There is nothing that gives more joy to living than
Appreciation. Even though we owe others Appreciation and they owe it to
us, we get more than we give when we show Appreciation. There is no
pleasure more pure than seeing the good in everything, and seeing the
beauty in everyone.
Depreciation
Depreciation is a sneering demon whose mission is to replace this
warm-hearted servant of Justice. For some people, nothing is ever quite
good enough. They find fault with the weather, their dinner, where they
live, and who they're with. If you say, 'What a beautiful day it is!'
then they'll answer, 'Yes, today isn't too bad,' but then they'll make
some critical remark about yesterday. 'Mrs. Jones is so nice!' 'Yes, if
only she didn't wear such hideous clothes!' 'I had a great time in
Hawaii!' 'You did? There are always so many Japanese people in the
hotels there.' And that's how the depreciatory person lives, moving
through the world like a cuttlefish, ready to blacken the waters
wherever he goes. It's helpful to remember that Depreciation is the
same as Injustice. A depreciative remark might be true
pg 149
in actual fact, but it's false in spirit because it pulls a small part
from the whole. It singles out one minor defect and neglects many other
excellent points. Depreciation is sometimes motivated by the monster
named Envy. Envy is always going around putting obstacles in Justice's
way, trivializing what we owe to other people. Depreciation can also
come from Thoughtlessness, which is a kind of Self-occupation. Many of
the crude, unworthy criticisms that we hear about books, pictures,
speeches, a song, or a political party are caused by Thoughtlessness.
We won't allow ourselves to depreciate others if we remember that
Appreciation is a form of Justice that we owe to the characters and
works of other people.
pg 150
Chapter
14 - Truth: Justice In Word
Truth
is not Violent
If our thoughts are not all our own, and if what we think about others
is a matter of Justice or Injustice, then we owe certain words to all
the people we talk to. If we don't say those words, then we're being
unfair to others. If we say a false thing to someone and they believe
us, then that person has every right to be angry with us. If he doesn't
believe us, then he has every right to despise us. We've hurt him.
Maybe we haven't hurt him physically, but we've hurt his mind and soul,
and they sting and feel sore when they're hurt in that way, just the
same as our skin stings and feels sore when someone hits us.
Professional champion boxers probably get used to bruises. In the same
way, people who put themselves in situations where they hear and read
things that are false will learn to think untruthfully, and will be
forced to speak falsely even if they'd never deliberately lie. There is
Truth in every Mansoul, acting as a servant to Justice. But Truth is
never aggressive or violent, and there are lots of noisy voices around
trying to drown her out. It's up to us to choose who we're going to
listen to.
pg 151
There's a painting in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence by Sandro
Boticcelli. He was grieving and indignant because Savonarola, his
friend and teacher, had been martyred. In his painting,
you can see the noisy voices trying to drown out Truth (calumny means slander). But the figures are
surprising. You would have expected the painter to depict the
slanderous demons as wrinkled hags, ugly and hostile. None of us would
succumb to temptation if sin approached us looking hateful. Botticelli
used what he heard about an old painting by a Greek named Apelles. In
the foreground, he put a pretty young woman with a heavenly blue robe
over a white dress of innocence, but slashes in her clothing reveal a
black garment underneath it all. She is calm and serene, and looking
down as if she regrets what she must do, while her right hand is
dragging forward the naked and prostrate figure of Innocence, the
accused, by the hair of his head. This is a true depiction of Slander.
There are two beautiful maidens wearing lovely robes with Calumny. They
look like they're smoothing her hair, but they're actually whispering
in her ears. One of them is Deception, who uses soft, coaxing words to
make lies sound like truth. The other is Envy. She's pretty, too. Envy
always seems like Fairness and Justice to ourselves.
The dark, cowled figure of Treachery is holding Calumny's left wrist.
He's stretching out his hand to King Midas's throne, demanding a
hearing. His long ears betray his real character: Falsehood and all her
crew, Slander, Envy, and the rest of them are, in reality, no more than
foolishness. Suspicion is whispering into one of King Midas's ears, and
Prejudice is whispering
pg 152
into his other ear. He's leaning his ears first to one, and then to the
other, so that their words are the only ones he can hear. The scene
takes place in a beautiful, vaulted gallery, richly decorated with
sculpture. After all, Slander and her peers don't thrive in places
where people are working hard and living simply. Way in the background
stands the naked Truth, pure and lovely, turning her eyes away from the
horrible scene and raising her hand towards heaven, the one place she's
sure to be heard. The only thing between her and the poor tortured
figure of Innocence is dark Remorse. It's a good idea to keep this
vision in our minds, not only because it's beautiful, but because it
will remind us of many things. Falsehood, Slander, Envy, Folly,
Prejudice, and Suspicion may approach us in pleasant places and in
deceptive ways, they may torture innocent people and drive away holy
Truth with the tumult of their voices in our ears.
Slander
Truth can be driven away, but she's always there. We need to keep our
hearts still and quiet to hear her words, and we need to keep our
tongues obedient in order to speak her words. Slander means saying
damaging things about other people. We need to keep our tongues from
saying evil things, lying, and slandering. Wesley said that if we say
something evil about someone that's evil, that's slander. If we say
something evil that's false, then that's lying. Most people are careful
to be truthful about what they say about the people they live with, but
are they as careful to speak the truth about their next-door neighbor,
or the people who live around the corner? It's so easy to make a
comment about Jones being sneaky, or to say that Bob is a creep, or
Mrs. Jones doesn't pay her maid enough, or that Bob's wife over-dresses
her children, or Mindy cheats
pg 153
from Marie's translation, or Harrison isn't doing his share of the
work. We say these things about the people we deal with casually, often
without any intent to be mean. But two things have happened: our
neighbor's character and reputation have been wounded, and Truth, which
is possibly the most beautiful tenant in the House of the heart, has
also been wounded because of something we said.
Deception
and Envy
It's not always because we're being thoughtless that we let deception
persuade us that a lie is true, until we end up saying it. Envy is
another ever-present demon. It's always ready with a slanderous word
for people who are doing better than we are. If they dance better than
us, we might say that we don't care about dancing, and they must be
wasting a lot of time practicing. If they dress better, we might say
that they spend too much money and thought on their clothes. If they
speak better, Envy accuses them of 'putting on airs.' If they're
better-looking than we are, Envy says that beauty is only skin deep,
and a pretty face is worthless if it decorates an empty head. In the
Middle Ages, people were afraid of Envy. They considered it one of the
Seven Deadly Sins. Now, though, we seem to forgotten that Envy is even
a fault. When we allow ourselves to think grudging thoughts about the
things or opportunities that others have, we begin to tell ourselves
that 'it's not fair.' In other words, we cover up our own injustice by
disguising it as justice and fairness to ourselves. But we're only
deceiving ourselves, and every deceit renders us incapable of speaking
the truth.
Hearing
and Reading Slander
It isn't just slanderous talking that wounds Truth. Listening to, and
reading slander may be the death of her. A simple rule will help us to
discern what kind of reading and hearing is
pg 154
slanderous. Truth is never violent. Any newspaper, magazine, book,
speech or website that brings strong, bitter charges against the other
side is sure to be slanderous, at least for the moment. If we steep
ourselves in that kind of speaking or reading, then, as our punishment,
we'll become incapable of discerning Truth, and we'll be happy about
saying evil things.
Fanaticism
Here's what happens to people who become fanatics. It isn't that they
refuse to believe anything that the other side says. It's that they can't. They've lost the ability to
consider the other side, and
efforts to convince them are useless. A man can be a fanatic about
peace, or a fanatic about war, or a fanatic for Christianity or a
fanatic for atheism. It's a sad fact that good causes as well as evil
causes have their share of fanatics. They do more harm than good for
the very cause they hope to support because of their inability to see
more than one side of an issue. A good cause can also have its share of
martyrs, but martyrs aren't obnoxious and belligerent. They may suffer
for their cause, but they never scream and yell for it. After all the
controversy and squabbling from the media in different countries from
both sides over the Boer
War, it was good and refreshing to find a book by a British officer
that honored the courage and endurance of both the Boers and the
British. Even the Boer women who followed their husbands into the
trenches were spoken of kindly and reverently. The most useful thing a
citizen can have is a mind that's capable of discerning the Truth,
whether it happens to be found on our side, or our opponent's. But only
people who are careful about what
they hear and how they listen
can have a discerning mind.
The
Sovereign Good
As Francis Bacon says, 'No matter how things may seem in men's depraved
pg 155
judgment and affections, it's still a fact that Truth, which only
judges itself, teaches that researching truth (wooing truth), knowing truth (the presence of truth) and
believing truth (enjoying truth)
is human nature's highest good.'
pg 156
Chapter
15 - Spoken Truth
We haven't yet discussed 'telling the truth' because you can only tell
it after you've seen it, known it in your heart, and, as Sir Roger de
Coverley said, believed that 'there is a lot to be said on both sides' of
most issues.
Accuracy
The first of the maidservants that serve spoken truth is Accuracy.
Accuracy is the habit of making sure that what we say expresses the
exact fact so far as we know it. Once we've said what we believe is a
fact, let's not qualify it by adding things like, 'At least, that's
what I think,' or Anyway,
that's my opinion,' 'Maybe it
wasn't quite like that,' or 'All the girls were there. At least, some
of them,' We walked ten miles! Well, six, anyway.' These kinds of
qualifications imply that what we said wasn't accurate. We're convicted
about saying something that's not totally true, so we try to clear our
conscience by overdoing the emphasis on minute details. The result is
that the people listening to us doubt whether anything we say is true.
But what are we supposed to do when we've already said something, and
then begun to doubt whether it's true? Once we've spoken something, we
need to leave it alone. It's useless to unsay it, or qualify it, or
explain, or change it, or expect another person to confirm it, or deny
it. Considering how final our words are should make us
pg 157
more careful about rushing to say things that we don't know enough
about. It will prevent us from saying things like, 'Mom, Mom! There are
hundreds of cats in the backyard!' 'Really, Gage? You counted them?'
'Well, okay, maybe not hundreds. But, anyway, there's our cat and
another one!' We need to be certain of our facts before we speak. And
we shouldn't talk about things that we only have the vaguest knowledge
about. People are too quick to assume intimate knowledge about things
they know very little about, like literature and art, when they talk.
Painstaking
Meticulous Detail isn't the Same as Accuracy
All the same, we should remember that Accuracy isn't the same as
scrupulosity. Ending a discussion with boring trivial facts isn't the
way to be truthful. A person can avoid a false assumption of knowledge
without resorting to 'I don't know,' which is very inconvenient to the
person listening.
A variation of this is the annoying habit of correcting the details
when someone else is speaking. Someone says, 'I saw seven men on the
street,' and the scrupulous person says, 'I beg your pardon, but it was
actually six men and a teenager.' 'I saw Mr. Jones on Tuesday,' and the
correction is, 'If you remember, I think it was Wednesday.' 'We've had
great weather all week!' 'Not really, it rained on Thursday.' and so
on, much to everyone's annoyance. There aren't many things that can
kill a conversation quicker than the nitpicky habit of patrolling the
accuracy of other people in trivial details that make little difference
to the conversation. Common courtesy demands that we receive what
people say in good faith. Assuming that, it really makes no difference
whether there were ten or twelve people in the parking lot, or whether
a flock of
pg 158
birds on the telephone wire that we passed on the road numbered eighty
or a hundred. Accuracy requires that we speak the facts as far as we
know them and to try not to say what we don't know. But it certainly
doesn't mean that we're supposed to keep watch over what other people
say so that we can correct their information. Our own information might
be even less accurate than theirs!
Exaggeration
The habit of exaggeration is another casual way of not being accurate.
We might say we have 'a million things to do' when we have four.
'Everyone says so,' when we mean that our friends Serena and Maggie
said so, or maybe even just Serena. What parent hasn't known the
tiresome tyranny of 'But we always
do it this way,' when it's only been done that way once. In cases of
sickness, war, and disaster, people are quick to make the most and
worst out of what's happened. Newspaper headlines that report the
greatest number of casualties are most often quoted and most readily
believed, even when tomorrow's headline shows how wrong the number was.
