Showing posts with label pride. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pride. Show all posts

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Caesar, Civilization, Dealing With Change — and Building a Better World

After nearly five hundred years, the Roman Republic had grown from a small city-state to a major world power: and it was a mess.

I'm not talking about the chronic SNAFUs perpetrated by America's Congress.

If America's government was like the Roman Republic's, we might see the House ways and means committee lead an armed assault on the Senate: while their assassins took care of a filibuster the hard way. Yes: things could be worse.

Run-ins like the Catilinarian Conspiracy and Second Catilinarian conspiracy made the worst Washington mudslinging seem like a sedate poetry reading.

The Roman Senate finally named one of their members "dictator perpetuo" ("dictator in perpetuity") — hoping that Julius Caesar would solve their problems.

A few Senators got nervous: cutting the term, and Caesar's life, short.
"...And let us bathe our hands in Caesar's blood
Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords:
Then walk we forth, even to the market-place,
And waving our red weapons o'er our heads,
Let's all cry, 'Peace, freedom, and liberty!' "
(Brutus, in "Julius Caesar," Act III, Scene I; William Shakespeare [Hudson edition];
via Project Gutenberg)
That's fiction, of course: based on what happened on the Ides of March, 44 B.C., in Rome.

I'm willing to assume that Gaius Cassius Longinus, Marcus Junius Brutus, and the others involved, thought they were saving the Roman Republic from a tyrant.

The Republic went down anyway.

Julius Caesar's assassination left Rome with the same massive social, political, and economic problems, a Senate that couldn't stop fighting itself; and no effective leadership.

After two decades of civil war, Rome finally got another emperor: and the Roman Empire lasted nearly five centuries: about as long as the Republic.

We can look at the past in quite a few ways.

Poems, Movies, and Slow Progress


Folks in the 19th century often idealized what Edgar Allen Poe called "the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome."

In movies, the Roman Empire has been shown as an emblem of depravity and excess, a source of order and prosperity, and sometimes little more than a cool setting for the actors.

There's a bit of truth to 'all of the above.' The ancient world, like today's, wasn't all good or all bad.

On the 'down' side, Greece and Rome, along with all the ancient world, practiced slavery. It was a bad idea then, and still is. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2414)

It took nearly two millennia to convince folks in some parts of the world that owning other people is wrong. I was around when America cleared some of the last vestiges of legalized slavery from our laws: and human trafficking is still an issue here.

It's slow progress: but we are making progress. (May 6, 2012)

The Grandeur that was Rome


On the 'up' side, Rome's Constitution, Senate, and laws gave many folks a measure of freedom: and some rights. Slaves were considered property, not people: but under Roman law, a slave could buy freedom; unlike some other systems.

Don't misunderstand me: slavery is a bad idea, and we shouldn't do it. But I think it's prudent to remember how the institution actually worked in different cultures and different times.

Romans were also very good engineers. We're still using some of their roads and aqueducts: partly because they used (what else?) Roman numerals, not the Hindu-Arabic numerals we adopted; partly because they apparently didn't see the point of building structures that weren't permanent.

If the ancient Romans had known that folks would be driving multi-ton vehicles more than sixty miles an hour: we'd probably be using even more of the old Roman road network, and that's another topic.


(From MM, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
("The Appian Way (Via Appia), a road connecting the city of Rome to the southern parts of Italy, remains usable even today."
(Wikipedia))

Fear, Flappers, and Europe Flambé


This post was going to be about something.

Let's see: Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar;" Edgar Allan Poe; movies; slavery; constitutional law and the Roman Senate. Really durable roads. Right.

After World War I, some folks were more than a bit apprehensive — understandably.

Someone shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914. Assorted diplomats, royals, and politicos stirred national pride and diplomacy into a marinade of old assumptions.

Europe's leaders baked that ragoût in a system of interlocking treaties — and about three months later, you had Europe flambé.

Ironically, the treaties were supposed to prevent a large-scale war: as I recall.

That's an enormous oversimplification, of course.

World War I left quite a few folks with the impression that the world would never be the same again.
"...Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world...."
("The Second Coming," W. B. Yeats (1919))
They were right, but the situation wasn't quite as bad as it seemed.

It's the End of Civilization as We Know It: And About Time!


Since then, we've survived jazz, flappers, the Great Depression, World War II, disco, polyester leisure suits, and Thighmaster commercials. Europeans killed each other in wholesale lots again, about two decades after the 'war to end all wars:' but have acted in a refreshingly civilized manner since, for the most part.

I don't think the European Union is perfect: but it's better than the mess we had before.

Maybe the Internet will do what the telephone and television didn't: bring humanity to its knees. I don't think so, and that's yet another topic. (February 20, 2014)

Occasionally, I run into someone who seems convinced that it's the end of civilization as we know it: and see that as a bad thing.

I think it's the "end of civilization as we know it, and about time," and that's not another topic. (February 9, 2014)

If I thought the world couldn't get any better than it was in the 1950s, I'd be terribly upset. As it is, I remember the 'good old days,' and they weren't.

I was one of 'those crazy kids' in the late 1960s and 1970s because I was convinced that humans could do better. A lot better.

I wasn't a Catholic at the time, and wasn't your standard-issue hippie, peacenik, or red-white-and-blue-blooded 'regular American.' It's not that I don't like conformity: I'm just not good at it. At all.

I didn't become a Catholic because the Church agreed with me. But after I (grudgingly) joined, I have been learning that what I thought made sense in conservative, liberal, and other, ideologies is what the Church has been teaching for two millennia.

The Code of Hammurabi, Plus 3,700 years: Looking at the Big Picture

"Human nature will not change. In any future great national trial, compared to the men of this, we shall have as weak and as strong, as silly and as wise, as bad and as good."
(Abraham Lincoln, Response to a serenade (November 10, 1864))
"2 But man himself begets mischief, as sparks fly upward."
(Job 5:7)
I talked about positive law, human-made rules; and natural law, universal principles; Friday.

Basically, positive law — the name doesn't mean that it's "positive" in the sense of good, affirmative, or constructive. The term comes from Latin, ius positum, and derives from the verb to posit — are human-made laws defining how folks may act, and what rights they have.

Sometimes positive law works. Sometimes it's the 'outmoded morality' some of my contemporaries didn't like. (August 29, 2014)

When positive law works, it's consistent with natural law: universal ethical principles built into the universe.

Positive law changes: and must change, as conditions we live in change. It varies from one culture to another, too. We're not all alike, we're not supposed to be, and that's yet again another topic.

Natural law is the same now as it was when Abram moved out of Ur.

Theft, for example, was was wrong then: and will still be wrong when the Code of Hammurabi, United Nations Charter, and whatever comes next, are seen as roughly contemporary. (Catechism, 1954-1960, 2259-2262