How can we maintain a delicate sense of Truth if we allow ourselves to
listen to rumors, and spread them? We need to use our common sense to
sift through the things we hear, and even more so with what we read. We
should wait for facts to be verified before we start spreading reports.
Men have been ruined and family reputations destroyed because of the
thoughtless spreading of an idle rumor.
Exaggeration in speech, even when it's done foolishly rather than
maliciously, isn't being Accurate. If we're 'awfully sorry' not to go
for a walk, or 'ecstatically happy' to get a letter, what's left
to express ourselves when we lose our best friend, or experience a
life-changing joy?
pg 159
The
Habit of Generalizing
If we want to be Truth-Tellers like King Alfred, then we need to be
careful to avoid the habit of generalizing. Generalizing means stating
something about a whole group of people or things when we only know it
to be true in a few cases. 'All the cups are cracked,' when just one is
cracked. 'All the streets go north' when just two do. 'Ugh, I can't
stand Rossetti's pictures!' when the critic has only seen one of them.
'I love Schumann's music!'
when only one piece has been heard. We need to stop these kinds of
generalizations before they come out of our mouths. They aren't
truthful. They give the impression that we have more knowledge or
experience than we really do. When we indulge in this kind of
generalization, we make ourselves incapable of having a scientific mind
that makes accurate observations and keeps exact records.
Telling
a Good Story
Many people are tempted to tell a good story about a trivial incident.
If a dog lifts his tail and cocks his ears when he hears a whistle,
they think there's enough fun in that incident to make you roar with
laughter. All power to their elbow, as an Irishman would say. Humor is
the ability to recognize and describe the ludicrous side of things.
Like mercy, it's a gift that blesses the one who gives as much as the
one who receives. But it's still dangerous. It's hard to resist the
temptation to be irreverent, rude, or even just a little bit malicious
if it embellishes the story. Even if those pitfalls are resisted, there
can still be a tendency to poke fun, and tell small jokes, until it's
annoying. A wisecracking person needs to exercise restraint, otherwise
he becomes a bore. Also, his embellishments need to be obviously
unbelievable, like the
pg 160
golden leg of Miss Kilmansegg. Otherwise, his accuracy is in doubt, and
he risks Truth for the sake of a laugh.
The
Realm of Fiction--Essential and Accidental Truth
What about fables, poems, romance adventures, the whole realm of
fiction? There are two kinds of truth. One is accidental truth. It's the kind of
incidental truth we need to pay attention to in our normal talk, facts
about such-and-such a thing happening in a certain place at a specific
time. The other is essential
truth. It's the kind of universal Truth we find in art. Here's an
example: If a person has a specific kind of character, then he'll think
and behave in a specific way with certain consequences. Or, if a poet
experiences a specific part of the world of nature, he'll get certain
ideas. Or, some common incidents of daily life, like a dog chewing on a
bone, will bring fables to the mind of a thinker and he'll see in them
some illustrations about life. This kind of fiction is very useful to
us, whether we find it in poems or adventure stories. It teaches us
morals and shows us how we should act. It role models what we should do
in certain circumstances and tells us what to expect if we choose to
act in a certain way. It illustrates how some little fault that seems
trivial can have dreadful consequences, so that we realize that the
fault isn't so trivial but is, in fact, a deep flaw in our character.
Perhaps it's a type of selfishness, or shallowness, or deceit, and it
can devastate a person's life. The only way to learn these things is
through fiction, or by experiencing them first-hand, and fiction
writers hope to spare us from the tragedy of experiencing ruin.
The
Value of Fiction Depends on the Worth of the Writer
You'll quickly realize that the ability
pg 161
of fiction to teach us morals depends on the writer's wisdom, insight
and goodness. A writer with a shallow mind will write fiction that
presents false, shallow teaching. That's why we should only read the
very best fiction. It's the only kind that will teach us essential
truth.
Fiction
Influences What We Have a Passion For
Fiction doesn't just teach morals and manners. Our enthusiasms and even
our religion can be inspired and inflamed by fiction, whether it's
prose or poetry. Jesus Himself presented some of His most profound
teaching in the wonderful stories he told. We call them Parables. Some
people are too severely literal. They don't understand that there are
two kinds of truth, the merely accidental
kind and the essential kind.
One is fleeting and for the here and now, but the other is eternal. One
is true for today, but the other is Truth for all time. When they throw
scorn at the Bible by telling us that the Garden of Eden isn't a
literal place, or that the serpent and the apple are fables, or that
the flood and a lot of other things are allegories, we won't let it
shake our faith.
Essential
Truth
What matters most in Bible stories is their essential truth. All godly people
have known what it's like when their 'walls of Jericho' fall by the
power of their faith and the 'trumpet blast' of their prayers. They've
experienced how the 'sea of difficulty' that threatened to overwhelm
them suddenly 'parted' so they could pass through it. They've heard the
'still small voice' of the Lord in the cool of the evening, speaking to
their quiet and obedient hearts. They've discovered from first-hand
experience how God reveals His ways to people through the songs,
stories, poems and prophecies of Scripture, and how He reveals what's
in the hearts of people. These are the kinds of things that really
matter. People who understand this aren't troubled by conflicting
details that critics debate about. They're content to wait until all
the facts are in about whether a certain
pg 162
text accurately records the events that happened in a given year, or
whether Genesis was written by one man or two. All of these details are
interesting, but they have nothing to do with the essential, eternal
Truth--the revelation of what was previously unknown about God and
about man. The revelations of these profound mysteries are what give
the books of the Bible the seal of Divine authorship.
pg 163
Chapter
16 - Some Causes Of Lying
Malicious
Lies
Being nitpicky about trivial details, rash generalizations,
exaggeration and changing the truth to be funny are like minor battles
that attack the fortress of Truth when they find an opportunity. But
Truth's fortress also has scouts and miners who dig under its
foundations. It takes more work to deal with those enemies. As we've
already seen, there are Hatred and Envy, which lead to Slander. Of all
the lies there are, the meanest kind is a lie that's told to make a
person's friends think less of him. There are laws to prevent
reputations from being hurt, just as there are laws to protect people's
physical bodies. But in spite of the laws, it's still possible to make
casual remarks that can damage a person's reputation without being sued
and taken to court.
Cowardly
Lies
Cowardice often leads to falsehood. When we've done or said something
that we're ashamed of, our first impulse is to deny it. We claim that
it wasn't us who dropped the match that caused the fire, or forgot to
write a thank you note that should have been sent, or made the comment
that offended Mrs. Foster. When a coward's guilt is found out and he's
caught, he takes refuge in lies. Instead of being cowards, let's gather
our courage and own up to our mistakes. Our friends will love us more
in spite of our mistakes if we admit to them and confess that we did
it. They'll appreciate our courage
pg 164
and respect us for remembering that God hates liars.
'Dare to be truthful, faults aren't helped by lies.
A fault plus a lie has just doubled in size!'
Withholding
Information is a Form of Falsehood
The habit of being too reserved to share things is related to the
falsehood of concealing truth. Even though it's not actively telling a
lie, it's not telling the truth, either. For instance, if you're asked,
'Where have you been all day?' it's concealment to answer, 'I walked
towards Milton,' when you really made it all the way into Milton, did a
little shopping, and bought some chocolate. Candid talking means we
should make things plain, and being open and honest about our little
affairs is part of being Truthful. We owe that openness to the people
we live with. The fact is, most people know when they're not being told
the complete truth, and when something is being held back from them.
Boasting
Lies
Conceited people tell bragging lies. They think that their friends will
like them more because of what they have, or the things they've seen or
done, or for the impressive people they know. Like any other kind of
lying, this is foolish as well as wrong. If our boastful lies makes
foolish, conceited people like us, then their very friendship is like a
blot on our character. It does us no credit. After all, the only people
we can impress that way are foolish, conceited people. Good, sensible
people can tell we're lying. The more we brag, the less they think of us.
Adventurous
Lies
Some people spend so much time imagining fancy castles and adventures,
that it comes out in their talk. They'll tell you that they've been
here or there, that they've talked with this or that famous person, or
maybe that they were kidnapped and left on some deserted island, or
that their parents aren't their real parents because they're really a
changeling or the child of a duke or of a
pg 165
gypsy. This kind of lying is the result of a dangerous mental tendency.
When people can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy so
that they mix them up in conversation, it shows that they're losing
their ability to Reason. They're losing their grip on reality and may
be headed for the mental ward. We should never allow ourselves to say
things that our Reason and our Conscience can't approve of.
Lies
for the Sake of Friendship
It's not easy to tell the truth when you know that it will get a friend
in trouble. 'Did you leave the gate open?' 'No.' 'Was it Tom?' You know
that it was Tom, and that it's his fault that the dog got out and dug
up the flower bed. What should you say? No decent person could tattle
on someone else, but it isn't right to lie to protect him, either. If
you answer, 'Tom is my friend. I can't tell what he does or doesn't
do,' then it's most likely that nobody will ask you any more about it.
One more thing: Some people use the excuse that 'All's fair in love and
war' to lie. They think that telling the truth is important when it
regards their side, but that it doesn't matter about their opponent's
side. What they forget is that a lie is like a double-edged sword. It
hurts the one who tells it even more than the person who hears it. A
person can't have a pure, blameless life unless both his friends and
enemies know that his words can be trusted.
Magna
est Veritas (Great is the Truth)
Let's take courage. Truth, which serves Justice, is a thing of beauty
in every Mansoul. She has attendants who serve her. They include
Accuracy and Clarity, whose job is to make sure that every word that is
spoken means exactly what it seems to mean, nothing more and nothing
less. Genuineness makes sure that every word that comes from the mouth
is what's sincerely felt in the heart so that we're saying exactly what
pg 166
we think. Honesty makes us faithful to keep our promises no matter how
inconvenient, except when it's a promise that we should never have made
in the first place. In that case, the only honorable thing to do is to
break the wrong promise, which was a mistake to have made. As always,
each of these qualities has its demons. Duplicity is two-faced
and full of hints, insinuations and double meanings. Pretension tries
to displace Sincerity by pouring out congratulations, praise, sympathy
and kind words that aren't really meant. Treachery breaks faith and
makes promises meaningless. But, let's take courage. These are enemies
that every valiant mansoul can conquer. 'Truth is great, and it will
prevail.'
pg 167
Chapter
17 - Integrity: Justice In Action
Integrity
in Our Work: 'Slacken Up, Don't Work
So Hard'
Recently, British newspapers accused British workers of taking a new
motto: 'Go easy, slacken up, don't work so hard!' In other words, a
worker who was paid by the hour determined to do as little work as
possible during his shift. For instance, a bricklayer might be limited
to laying a certain number of bricks, maybe half as many as he would
normally do, and so on with other jobs. This was supposed to help
unemployed men since this would ensure that there would be more work to
go around.
Wise people recognize the error in this kind of thinking. The man who
really helps his fellow workers is the one who does good, honest work,
getting as much done as he can during his shift. He motivates the
people who have money to spend it by hiring workers, knowing that
they'll get their money's worth, whether it's building houses or
making shoes. The worker who slows down inconveniences his employer and
makes him lose money. Other employers won't want to hire people in that
profession. Such a worker gives his profession and his country a bad
name. Of all the things that a man or country can suffer,
pg 168
the one that takes the longest to overcome is a ruined reputation. A
man who does less than he can, or worse than he can, may flatter
himself about how helpful he's being to his fellow workers, but he
isn't
deceiving anyone.
A
Standard
In one corner of London's Trafalgar Square, there's a piece of granite
that's marked with a measure of exactly one yard. If there's ever any
dispute about how long a yard is, it can be settled easily by measuring
against this standard. Every person has something similar in his own
heart--a standard that measures, not yards, but the integrity of
people's work. He knows whether a certain man's work is thorough and
complete. We'd call that honest work. This unwritten law of integrity
is the standard that all true men (men who aren't greedy or lazy) use
to measure people's work as either honest, or dishonest. If a man's
work is honest, he's considered a person of integrity, which means that he's a whole man.
All
of Us Are Paid Workers
We may not be bricklayers or carpenters, but we're all paid workers in
some sense, and none of us are excused from the obligation of integrity
in the work we do.
School children and young college students are paid in two ways: the
cost of their schooling, and the trust of their parents and teachers.
There's another 'employer' they're working for, too. This employer
might seem lenient at the time, but he'll harass the poor worker with a
heavy penalty of guilt later. That employer is--yourself. Every person owes
integrity to himself as much as to others. When we don't produce
thorough, timely work done well, it's we ourselves who suffer the most
in the end.
pg 169
After graduation, whether a person works at home, or goes out to make
their mark in the world, there are still employers to satisfy and wages
to be earned. Those wages may be the regular, generous payment of the
freedom to live at home and enjoy the privileges of the household. No
matter how easy it is for us, even if our 'boss' is only Mom or Dad,
we're still under the obligation of integrity. There are certain things
we owe in return for the favors granted to us. They may be due to our
parents and family, or to our employer or boss. Even more than that, we
owe it to ourselves and our future. Even now, we're making or damaging
our character day by day. The truth is, it's easier to be diligent and
exacting at a job or in the classroom. At home, it's easy to get away
with avoiding work, or doing tasks half-heartedly.
Integrity
Grows
An 'integer' is a whole
number, and a man of integrity
is a whole man, complete and unimpaired. Rome wasn't built in a day,
and it's the same with a person of integrity--it doesn't happen
overnight. From childhood, he's been faced with temptations to go
through the
motions, dawdle, procrastinate, get out of work, or even to cheat by
having somebody else do his work and then passing it off as his own.
He's been tempted to think, 'It doesn't matter,' 'That's good enough,'
'it's no worse than John's,' 'He'll never know the difference,' 'Nobody
will notice,' 'It isn't worth taking too much trouble,' or, 'This won't
be on the test,' as many pages of useful material doesn't get read. A
person of integrity has to stave off these and a hundred other
temptations to put off his work. He tells himself, 'I owe it to my
parents, (or to my teacher or employer) to do this as well as
pg 170
I can, and as quickly as possible. Even more than that, I owe it to myself.' And then he sets his mind
to what he must. He doesn't let a lazy friend pull him from his work,
and he doesn't let an inviting hobby distract him until the job is done.
Everything he's done has helped him become the person of character he
is now. Every little bit of work, Latin verbs, Algebraic formulas, a
bookshelf he built, everything he's done has been an honest job. It's
not that he's never shirked a job that came his way because he
preferred to work on his favorite hobby, but in any job he's done, he's
never taken the attitude of, 'Go easy, slacken up, don't work so hard!'
The times he did shirk, he just didn't do the job at all and he's owned
up to it. But what he has done, was done honestly. That's how a person
of integrity was developed--one step at a time. 'I could never work
that hard all the time for so long, no matter what could be gained from
it!' Thinking that way is a mistake. A whole worker does his job with his
whole heart. He does the job completely and cheerfully. And, when he's
done, he actually has more leisure time to do what he wants to than the
'don't work so hard!' guys who never finish their work.
It's wonderful to be able to look back, even on just a single year, and
feel the satisfaction of all the tasks we were given that we did
thoroughly and did well, and were wholly
done so that we kept our integrity. A good son might have written down
phone messages accurately. A good student might have put his whole
focus on his studies. Even games are better when the players put their
whole selves into it. Any job worth doing needs Integrity.
'Do
The Next Thing'
If
you don't do it now, you'll be in the same state
Tomorrow, the next day, you'll still
hesitate.
Trying to decide causes more delays
And some day you'll weep over all the
lost days.
(paraphrased from Marlowe)
Everyone understands that Integrity is a virtue. Even thinking of
Integrity inspires us within. We think to ourselves, 'I want to be a
whole, trustworthy person. I'm determined to be a person of Integrity.'
But, just like it is in the big world, in the Kingdom of Mansoul,
having Integrity isn't just a matter of wishful thinking, it depends on
other things. Nobody can have the quality of Integrity
pg 171
without putting his mind and heart into trying to have it.
Often, someone who's eager and excited about starting a project never
gets it finished because he's preoccupied and scattered doing all kinds
of other things, instead of simply doing what comes next.
For instance, a student is supposed to be writing a paper about the
history of England. He starts off looking up the Battle of Hastings in
the encyclopedia, and then gets sidetracked reading about Hannibal.
That's so interesting that, before he knows it, his time is up and his
paper isn't even started, or has to be hastily finished and isn't
written
very well. The best policy is to recognize that there's always a next thing to be done, either in
our work or play, and the next thing,
no matter how trivial it seems, is the right thing to do. It isn't only
our projects that will benefit. Our own character benefits, too,
because every time we make ourselves do the next thing, we develop a little
more power to manage the unruly demon of Whim, which can be as untamed
as a wild colt.
Do
the Most Important Thing
But sometimes figuring out what the next
thing is isn't so simple. Sometimes it means prioritizing. There
might be twenty emails to answer, a dozen errands to do, a stack of
books you want to read, and shelves and drawers to be sorted and
arranged - and you'd like to get started on all of them at the same
time!
There's a saying, 'Never do today what you can put off til tomorrow.'
The dawdling procrastinator is glad to finally have a piece of advice
he can actually follow! But that's not really what it means. It's
really a light-hearted way of saying that we need to put first things first. The ability
to prioritize and organize tasks is what distinguishes an intelligent
person who gets things done, and someone who lets himself get swamped
and overwhelmed by details. An unintelligent person will work steadily
reading all twenty emails as each one comes into his inbox.
pg 172
He ends up not getting through all of them, and the three or four that
urgently required a response have to be left for tomorrow.
Knowing the difference between what needs
to be done right away, and what could
be done, gets easier with practice. At first it takes careful attention
and thought. But after awhile, the mind and body get used to doing some
things automatically. In time, a person who develops the habit of
singling out the most important tasks to do first will save himself, as
well as everyone around him, a lot of annoyance and inconvenience. He
also gains some Integrity.
The
Habit of Finishing
Anything worth starting is worth finishing, and anything worth doing is
worth doing well. Don't let yourself start a dozen projects so that
they end up collecting in a box, all unfinished. There always seem to
be fifty great reasons to start a new thing, but here is where we need
to exert some control over that wild colt whose name is Whim. It's a
good idea to make ourselves stick to the thing we've already started
until it's finished. Even then, we're tempted to rush and cut corners
to get it done so we can move onto the new project. But we need to make
ourselves do each task as perfectly as we can, remembering that
everything we turn out is like a little bit of ourselves. What comes
from us needs to be thorough and complete, because that's what's
Integrity means.
Idle, careless and unpredictable people may be fun to hang out with,
but they don't turn out honest work, and they're not building up
integrity
of character within themselves. Integrity needs a foundation of
constancy, attention and perseverance. In the end, Integrity results in
gladness because people who are honest about the work they do get it
done, so that they have free time in good conscience. They aren't
secretly anxious about the thought of all the things they didn't get
to, or the things they did halfway.
pg 173
Integrity
in Use of Time: Drifters and Dawdlers
It's not good to think that time is our own to do whatever we want
with. We all have jobs and duties, and a certain amount of our time
needs to be given to doing them. It's amazing how much time there is in
a day, and how many things we can fit in if we really try. It's just as
amazing how a day, or a week, or a year can slip through our fingers
and be gone with nothing accomplished to show for it. We might say that
at least we didn't do anything harmful in that time, and that we didn't
mean to use our time badly. We just somehow allowed ourselves to drift.
Some students drift through their school years, and some people drift
through their entire lives. They never accomplish anything because
they've never purposed to do
anything. They fail their exams, they fail in their careers, they fail
to provide for their family, they fail to serve their community or
country--not because they lack intelligence or because they're unkind,
but because they never recognize that using
time wisely is a duty.
They dawdle through the workday, waiting for somebody to make them do what they're supposed
to. But they're mistaken. Nobody can even make a child do anything. If
a child is obedient, it's because he's making himself obey. If he's
industrious, it's because he's making himself work. All the king's
horses and all the king's men can't make a dawdler productive. A person
has to make himself do the things he needs to do at the proper time.
It's a great thing to be able to make oneself work. Every attempt makes
it a little easier the next time. Once we jump into the saddle of that
easy pony named Habit, it becomes a real satisfaction to be able to get
a day's work done in a day and have free time left over to enjoy doing
leisure activities.
pg 174
Stealing
Time
Some people love to have a little project of their own going on during
the time they're supposed to be doing something else. A girl working
the cash register has a book propped up that she's trying to read. A
student is trying chemistry experiments when he's supposed to be
reading. The project may be worthwhile, but it's still stealing time
away from something else.
As we'll see coming up, we can't afford to have little cracks in our
character. Our integrity won't allow us to steal like this in good
conscience. Every bit of work has its proper time. The time that
belongs to one task belongs to that task and shouldn't be used for some
other purpose. Dick Swiveller (from Dickens' Old Curiosity Shop) is an
entertaining guy as he balances a ruler on his chin, shoots pens at a
target and jokes with the 'Marchioness' during his work hours. But
that's why Dick ended up where he did and never amounted to anything in
his life. Although he was no idiot, he never figured out that work and
time are related.
Integrity
with Resources: Honesty
The church catechism says, 'My duty towards others is to keep my hands
from snitching and stealing.' This is commonly accepted as the
definition of honesty. Of course, we would never dream of taking what
belongs to someone else, and we feel pretty safe as far as this
temptation goes.
But sometimes we hear of bizarre events: a man has lived for sixty
years and has been a respected and successful man. He's thought of as a
gentleman, not just in his social position, but in the sense of being
an honorable man. But when this man is sixty years old, he embezzles
huge amounts of money, apparently for the first time. But people don't
go
down like this the first time.
pg 175
It's the ship with a leak that sinks. A leak in a person's character
might have been there since his childhood, but didn't sink him until he
was in a big enough sea to face a big temptation.
We need to be careful when we handle money. The more we're trusted, the
more careful we need to be. Honest people are careful about even the
minor things, such as giving back the right amount of change.
One thing we need to keep in mind. We shouldn't spend what we don't
have. It may be true that we'll get our allowance at the end of the
month, but we need to wait and not spend it before we actually have it.
Mr. Micawber was right in theory, even if he didn't follow his own
advice, and who would know better than he did? 'If your annual income
is twenty thousand dollars, and your annual expenditure is nineteen
thousand nine hundred sixty dollars, the result is happiness. But if
your annual income is twenty thousand dollars, and your annual
expenditure is twenty thousand dollars and sixty cents, the result is
misery.'
The student who gets credit or borrows from his friends will grow into
a person who is always behind on his bills. That isn't just bad for the
person who supplied him with the goods, but it's bad for him. He
becomes so stressed and worried from the pressure of debts here and
bills there that he has no room for worthwhile thoughts. His loss of
integrity is a leak that sinks his whole character.
Small
Debts
Related to this, we should remember that we have an obligation to pay
back our small debts promptly. Often, we have the money to pay back
those small debts, but the amount seems so trivial that we don't take
the time or trouble to pay them. A serviceman might have sent six
reminders for a two-dollar fee, paying for six postage stamps, but
the client won't bother to send such a small payment. Or,
pg 176
a girl has to be asked seven times to pay a six cent amount. No person
of integrity allows himself to be so negligent. It's a bother and an
annoyance to others, but that's not the worst of it. The beautiful
whole completeness of our character is smudged by small sins of
negligence.
Bargains
There's another kind of failure in integrity that people don't think is
as shameful as debt, even though its effects are just as bad. It's the
kind of bargain-hunting that even sensible people think is okay.
It's caused by false thinking. It starts with the idea that we should
have the best there is at the lowest possible price. This idea leads to
the
offensive, scrambling crowds that we see at sales. People waste a good
amount of time, temper and health running from one store after another
searching for the cheapest and best items. It's a dishonest waste of
time for the salesclerks who work in those stores. And customers end up
paying for that time. And people end up as disappointed as Rosamond
with her purple jar--they
impulsively buy some fancy, useless object that isn't even worth having
once they get home and take a closer look when their judgment is
calmer. That kind of incident could be avoided if we used clear
judgment combined with integrity in what we set out to do.
What we really need isn't the best there at the lowest price. We need
what suits our purpose at the price we can afford and that we know is
fair.
Looking at it from this perspective, it seems a lot simpler. We don't
need to be always running from store to store stressing ourselves and
wearing other people out in our quest for bargains. Instead,
pg 177
every purchase we make will be a simple, straightforward matter.
It will become an issue of integrity when we deal with local clerks, if
they have what we need. If they don't, we're free to look somewhere
else. We might find what we need at a store that's farther away, but
we've escaped from the trap of bargain-hunting.
There's another risk that comes with bargain-hunting. An item isn't
cheap if it's something we don't want. The temptation to buy something
we don't need because it's such a bargain leads to a waste of money
that could have been used for something else, and leads to an
accumulation of 'stuff' that clutters our home. It's good to remember
that the most precious and pleasing thing in a house or room is space. Even a small room is
spacious if it's not cluttered with useless stuff.
Our
Neighbor's Property
Another point of integrity is how we take care of what belongs to our
neighbor. Loving our neighbor as we love ourselves means that we should
be at least as careful when we use something of his as we'd be with our
own things. We all borrow books, either from our friends or from the
library. We need to take care of the books we borrow as if they were
our own treasured possessions. We shouldn't let them get messed up by
laying them on a wet spot on the table. We shouldn't fold the corners
of the pages, or ruin the bindings by using big objects to mark our
place.
When we walk through the park, we need to remember that it's not easy
to keep some areas grassy and green. In such places, we need to be
careful not to walk on the edges of the lawn. And we'll be careful of
school property when we're at school, or college property when we're at
college. These concerns relate to our integrity. If we're careful in
the small things,
pg 178
then we'll be trustworthy in the greater things. When we're trusted
with the property of others, whether it's money or resources, we'll be
careful not to be wasteful, careless or extravagant. Integrity means
that we should take care of whatever property is given to us, and we'll
make the most of it. We won't let ourselves waste even so much as a
glue stick for fun.
Borrowed
Property
The issue of borrowing comes under the same guidelines as taking care
of what belongs to other people. Students borrow all kinds of things
from each other, from pencils to umbrellas. There's such a feeling of
community property and goodwill among them that it's hard to object to
borrowing and loaning things. But, in the name of honesty, just one
thing needs to be said. When we borrow something, we need to return it
promptly and in the same condition it was in when we first borrowed it.
No
matter how close we are to our friends, we're never excused from this
rule. The friend we borrow things from might not even notice when we
don't return them, but every incident where we don't return something
hurts our integrity and makes us less of a complete person.
We've seen that the work we do, how we spend our time and the things
that we use are all areas where we need to be fair and honest. There
might be lots of times when we get away with being unjust in these
matters because nobody notices, but every lapse damages our character.
We have less integrity after each incident than we did before. The
habit of letting ourselves commit minor incidents of dishonesty by
wasting time, doing sloppy work, or being careless with other people's
things can pave the way for ruin later in life. But we don't need to
live in worry about ruin. Integrity is an inborn part of each of us. We
only need to listen to it and do what it asks.
pg 179
Chapter
18 - Opinions: Justice In Thought
Three
Kinds of 'Opinions'
When we say, 'I think tomorrow's going to be a nice day!' we're
expressing an opinion. When we say, 'Mr. Jones is great, you should
hear what he has to say about Xenophon's book Anabasis,' we're also expressing an
opinion, even though we didn't qualify it with the words, 'I think.' Even if we say, 'Let's
walk to Purley Woods,' we mean that we think it would be fun to walk
there. No matter how hard we try, we can't help thinking. And the
thoughts we have about people and things are our opinions. People often say, 'I
think,' when they mean, 'I wish.' Having actual opinions about things
like the weather means that we've made a judgment call from weather
signs, and not everyone knows enough to read the signs. If we want an
educated opinion about the weather, we'll ask someone who's had to
learn to read the signs, such as a farmer or sailor or weatherman.
When we say, 'Mr. Jones is great,' it might mean that we've heard his
lectures at the university and that we liked him. If that's the case,
then our opinion is worth having. But sometimes we've only heard other
people in our circle mention Mr. Jones. Everyone else is saying good
things about him
pg 180
and we join in. That kind of opinion is worthless. We'd change our tune
if some disgruntled student said something critical about Mr. Jones,
like, 'He wears such weird ties!' A person who lives by opinions he
picks up from others isn't considering how important the opinions are
that he's holding onto. Mr. Jones' ties and Mr. Jones' lectures are all
the same to him, and his estimation of poor Mr. Jones rises or falls
based on the most recent thing he's heard about him.
If Mindy says, 'Let's go to Purley Woods,' her opinion isn't insincere.
She remembers seeing primroses there before, and her pleasant memories
influence her thoughts. We get a very real, honest opinion from someone
who wants something--but that's not a reliable opinion because our
personal desires tend to drown out our judgment so that we rush forward
after what we want. This is what happens with youths who fall into bad
ways. Their opinions are regulated by their personal wishes. They only
believe what they want to believe.
An
Opinion Worth Having
We can infer three rules, then, about opinions that are worth having.
First, we need to think about the subject and have some knowledge about
it, like a farmer does about the weather. Second, it needs to be our opinion, not something we pick
up from hearing what others are saying. And, third, we need to be
unbiased and not let our personal wishes influence the opinions we have
about things.
But you might wonder why we should have opinions at all if they take so
much trouble. The answer is that we can't help having opinions because
we're human. Every person has lots of opinions, and the opinions he
holds are either his own honestly thought out views, or else something
that
he gathered from his favorite news source or best friend. The person
who honestly thinks out his
pg 181
opinions for himself is doing his duty as much as if he saved a life.
All duties are important--there aren't some that are more important
than others. It's a major part of our work in life to do what's right
in thinking through our opinions carefully.
Opinions
on Trial
As you know, we all have a guide inside us. It's our conscience, and
we'll speak about that more later. Once we get into the habit of
bringing our thoughts before him, we'll be able to tell the difference
between a right or wrong opinion before we even tell someone else about
it.
Fads
You might think that making such a big deal about how we form opinions
is just a current trend in thinking, and people who always latch onto
the latest thing are annoying. You might even say, 'I hate people with
radical new ideas, they never leave you alone.' It's true, people who
are always zealous about the newest craze can be tedious. There are two
reasons for this. First, people caught up in the latest new idea can be
too focused on that one thing and have a one-track mind so that they
don't bother to form opinions about other equally important issues.
And, second, they usually latch onto the novelty without doing their
research. Fads can be tiresome, but some people who might seem to be
faddists because of their single-mindedness are really specially called
to bring about some kind of reform.
William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson were obsessed about the issue
of slavery. Samuel Plimsoll was fanatic about unsafe ships. John Howard
was passionate about prison reform. Every great missionary or reformer
has been so focused on one subject that they didn't think about
anything else. Those kinds of people aren't faddists. They don't
habitually take extreme or one-sided views, even though they're
consumed with one issue.
But not very many of us are called to make that kind of sacrifice
pg 182
for reform. The rest of us can't allow ourselves to let a single set of
ideas occupy our whole selves. A faddist is a person who talks and
thinks about one thing. But a reformer does more than talk and think.
He dedicates his life to doing something about it and becomes a
reformer who changes the world.
Things
We Need to Form Opinions About
All of us need to come to an opinion about our country, other
countries, careers, entertainment, books we've read, what we hear,
people we meet, illustrations we've seen, and characters we've read
about in history or fiction. Nothing that enters our minds is exempt
from our obligation to form fair and sensible opinions about it. To
prepare us to do this, we need to spend the years while we're young
getting
the knowledge that will help us to think. Even when we're grown up, we
still need to spend time getting knowledge. Unfortunately, not many
adults have most of their day free to learn and study like they did
when they were in school. Young people have this opportunity, but too
often, they're focused on cramming to pass exams and don't take
advantage of the opportunity to really learn. The lectures we hear and
books we read only benefit us if they make us think.
When Numa
was approached about ruling Rome, he had already given the idea some
thought. He said that he didn't have any special skills or noble
ancestry that would make him suited to rule. But the Romans had their
own thoughts and opinions. They asked him to consider taking the
position as ruler to save his country from being ruled incompetently.
That was a thought that hadn't
pg 183
occurred to Numa. There were undoubtedly selfish people who only wanted
to rule Rome for their own benefit. The opinion of the Romans was
reasonable, so Numa considered it, and decided to accept the position.
This is a good example of how opinions should influence the decisions
we make. We need to think about things--everything--for ourselves. We
need to think about what the responsibilities should be for a judge, or
a general, or a king, or a minister. Then, if we're ever called on
unexpectedly to take on one of those jobs, we'll know what to say.
Of course, if we were called on, we'd probably do what Numa did at
first--protest that we didn't have the experience or education to
qualify us for such a position. We probably don't think we'd ever be
asked! But it's still a good idea to recognize what other people do,
and what kinds of things they have to think about. By learning what it
would have been like to travel to Tibet with Colonel Younghusband, or
defend Port Arthur with General Stoessel, we develop opinions worth
having about war, patriotism, the obligations of public workers, and
lots of other matters. More than that, we should make an effort to
understand the responsibilities and purposes of parents, teachers, and
anyone in authority over us. Then, when we give our opinion about their
actions, it's more likely to be fair. [We
might have a different opinion about what clerks ought to do for us,
for example, after we know what it's like to be a clerk!]
As far as preachers and their sermons, it's the same as with anything
else. Only people who care about religion and think about it have the
right to give their opinion.
Opinions
about Books
In the same way, we have to be fair in the way we evaluate books.
Trashy books aren't even worth the effort to think about, so we have no
business reading them. But a book that's worth our time,
whether it's a story or a
pg 184
commentary, contains the best thoughts of the person who wrote it. We
can only understand what he's trying to say by thinking seriously as we
read.
The fact is, the books that make us think, and the poems that make us
wonder, and the lives of men that make us pause for reflection, are
more useful to us than whole libraries of good advice. Sometimes we
read what are considered 'good moral books.' We read and think how good
they
are, and how good it is of us to read them. But it doesn't stick with
us
because the writer has spelled the lessons out so plainly that we
haven't had to work to figure them out for ourselves. It seems to be a
rule of life that we don't really own anything that we don't work for.
This is especially true of the mind. What comes too easily, goes just
as easily. That's why Jesus didn't speak to the people without using
Parables. He told the people stories that, for some, would pass
casually through their minds as something entertaining for the moment.
But for others, they could reflect on them, form opinions about them,
and use them as a guide to learn the meaning of their lives.
The opinions you have right now about books and other things are
probably wrong. You'll find yourself correcting and refining them when
you've read more, thought more, and know more. In fact, no wise person,
no matter how old he gets, is ever totally sure that his opinions are
true. He's faithful to them, but humble about whether he's right. He
should be like Numa, who was convinced that everybody else's opinion
was probably more logical than his own. He's not afraid or ashamed to
change his mind if he finds out he was wrong. One wise and witty man
said, 'None of us are infallible, no matter how young!' He knew how
arrogant youths can be, adopting opinions second-hand and then sticking
to them stubbornly. The very word 'opinion' means 'a thinking.' It
assumes that we've
pg 185
given the issue some thought with modesty and hesitation, and that it's
not something
we're absolutely sure about.
Our
Duty Regarding Opinions
Now we begin to understand what our duty is when it comes to our
opinions. First, we have to have 'a thinking' about lots of different
things. Therefore, we need to read, pay attention, learn, and inwardly
assimilate. We need to listen and mull things over in our mind because
we know that one of our purposes in life is to form the correct opinion
about whatever issue we come in contact with.
Next, we need to avoid short cuts when it comes to forming opinions. We
can't pick up our opinions already pre-packaged for us at the corner
market. And the next thing is the hardest, and something that can take
our whole lives. We need to learn to recognize a fallacy. A fallacy is an argument
that sounds good, but isn't plausible when we really analyze it. For
example, there's a truth to the statement that 'we're all born equal.'
We're equal as far as having the same rights to clean air, to enjoy the
beauty of the earth and sky, and to the protection of our country's
laws, and lots of other things. But some people try to twist this
phrase to mean that everyone should have an equal share of the property
in the world. That's absurd. The very word property means ownership. The owner
is the one who owns it. Our very nature attests to this: we're
indignant at even a cuckoo who takes over the nest of another bird. But
the issue of fallacies is complicated. For now, the only thing we need
to remember is that popular rallying cries, whether it's in the school
or nation, tend to rest on fallacies or false judgments. So we all need
to carefully analyze the notions we take on.
Next, before we form a final opinion about anyone in a position of
authority or importance, we need to try to recognize their job they
have to do and everything that relates to it.
pg 186
One last thing. When we settle on an opinion, we need to remember that
an opinion is only 'a thinking.' We need to hold it loosely, knowing
that we might change our mind. Still, because we arrived at that
opinion to the best of our ability through our own pondering, we need
to stick to it unless, like Numa, we become convinced that another view
is more right than ours.
We can't be lazy in the area of our opinions. The most important part
of Justice is thinking fair thoughts about the matters around us. The
best and wisest people are the ones who have spent time thinking about
many different topics and learned to think fair, unbiased
thoughts about all of them. It's nice to know that the lord of the
heart named Justice is always ready to weigh the opinions that we let
ourselves have.
pg 187
Chapter
19 - Principles: Justice In Our Motives
Principles,
Bad and Good
There's one class of opinions that we need to be especially careful
with. Sometimes we pick them up from other people, and sometimes we
come up with them all by ourselves. But, no matter how we get them, we
make them our own because everything we do is based on them. These
kinds of
opinions determine the way we behave. They're called Principles, which
comes from the word princeps,
which means 'the first.' These have first priority and top importance
of all our opinions. We sometimes say that a certain boy is
well-principled, or a certain person is a man of principle, or a young
lady has high principles, but, the truth is, everybody has principles. In other
words, everybody has a few main leading opinions on which they base
everything they do. A student who is always late for class, snitches
his Latin translation from the internet, ducks out of work, and cheats
at games may not realize it, but he's acting on principle. He may not
even have put his principles into words, but if we were to try to sum
them up, we might come up with something like this: 'What's the use of
doing any more than you need to?' 'Why should I rush? I'm not going to
stress myself by hurrying!' 'It's a waste of time, I'll never need to
speak Latin anyway.' These are the kinds of principles that his life
and actions are based on. He's allowed himself to think the way that
lazy and
pg 188
careless people think, and it's become a habit that he can't stop.
People might say that he's unprincipled, but I don't think there's any
such thing as an unprincipled person. Such a person isn't unprincipled,
he's a person who has deliberately chosen bad principles to base his
conduct on.
Meanwhile, another child is always on time, quick, and careful about
his work. He hardly knows why himself. But what has happened is that,
little by little, he has collected certain principles, and he can't
help acting on them. He remembers that he's obligated to his parents
and teachers to work, and that he ought
to do his obligations, because that's the right thing to do. In the
same way, he recognizes that knowledge is enjoyable, and that it's up
to him to get all of it he can while he's young and has the
opportunity. He also realizes that the kind of worker he'll be as an
adult depends on what kind of work he does now, and even his schoolwork
is helping him become the grown-up he'll be later. Maybe he heard
someone say these things at home or in school, or maybe he thought of
them himself, he might not even remember. At any rate, he's made them
the most important thing--his principles. What he does is always based
on them. Both of these students are ruled by their principles. To find
where the difference is between them, we'd have to go back to their
choice of principles. Choosing one's principles is a very important
part of life.
How
to Tell Good Principles From Bad Ones
A traveler who arrives in a foreign airport is both amused and annoyed
by the number of porters clamoring for his luggage, and taxi drivers
offering to drive him to his hotel. In a similar way, many different
principles are forced on us, clamoring for our consideration and
jockeying for our attention in the books and papers we read, people we
talk to, pictures we look at, and TV we watch.
We can tell the difference right from the beginning. Good principles
are offered to us in an unpretentious, low-key way,
pg 189
with very little pressure or urging. Bad principles are loud and
urgent. They drown out the voice of our conscience with their
continuous noisy chatter, inviting us to go the way we're most
inclined, and suggesting that we do the things that look like the most
fun.
Our
Principles are Written Large and Clearly
It's interesting that, although a person may never stop to articulate
what his principles are, they have their own way of being discovered. A
person's rules of conduct are written in large letters right on the
expression on his face for anyone to see. It's a good thing to
remember. Even though we may enjoy the company of a person who's lazy,
self-indulgent, envious, hateful, dishonest, cruel, or greedy, we can
see it in his eyes and mouth. We may like him, but differently. When
we're with him, we're on guard against his particular bad principle. We
may laugh at his jokes and enjoy his wit, but we don't trust him too
much or let him influence us in our own choice of rules of conduct.
You might wonder, 'But what are
my principles? And how would I find out?' Actually, you don't need to
worry too much about finding out. In this case, people around us can
see more about us than we can. In fact, some of the youngest children
we know have a better idea of what our principles are than we do
ourselves. What we need to do is to pay attention. We need to ask
ourselves questions from time to time, such as, Why am I always
following Joe around? Is it because he flatters me? Does he put
false ideas of daring into my head, or tempting suggestions for wrong
kinds of fun? If so, then we have a problem with our principles because
we've picked a friend who brings out the worst in us. What about Brent?
Do we keep him as a friend because he's an honest guy who's never
afraid to tell us the truth, even when he thinks we're acting foolish
or lazy? If so, then that's great! Do we join in when everybody else is
calling Sidney a cheater, or a nerd or a show-off after he wins honors
pg 190
for his schoolwork? If so, then we'd better be careful. Envy is the
principle that's determined that nobody's going to be better than us.
We collect our principles without even being aware of it, but they are
our masters. We need to catch one of them every once in a while,
scrutinize it, and ask ourselves how it affects what we do.
pg 191
Chapter
20 - Justice To Ourselves: Self-Control
My
Duty to Myself
We know that it's our duty to be fair and just to 'our neighbor,' which
means everyone at our own socio-economic level, and everyone below it,
and everyone above it. It includes our family members, people who serve
us, people we hire or buy things from, all of our friends and
relatives, and everyone from those closest to us to those at
the farthest ends of the world.
There's just one more person we need to show justice to. Many lives are
wasted because this person isn't treated fairly. Who is the one friend
we tend to neglect when we're trying to be just? It's our own selves! The
Anglican Catechism says that I owe it to my neighbor to be
moderate, sober, and pure. Part of the reason is so that we don't hurt
or offend others. But it's also because we owe that to our closest
neighbor--our very own self.
Some people accomplish great things for the world. They save lives,
write books, build hospitals. But the person who manages his body with
self-control is also doing a wonderful service for the world. For one
thing, the good person who keeps his body
pg 192
under control, sober, and pure helps to make the world more
beautiful just by being there. Also, both good and evil are contagious.
One immoral student in a school will cause other students to think
about and talk about things they shouldn't even entertain in their
minds. In the same way, one honorable student who won't have anything
to do with that kind of talk, and refuses to listen to it or even allow
it, helps to make his whole school a better place. Not many things are
more tragic than a beautiful body that was made in God's image to be
healthy, strong and happy, damaged and ruined through bad habits.
Moderation
Avoids Anything in Excess
Of the three rules that should help us keep our bodies under control,
moderation, or temperance, is the least understood by youths. It might
make us think of Burne-Jones' s painting of Temperanti
pouring pure water out of her pitcher to douse the flames, or
temperance laws from the days of prohibition. It makes us think that
temperance is related to not drinking alcohol. But that's only one kind
of temperance. A boy who is greedy, or a girl who is lazy, is not
temperate. You can tell just by watching them walk down the sidewalk.
They don't have that bounce in their walk or alert look that moderate
people have.
People can even be immoderate when it comes to restlessness. Or they
might be obsessed with games, cramming for a test, reading novels,
playing poker, or any other kind of absorbing interest. Any excess is
intemperance. It means that the person has lost control of himself to
the point that he can't resist doing or having something, no matter
what he has to sacrifice or how much it puts someone else out. Once
we're aware of how dangerous it can be to lose control, even over
innocent things that are harmless in themselves, we'll be able to watch
ourselves. We
pg 193
won't go on to have a fifth donut, we'll make sure we get up on time,
we'll wake ourselves up with some cold water and a brisk walk, we'll do
some exercises with weights or stretches in our room. We'll be ashamed
to find ourselves getting flabby instead of trim, and we'll deal with
it by doing more exercise instead of sitting around on the couch. We'll
be careful not to have second or third helpings of something because we
like the taste. Actually, that's a good rule to live by. If one serving
of leftover hash will satisfy our hunger, then that means that one
serving of lasagna should also be enough for us. We don't want to
become overweight, because a fat, sluggish body can make us slow-witted
and dull in thought. We can be moderate without going on a narrow diet
(we don't need to live on things like apples and nuts). In fact,
moderation might best be practiced by eating a moderate portion of
whatever food is set in front of us, no matter how deliciously tempting
it is.
Soberness
Does not Look For Excitement
Soberness, because of the word it's derived from, means, first of all,
not being drunk. It's never been easier than it is these days for
youths to remain sober by never even tasting alcohol, because so many
good, thoughtful people of importance and society drink water instead
of wine.
In ancient Greece, great men used to give alcoholic drinks to their
slaves so that their children could see how foolish and disgusting a
drunk person becomes. They did this so that their children would grow
up thinking of drunkenness as a repulsive sin of lowly slaves. As
Christians, it isn't right to offend others by making
pg 194
them sin. But we don't need to make anyone drunk because the world is
already too full of examples of drunkenness. Even children who live in
the suburbs are exposed to the ugliness of alcoholism, and they wonder
about it. How can Jervis, who's so nice when he's sober, keep drinking
until he's so drunk that he falls by the side ofthe road, and makes
such a
disgusting spectacle of himself? This is something worth wondering
about, because the answer affects the whole history of alcoholism--and,
in fact, every sin that enslaves people.
Self-Indulgence
Leads to Corruption
People start drinking for the same reasons that children go to the
candy store. They want to indulge in something pleasant, and they think
there's no harm in a glass of wine or a beer. But 'no harm' is a
dangerous way of thinking. It sets people on a wide path where there's
lots of cheerful company and the way seems so pleasant because the path
is so easy to follow. In fact, it's downhill all the way. This is the
path of self-indulgence. When we have to justify something we're doing
by saying 'there's no harm in it,' then we're probably headed in that
direction. The only way to get back on the right path is to struggle
uphill to the path of duty. A person who stays on the easy path going
downhill, enjoying the songs and jokes of his fellow-travelers and
taking the path of least resistance, will end up at a cross-road where
his friends will leave him and go their separate ways.
The
Parting of the Ways
At this point, his friends lose all their cheerfulness. They hurry away
on one road or another urgently, as if it was a life or death matter.
And so it is. Except that they're headed for death, not life.
The path they're taking is gradually harming and killing the beautiful,
remarkable body that God gave
pg 195
to every person. They're muddying and weakening the wonderful brain
that's supposed to be used for thinking and knowing, loving and
praying. Even the greatest guitarist in the world can't get any more
than warped, broken sounds from a guitar whose strings are worn out and
damaged. In the same way, no matter how brilliant a person might be, if
he lets himself take the easy path down one of the four crossroads of
corruption, his destructive habits will consume all of the promise and
ability of his genius. A person can't do any worthwhile thinking or do
anything of value if his mind isn't well.
An
Alcoholic's Fate
The first path from the crossroad leads to alcoholism. People start
down this path
when they pass the stage of self-indulgence. In other words, they don't
drink anymore because they enjoy it. They drink because they have to.
That's the tragic price that a person pays for self-indulgence. They're
plagued with a craving that few can resist. Nothing seems to help--not
their own conscience, the help of their friends, not even their faint
and feeble prayers. The poor wretch is so miserable that he drinks. For
a moment, the alcohol stimulates him and makes him feel better. It
causes a quick rush of blood to the brain so that he can think clearly
and life seems more pleasant. But, unfortunately, there's a period of
depression right after that. The person can't think, and can't feel
anything. He feels sorry for himself and gets weepy, his life feels
like an unbearable burden--so he rushes back to the poison of alcohol
for relief. He says that he has
to drink, that it's not humanly possible to resist the overwhelming
craving that consumes him.
Alcohol takes away his health, his money, his relationships, his job.
His mind and body are a wreck. People wonder how he can live that
way--if you'd
pg 196
call an existence of crawling around in hidden places any kind of life.
Is this any way for that person to show appreciation to God for the
wonderful gifts of their body and mind? Is it fair to his family and
friends to make himself a burden and an offense to them? Is it fair to
himself? His wonderful, beautiful self with all the things his heart,
mind and soul can do, are his responsibility to make the most of.
What would you think of a man who received a laptop computer as a
birthday present, and then opened it up and poured acid all over it?
You'd say he was an idiot or a mental case to destroy something so
expensive that took so many intricate parts and labor to put together.
Well then, what about a person who destroys the even more wonderful
mechanism of his brain and body that are all he has to think, live and
feel?
The most merciful thing seems to be to lock up these kinds of offenders
in an asylum with the other lunatics. But God doesn't excuse us so
easily from the responsibility of choosing between right and wrong. We
can't escape that responsibility, even if we always make the wrong
choice and offend God, ourselves and our neighbor again and again.
The
Honor System
That's why it's so important that we maintain control of our bodies.
Since we have the freedom to do the wrong thing when we feel like it,
we have to be even more careful to choose to do the right thing. The
French have a nice-sounding phrase that we English use regarding
prisoners of war. The prisoner is allowed to have quite a bit of
freedom 'en parole,' meaning on his word of honor that he won't try to
escape. In both France and England, and others places, too, the word of
a gentleman is so binding
pg 197
that a prisoner who might be smart enough to break out of the most
strongly guarded prison, can't escape from the honor of his own
promise. He can be trusted to walk around the streets, go here and
there, do whatever he wants, because there's an invisible wall
confining him that he can't break through. The wall is nothing more
than his word. He is en parole.
This is the way God treats us when it comes to indulging ourselves. We
are quite free to go down the broad road of destruction, but our own
word en parole stops us. We
might not have ever said so out loud, but we're speaking figuratively
about the word within us. It means 'on our honor.' We're all on the
honor system to keep ourselves from ruin, no matter how easy or fun it
might seem to make wrong choices.
The problem is that so many youths go down the broad road of
destruction and never even realize they're on it. They never stop to
look around and think about where they are. Instead they say, 'It
doesn't matter,' about this little pleasure or that kind of fun, and,
before they know it, they have lost their honor.
Excitement
Alcohol isn't the only thing that intoxicates us. Anything that
produces an unnatural rush of blood to the brain is a kind of
intoxication. As soon as the blood flow returns to normal, the brain
will feel drained and depressed. This kind of intoxication is called excitement. There's no harm in it
from time to time, but some people start to crave excitement every day,
or even every hour. They might even mope and be unpleasant if things
aren't happening. They crave excitement for the same reasons that a
drunkard craves alcohol. And, in a similar way, the more they have, the
more they want.
pg 198
They don't enjoy time with their friends unless there's a lot of wild
talking and laughing. They always want to be with people who will 'make
them laugh,' no matter how coarse the jokes are. They're unsettled if
they can't go to every fun party within reach. No games are exciting
enough unless they're risky games of chance. In the end, this can lead
to a habit of gambling, which can be just as destructive and disgusting
as alcoholism.
Anyone who wants to stay sober-minded needs to avoid all these kinds of
excesses. I don't mean that one should never get excited, because
anything that pleases us or upsets us will excite us. But that's not
the same as going after
excitement and being discontent if something exciting isn't happening
all the time.
Circe
Regarding Gluttony (Circe is
pronounced SIR-see)
The other three of the four paths that come off of the crossroad lead
to Gluttony, Laziness and Impurity. People who go against their word of
honor regarding their physical bodies end up on any one of those paths.
Some people hover around the crossroads, first going down one path,
then another. But others, namely, the drunken alcoholic, the greedy
overeater, the deadbeat couch potato, and the promiscuous person, find
their favorite path and stick to it. They allow their entire body and
soul to be given over to one lustful passion.
In the Odyssey, the enchantress Circe turned Ulysses' sturdy seamen
into pigs. I can't say it any better than Nathaniel Hawthorne did in
Tanglewood Tales. If you remember, Circe met the wandering seamen who
were drawn to her palace with the sounds of pleasant singing. The
beautiful enchantress came to them, smiled and stretched out her hand,
bidding the whole group welcome. 'You see,'
pg 199
she said, 'I already know all about your troubles. Be assured that I
want to make you happy for as long as you stay with me. Fish, poultry,
beef, roasted and in delicious stews and spiced just the way I think
you like it, are all ready for you to eat. If you're hungry for dinner,
then come with me to the festive dining hall.' When they heard this
kind invitation, the hungry seamen were overjoyed. One of them let
their kind hostess know that they were ready to eat at any time of day.
They entered a magnificent dining hall. Each of the men was invited to
sit down. There they were, sitting on twenty two cushioned chairs with
canopies draping the tops. You could see the men nodding and smiling
and winking at each other to express their pleasure. One whispered,
'Our kind hostess is treating us like kings!' Another asked, 'Do you
smell that wonderful feast?' Another said, 'I hope it'll be thick
steaks, sirloin, and spare ribs and roast, nothing fancy. If I thought
it wouldn't be rude, I'd ask the lady for some bacon to start with!'
But the beautiful enchantress clapped her hands, and immediately twenty
two servers came in bringing dishes of the richest food, all hot off
the grills and oven. It sent up such a cloud of steam that it hung like
a cloud near the top of the domed ceiling of the dining hall. Twenty
two more attendants brought bottles of various wines. It sparkled as it
was poured out, and it went bubbling down the men's throats. They found
nothing lacking
pg 200
with the food and stayed at the table for a long, long time. It was
shameful the way they guzzled the liquor and wolfed down the food. They
might have been sitting on thrones worthy of kings, but they acted no
better than pigs in the sty. I'm embarrassed to even imagine the
mountains of meat and sausage and how many gallons of wine those twenty
two gluttons consumed. In their greed, they forgot all about the
families they were going home to. The only thing on their minds was
this banquet. They wished it could go on forever. But finally they
began to slow down, they simply couldn't hold any more.
They all stopped eating and leaned back on their chairs with such
stupid, helpless faces that they looked ridiculous. When their hostess
saw this, she laughed, and so did her four ladies in waiting and the
twenty two men who carried the dishes and the twenty two waiters who
poured the wine. 'You wretches!' cried the enchantress. 'You have
abused your hostess's hospitality. You may be in a princely dining
hall, but your behavior is more suited to a hog-pen. You're already
swine on the inside, now take the outer form of swine! Assume your
proper form, gluttons, and then go to the pig sty where you belong!'
After those last words, she waved her wand and stamped her foot with
authority. Each of the men was horrified to see his comrades change
shape until all twenty two seats had pigs sitting on the beautiful
cushions. They felt so absurd sitting on those chairs that they rushed
off and began to wallow on all fours like other pigs. They tried to
groan and beg for mercy, but the only sound that came from their mouths
was the most awful grunting and squealing. Their ears were pointed and
floppy,
pg 201
their eyes were little and red, and almost buried in fat! And instead
of Grecian noses, they had long pig snouts.
Interests
in Life
If we want to do what's fair and right for 'ourselves' by being
moderate, sober, and pure, we need to start with our thoughts. This is
one area where we can be real heroes, even if nobody else knows about
it. It's true for all of us that
'I have a responsibility,
And a God to glorify.'
And that's a great reason to be careful what we think about! People say
that if you take care of the small things, the big things will take
care of themselves. But it's even more true that if we take care of our
thoughts, the actions will take care of themselves.
If we want to stay moderate and sober, we need to work, read, and
think. Even more than that, we need to be thankful. There isn't a
person in the world whose life wouldn't be exciting if he lived it to
the full. The person whose life is full of interests doesn't need to
seek
excitement from alcohol or other bad habits.
A person who has interests spreads those interests to everyone around
him. A boy who starts collecting postcards will start a trend with his
friends. That's the way it is with every interest in life--poetry,
history, or anything in nature.
If you're interested in lots of things and you share your interests
with others, you'll be less likely to desire the kind of excitement
that leads to drunkenness. Interests will also keep us safe from
degrading gluttony. A child who gazes at his brother's plate and longs
for it because it looks better than his own, is a child who doesn't
have anything better to think about.
pg 202
Laziness
A person with interests isn't a sluggard. Hockey, tennis, baseball,
long walks, football, boating, skating--all of these activities help to
give him a strong body that isn't content to lie around all day. No one
should be like 'the fat boy' in Pickwick,
or any other book, for that
matter. When a person gets fat, it isn't always from eating too much,
although that may have something to do with it. It's usually that they
don't get enough exercise, so their bodies turn to fat instead of
muscle. Young men in college or in boarding schools don't let
themselves get fat. It just wouldn't be acceptable. If we find weight
creeping up on us, then we need to ask ourselves if we're getting lazy.
Laziness is a bad habit that's not worth ruining a life over.
Impurity
The last of the four paths is the worst of all. It leads to the deadly
sin of immorality. This is also a sin that's committed in our thoughts.
As soon as we've thought the thought, we've committed the offense. We
know how dangerous it is to allow ourselves to listen to people with
filthy minds, or to allow ourselves to create mental images of things
we read about. We can't avoid having things come across our path that
can lead to unclean imagination. If we could totally avoid those
things, then there wouldn't be any battle to fight. We wouldn't be able
to obey the command to 'glorify God with your bodies.' Each of us needs
to develop the ability to close the curtains and not allow our
imagination to create a picture of unclean things. Once Imagination
begins to act like a peeping Tom, it becomes a difficult battle to keep
impure thoughts out of our minds. God, our Lord and Master, tells us to
'Watch and pray so that you don't enter into temptation.' That means
that we need to examine the
pg 203
thoughts that we allow to enter our minds and shut the door on
intruders so they aren't allowed to come in. Pray every day and every
night with the kind of confidence that a child has when he talks to his
father, praying, 'Our Father, who art in heaven, lead us not into
temptation.' And then, don't give the matter another thought. Instead,
do your best to live the wonderful, full life of body, mind, heart and
soul that God has provided for.
pg 204
PART IV - Careers
Plans
'I'm going to be a chimney sweep when I grow up and wear a tall hat,'
says one little boy in Frankfort, who has only seen tall hats worn by
chimney sweeps. 'I'm going to be a cabby and drive a taxi-cab.' 'I'm
going to be a general and fight a great battle.' 'I'm going to be a
nanny and take care of an adorable baby.' 'I'm going to be a mommy and
have babies of my own.' That's what children say, and they change their
minds every week because all kinds of careers and jobs seem so
interesting to them, and they imagine how fun it would be to do each of
them.
Older boys and girls leave all of that behind as they outgrow childish
ways. But, later, a boy begins to wonder what kind of work he'll do in
the world. It's pleasant and satisfying to imagine that, whatever kind
of work he does, it will be his
work, and it will be the kind of job that real people need to have
done. Girls' hearts also dream of what they'll do. They also want to do
some kind of work that's
pg 205
needed. That's what both girls
and boys want. They know that the man who said, 'Being useful is what
makes life worth living,' was right. Boys know that they must go out
into the world and do something definite. Girls also have many career
options open to them these days [even
more now than in the days when Charlotte Mason was writing!]
Even if a girl's calling is to remain at home as a beloved daughter,
all she really needs to be content is 'to be of use.' And that might be
the place where she'll have the most opportunities to be useful. [In Charlotte Mason's day, it was common
for older girls who were finished with their schooling to remain at
home until marriage, as the Bennet girls did in Pride and Prejudice.]
Preparation
Some boys know from the time they're little that they're being groomed
for a specific career, such as the Navy. Other children don't know
what their calling will be until after they've left college.
All callings have one thing in common: they are useful. Therefore, it's possible to
spend years preparing for a calling before even knowing what the
specific calling is. What kind of person is of use to the world? Maybe
you think of the most brilliant and appealing of all your friends, and
you think to yourself, 'Now, there's the kind of person the world
needs!' But you might be very wrong! The good looks, clever wit, or
intellect that helped a student get to the top of their class doesn't
always lead to success in the real world, because a person with these
qualities might be like a ship without a rudder, at the mercy of
whatever waves the wind blows its way. Nobody should imagine that if he
doesn't have the qualities he admires in others, he can't be of
service. Every person has lots of opportunities, and each person's duty
is to be ready when his chance comes his way. The boy who received a
medal from the Humane Society for saving a dog's life was ready when
opportunity came. He
pg 206
had learned how to swim, and he had trained himself to have an alert
mind and generous nature. Therefore, he was able to recognize the right
thing to do, and do it immediately, without thinking about the hard
work or risk to his own life. All he thought about was the struggling,
sinking creature drowning in the water.
This is exactly what I mean. People who want to be ready when their
chance comes need to have well-trained, healthy bodies; alert,
intelligent, informed minds; and generous hearts that are ready and
willing to risk and do whatever is needed for anyone who needs their
help. This is the kind of person the world needs--people who have
cultivated and worked over every acre of their own Mansoul; people who
have their nerves under control and their muscles trained to be strong
and able; people whose imaginations are stored with excellent things
and who have given their sense of reason lots of practice; people who
are loving, fair and true.
Possibilities
Nothing in the world is as valuable or necessary as a child who is
prepared this way for whatever their calling might be. That's why I've
tried to show you some of the great possibilities that the Kingdom of
Mansoul has. We each have these same possibilities. The more we realize
what we can be and how much we can do, the more we'll work to be ready
to answer our call when it comes. A student who only does his
schoolwork to get a good grade on his report card, or to be the best
student in his class, might get what he's working for. But a person
might not be of use to anyone if he doesn't intend to be useful. Being
of use isn't something that just happens to us. It's the best thing in
life and requires some effort. A person who is only concerned about
having a good time, or being in first place, or making money,
pg 207
might get the thing he's trying for, but he shouldn't deceive himself.
He doesn't get the honor of being useful in the bargain.
'Find a way to
work
In this world!--It's the best thing you'll ever get at all.
* *
* * *
Get work! get
work!
The work itself is better than whatever it is you're working to get.'
E.B.
Browning [from Aurora Leigh, Third
Book, by Elizabeth Barret Browning]
The
Habit of Being Useful
'The road to hell is paved with good intentions' is a horrible saying
that we've all heard. I think it means that nothing is easier than
having good intentions, but nothing is easier to put off. Lost, ruined
souls have undoubtedly had lots of good intentions. So we need to
realize that intending to be
useful isn't enough. We need to have the habit of being useful.
Most families have a brother who carves whistles and makes paper boats
for his siblings, who gives his brother piggy-back rides, who can be
trusted to deliver his mother's messages, whose father trusts him with
important errands. Or they might have a sister whose baby sibling
clings to her skirts, who has learned enough Latin to help her younger
brothers with their Latin lessons, who can sew on a button or hem a
pair of pants, who writes notes for her mother, and who helps care for
the baby when he's sick.
The
Thoughtless Family Members
Other families have a boy like Jack, whose pocket has a note that was
supposed to be delivered three days ago, or a girl like Nicole, whose
package falls apart in the mail. They'll say something like, 'Oh,
that's the sort of job that Todd or Emily usually does; they like doing
that kind of thing.' And it's true, they do like it because, after all,
pg 208
we all enjoy doing something we're good at. But nobody can be good at
something they haven't practiced doing a lot. And you can be sure that
useful members of the family have had lots of practice being
useful--they've been on the lookout for chances to be of use.
Habit:
Servant or Master?
Each one of us has something that can be a very good servant or a very
bad master. It's called habit.
The thoughtless, careless person is a servant of habit. The person
who's useful and alert is the master of a very valuable habit. The
thing is, when we do something again and again, it leaves an impression
in the physical tissue of our brain. The more this impression is
repeated, the easier it is to do the same thing again the next time. We
know this is true in the case of skating, hockey, and other sports. We
say things like we need practice, or we're out of practice, or we need
to get some practice. We don't realize that this is true for everything
else in our life, too. Whatever we practice doing, we'll be able to do
easily. But whatever we're not used to doing, we'll do clumsily.
The
Rule About Habit
This is how habit works, whether it's doing deeds of kindness, or
playing the piano. Both take practice. That's why it's so important not
to miss even one opportunity to do the things we intend to do, and to
do our best at them. Don't believe that something is as good as done
when you've made a resolution to do it. It isn't done until you follow
through and do it. Ability
comes by doing, not by resolving. Habit will serve us one
way or the other, whether it's the habit of doing Latin verbs, or
whittling. And, it's pleasant to remember that every time we do a
thing, it's helping us to
pg 209
form a habit of doing it. If
we do something a hundred times without missing a chance to do it, it
will be easy after that.
Our
Calling
One thing I'm sure of--a calling, or opportunity, comes to the person
who's ready for it. That's why a young knight waiting to be called
needs the all-around preparation of his body, mind, heart and soul.
He'll need every part of himself in the royal service that's appointed
for him. And it is a royal
service: it's God's service. God, who even determines where people will
live [Acts 17:26],
won't leave us blundering around trying to figure out the right thing
to do. If He finds us waiting, ready and willing, then He'll give us a
calling. It might come in the form of a friend's advice, or an opening
that comes our way, or the opinion of our parents, or some less obvious
guidings in life that come to people who watch for them and aren't bent
on following their own will. Or, it might come in a strong passion we
have to do some particular work that we're suited for.
But, no matter how it comes, we can be sure of this: a farmer or a
fashion designer, a clerk or a congressman, is equally called to
do what they're doing. Every person, no matter what their calling is,
needs to be prepared. First, each person needs the general preparation
to make themselves a fit, ready person, and then some specialized
training or teaching for the particular task they're called to.
The time we're in school or college is our time of general preparation.
During this first stage, we need to remember that it's up to us to make
ourselves ready for our career. The value of any calling is its usefulness.
pg 210
No day should pass that we don't find a way to get some practice in
being useful.
Everyone is needed for whatever special bit of work he's called to do.
This is true for all of us:
'You didn't come to your place by
accident.
It's the very place God meant for you to be.'
____________________________________________
Appendix
Discussion Questions
BOOK I
Chapter 1 - The Country of Mansoul
No Questions
Chapter 2 - The Perils Of Mansoul
1. Who is to blame for these perils?
2. What kind of danger does laziness pose to Mansoul?
3. What causes fires in Mansoul?
4. What causes plague, flood, and famine?
5. What happens when there's dissent?
6. What makes darkness chill and soak Mansoul?
7. Can it be prevented?
8. What conditions are needed for things to go well in Mansoul?
Chapter 3 - The Government of Mansoul
1. Why is being born like inheriting a huge, beautiful estate?
2. What or who governs Mansoul ?
3. Name some of the officers of state.
4. Name the four Houses where these officers sit.
5. Are these different parts of a person?
PART I - The House Of The Body
Chapter 1 - The Assistants Of The
Body: Hunger
1. What is the work of the appetites?
2. When does an appetite become harmful?
3. How does hunger behave?
4. What's the difference between between hunger and gluttony?
5. How can gluttony to be avoided?
Chapter 2 - The Assistants Of The
Body: Thirst
1. Why do we get thirsty? What is the drink that thirst likes?
2. What are some effects of drunkenness?
3. Why do some people abstain from even tasting alcohol?
Chapter 3 - The Assistants Of The
Body: Restlessness and Rest
1. What is the purpose of restlessness?
2. How can it be harmful?
3. Explain how rest and work should alternate.
4. When does rest turn into Sloth?
Chapter 4 - Assistants of the Body:
Chastity
1. How can we control our appetites?
2. How is Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil a good way to
illustrate chastity?
3. What does 'Blessed are the pure in heart' mean regarding chastity?
4. What is a heroic reason to stay pure?
5. Where does slavery to our appetites begin?
6. How do we rule our thoughts?
Chapter 5 - The Attendants Of The
Body: The Five Senses
1. What are the two reasons that we need to watch our senses?
2. What are the uses, and what is the danger of the sense of taste?
3. Explain how we don't always get the most use or pleasure from our
sense of smell.
4. How can we practice using our sense of smell?
5. What kind of information does the sense of touch give us?
6. Explain by the 'touch of the blind,' a 'kind touch,' etc., how the
sense of touch can be cultivated.
7. What kind of practice helps to develop the sense of touch?
8. Why is it good to have little things to put up with?
9. Explain how sight brings half our joy.
10. How can we learn to see more?
11. What kind of joy and what knowledge should we get from our sense of
hearing?
12. How can we develop a hearing ear for music?
PART II - The House of the Mind
Chapter 1 - Ourselves
1. Explain how speaking of 'ourselves' is like saying 'the sun rises.'
2. Self-reverence depends on what?
3. Explain why we need self-knowledge before we can have self-reverence.
4. Explain why we need to know ourselves before we can control
ourselves.
Chapter 2 - My Lord Intellect
1. What is the Intellect's purpose?
2. How is science is a vast and joyous region?
3. How does imagination help in the region of science?
4. Compare history to old movies.
5. How does history make our world seem bigger?
6. How are we making history?
7. Explain why imagination is necessary for us to appreciate history.
8. What part of our intellect usually goes along to mathematics?
9. What makes mathematics so satisfying?
10. Why do we need to learn about philosophy?
11. What are some of the advantages of literature?
12. What parts of the intellect need to join in our visits to the
kingdom of literature?
13. Give three ways to test literature.
14. What are some of the purposes of the Beauty sense?
15. How can we tell the difference between art and imitation art?
16. How can we encourage our intellect to continue growing?
17. What are some things that extinguish our intellect?
Chapter 3 - The Demons Of The Intellect
1. What effect does laziness have on our intellectual life?
2. Why shouldn't we stay in one field of thought?
3. Describe your idea of a magnanimous mind.
Chapter 4 - My Lord Chief Explorer,
Imagination
1. What is our imagination for?
2. How does cultivating our imagination help us?
3. What two areas does Imagination need to stay away from?
4. What can we do to keep our Imagination from focusing on Self?
5. What kinds imaginings do we need to avoid?
6. How can we keep things from harming our imagination?
Chapter 5 - The Beauty Sense
1. How does exclusiveness tempt people who enjoy beauty?
2. Where is the person who gives himself up to Beauty mistaken?
3. Explain how the Beauty Sense opens a paradise of pleasure.
Chapter 6 - My Lord Chief
Attorney-General, Reason
1. How is reason like an advocate?
2. Follow the paths of reasoning that can bring any two people to
different conclusions.
3. Trace a possible path of reasoning of a good man.
4. Show the part reason plays in good works and great inventions.
5. What is meant by common sense?
6. Try to imagine the train of reasoning of the man who made the first
wheelbarrow.
7. Why have some people put Reason on a pedestal?
8. Explain why equally good, sensible people sometimers come to
opposite conclusions.
9. How does this prove that reason can bring us to wrong conclusions?
10. Show how an error of thought can lead to crime.
11. Why is reason almost infallible in math?
12. Explain how we're entrusted to use the power of reasoning for good
purposes.
13. Explain how reason justifies whatever notions have been accepted by
the will.
14. Why are there different schools of philosophy?
15. What kind of reasoning practice should children have?
Chapter 7 - Managers of the Revenue,
The Desires (Part 1)
1. Compare the work that the desires do with the work the appetites do.
2. How does the desire for approval help us?
3. Explain how vanity can do harm in our lives.
4. Explain how the desires for infamy and of fame come from the same
source.
5. What does the desire to excel do in someone like a hockeyplayer?
6. How does this desire help him?
7. How can the desire to excel be bad in education?
8. What's the danger of wanting to excel at unworthy things?
9. How does the desire for wealth help mankind?
10. What are the risks of the desire for wealth?
11. How can we avoid the desire to have worthless things?
12. How can the desire for power be useful?
13. What are the dangers of desiring power?
14. How are 'managing' kinds of people harmful to those around them?
Chapter 8 - Managers of the Revenue,
The Desires (Part 2)
1. Explain how the desire for community works in most people.
2. What benefit to the mind comes from other people?
3. But on what conditions?
4. Explain how the company of any good person is a useful opportunity.
5. What are two reasons why the love of company can be harmful?
6. How do we lose out by refusing to spend time with anyone who's
different from us?
7. Which of the desires is to the mind what hunger is to the body?
8. What's the difference between the desire for knowledge, and idle
curiosity?
9. Explain how the mind needs knowledge about great matters to feed on
and grows.
10. Explain how the love for knowledge can be extinguished by a desire
to excel.
11. How do grades influence our desire for knowledge?
12. When we know that all normal people have the same intellectual
abilities that we do, how should that influence us?
13. Explain how the duty of managing our thoughts comes from our
possession of these intellectual abilities.
PART III - The House of Heart
Lords Of The Heart: I. Love
Chapter 1 - The Ways Of Love
1. What are the two kinds of love?
2. Mention some of the ways in which love is shown.
3. Do we know how much love is possible for a human being?
4. Why is self-love necessary?
5. When is love false love?
6. Describe another kind of false love.
7. Name four tests that help us recognize real love.
8. What is the Apostle's rule about love?
9. What are love's opposite feelings?
10. Why do we sometimes feel those things?
11. What is the one part of the Lord's Prayer that has a condition
attached to it?
Chapter 2 - Love's Lords In Waiting:
Pity
1. Explain how pity is in every heart.
2. Name a few knights and ladies of pity.
3. Explain how idle sympathy is a snare.
4. Name a few reasons why people feel sorry for themselves.
5. How is this habit dangerous?
6. What are two ways of defending ourselves from this danger?
Chapter 3 - Love's Lords In Waiting:
Goodwill
1. What does goodwill help us to do.
2. What makes it possible to sincerely like any person?
3. Explain a person is more than their faults.
4. How will recognizing that fact influence us?
5. What's the difference between goodwill and good-nature?
6. What are the characteristics of a person who has goodwill?
7. Name six enemies of goodwill, and tell what they do.
Chapter 4 - Love's Lords In Waiting:
Sympathy
1. Explain how sympathy for one person helps us to understand other
people.
2. How should this fact influence the way we deal with people that we
think are on a different intellectual level?
3. How do poets, painters, and other artists raise the rest of the
world?
4. Our sympathy is only helpful when what happens?
5. What are the results of imitation empathy?
6. Explain how tact is a way of showing empathy.
7. Explain how self-occupation destroys empathy.
8. What are the active and the passive forms of Ego?
Chapter 5 - Love's Lords In Waiting:
Thoughtfulness
1. What does thoughtfulness do for others?
2. Discuss the kindness of courtesy.
3. Explain how there can be no kindness without singlemindedness.
4. Discuss a current method that's supposed to help children be
thoughtful.
5. What is the most generous kind of thoughtfulness of all?
6. Explain how the opposite behaviour is one of the main reasons for
unhappiness in the world.
Chapter 6 - Love's Lords In Waiting:
Magnanimity
1. Explain how gracious impulses are common to everyone.
2. Explain how generosity has no patience for base smart alecks and
suspicious 'wisdom.'
3. Explain how generosity is costly but has its own reward.
4. Explain how a generous person's concerns are fairly divided.
5. Name a few false ideas that restrain generosity.
6. What rule of life does a generous person follow?
Chapter 7 - Love's Lords In Waiting:
Gratitude
1. Why does gratitude give us pleasure?
2. How do we sometimes miss the joy of being grateful?
3. When a person receives a small kindness, what are the two ways he
can respond?
4. Why does a grateful heart always give a full return ?
5. How can we escape the shame of ingratitude?
6. Do we owe gratitude only to those who are present and living?
Chapter 8 - Love's Lords In Waiting:
Courage
1. Explain how we all have the courage to attack.
2. What are the demons that suppress courage?
3. Explain how we all have the courage to endure.
4. Explain how panic, anxiety, and shameful fear are possible for any
of us.
5. Explain how knowing that we have all the courage we'll ever need can
help us to be calm.
6. Explain how we can have the courage to deal with our circumstances,
and how that helps us not to be anxious.
7. Explain the problem of not having the courage to stick to our
opinions.
8. How can we be sure that our opinions are truly our own?
9. Discuss the courage of being open.
10. How much should we hold back?
11. Explain our duty to give kind, gentle correction.
12. Explain why it takes courage to confess.
13. What limits should we put on our confessions?
14. How does the courage of confidence help us?
15. Explain how intellectual panic results in many failures.
16. What is your understanding of the courage to seize opportunity?
Chapter 9 - Love's Lords In Waiting:
Loyalty
1. Why should our young years be devoted to loyalty and chivalry?
2. What is the test of loyalty?
3. Explain how our loyalties are already determined for us.
4. What are your thoughts about loyalty to our king?
5. What are your thoughts about loyalty to our own people?
6. What do you think about people who prefer to be loyal to foreign
kings or countries?
7. Explain how public opinion is responsible for anarchy.
8. What does loyalty to our country demand of us?
9. What is required from us in order to be ready for these demands?
10. What are some ways that we can serve our country?
11. Why is loyalty to a chief the secret of 'dignified obedience
and proud submission?'
12. What are some ways that we show loyalty to personal ties?
13. How is a mind that's constant the essence of all loyalties?
14. Are all of our loyalties due for life?
15. When we need to break ties with a boss or someone we take care of,
how should the break be made?
16. Why does loyalty needs to be thorough?
17. What kind of loyalty do we owe to our principles?
18. What are loyalty's enemies?
Chapter 10 - Love's Lords In Waiting:
Humility
1. Why is the pride of life the worst of men's stumbling blocks?.
2. What two kinds of humility do we have?
3. How do we devalue humility?
4. Why is humility an unpopular Christian trait?
5. Explain how exalting ourselves makes us prone to resentful attitudes.
6. How is humility the same as simplicity?
7. What makes us fall from humility?
8. Why shouldn't we try to be humble?
Chapter 11 - Love's Lords In Waiting:
Cheerfulness
1. Why is there no excuse for not being cheerful?
2. Explain how joy can flow even in sorrow and pain.
3. Explain how cheerfulness can be contagious.
4. Explain how joy can be a continual fountain.
5, Why, then, are some people dragging, pale, dull and weary?
6. Explain how gladness is a duty.
Lords Of The Heart: II. Justice
Chapter 12 - Justice is Universal
1. Explain why we must know the functions of love and justice.
2. Why does everyone understand when something isn't fair?
3. How do we exhibit fairness (a) in what we say, (b) in our thoughts,
(c) in what we do?
4. In what kinds of ways do we need to be fair and just with others?
5. How do we know what we owe to others regarding justice?
6. What knowledge can encourage us as we try to be fair to all people?
7. When it comes to our own rights, what are we owed?
Chapter 13 - Justice To Others
1. How do we begin to understand our duty to be just and fair to others?
2. Explain why thinking fairly requires knowledge and consideration.
3. How does ungentleness cause someone else to be physically hurt?
4. How is courtesy a matter of justice?
5. Explain why we shouldn't think bad things about other people.
6. Explain the way we show fairness to the character of others.
7. Which of Justice's servants helps us to be fair to the character of
others?
8. How does prejudice interfere with justice?
9. Explain how we owe respect to all people.
10. What defect in ourselves interferes with our ability to show
respect?
11. Explain how respect needs to be balanced by discernment.
12. How does appreciation show justice?
13. Why is depreciation unjust?
Chapter 14 - Truth: Justice In Word
1. What is one of the ways we can discern truth?
2. Describe Botticelli's painting 'Calumny.'
3. What does the painting teach us?
4. How did Wesley say is the difference between lying and slandering?
5. What was envy considered in the Middle Ages?
6. What is the danger of hearing and reading Slander?
7. What has happened to the fanatic?
8. How does Francis Bacon describe 'the sovereign good'?
Chapter 15 - Spoken Truth
1. What is accuracy?
2. Explain why we shouldn't qualify what we say.
3. Why isn't painstaking meticulous detail the same as accuracy?
4. Why is exaggeration wrong as well as foolish?
5. Why is it not truthful draw generalizations from only one or two
experiences?
6. What are the temptations of telling a good story?
7. Tell the difference between essential and accidental truth.
8. Show the value of fiction regarding essential and accidental truth.
9. How does fiction affect our passions, and even our religion?
10. Distinguish accidental and essential truth in some Bible stories.
11. Which of the two is more important, and why?
Chapter 16 - Some Causes Of Lying
1. What kind of lies are told to make a person's friends think less of
him?
2. Discuss cowardly lies.
3. Explain how the habit of being too reserved to share things is
related to the falsehood of concealing truth.
4. What's wrong with boastful lies?
5. What's the harm with adventurous lies?
6. Explain why we need to be truthful even with our opponents.
7. What four attendants serve Truth?
Chapter 17 - Integrity: Justice In
Action
1. Explain how a 'Go easy' policy is dishonest.
2. By what standard is every person's work judged?
3. How are we all paid workers?
4. Explain how integrity grows slowly.
5. Why is 'Do The Next Thing' a part of integrity?
6. Why is doing the most important thing a part of integrity?
7. Why is finishing what we've begun a part of integrity?
8. Explain how drifters and dawdlers lack integrity.
9. Explain how people who steal time lacks integrity.
10. Why is it important to be honest in the use of resources?
11. How does this principle apply to small debts?
12. How does this principle apply to bargain shopping?
13. How does this principle apply to the way we treat our neighbours'
property?
Chapter 18 - Opinions: Justice In
Thought
1. Give examples of opinions that are worthless for three different
reasons.
2. What kind of opinion is worth having?
3. Why do we need to have opinions at all?
4. What's the difference between a faddist and a reformer?
5. List a few things that we need to form opinions about.
6. Why should we work to to form opinions about books?
7. What sort of books are of lasting value to us, and why?
8. Give six things to remember about forming opinions.
Chapter 19 - Principles: Justice In
Our Motives
1. Why are our principles called 'principles'?
2. Explain how principles cany be bad or good.
3. How can we tell the difference between bad and good principles?
4. Our principles rule everything we do. What is important about
choosing our principles?
Chapter 20 - Justice To Ourselves:
Self-Control
1. What is our duty towards our own bodies?
2. What are some ways of being excessive?
3. Explain how soberness includes more than not drinking.
4. What tendency leads to the four paths to personal destruction?
5. What happens to friends at the parting of the ways?
6. Why does the alcohol drink?
7. What is the alcoholic's fate?
8. In what sense may we say that God puts us on our honor when it comes
to self-indulgence?
9. How is excitement a kind of intoxication?
10. Explain how gluttony is as disgusting as drunkenness.
11. Discuss how interests in life safeguard us against bad habits.
12. What is a common symptom of laziness, and what is the cure?
13. Of the four paths to ruin, which one is the worst?
14. What caution and what command should help to safeguard us?
PART IV - Careers
1. What do people want to be the kind of work they end up doing?
2. How is it possible to prepare for our calling when we don't even
know yet what it will be?
3. How can we get the habit of being useful?
4. How does the rule about habit help us or hurt us?
5. A specific calling comes to each of us. What must we do to prepare
ourselves for it?
Paraphrased by L. N. Laurio
Please direct any comments or questions to me by emailing me at cmseries-owner at yahoogroups dot com.
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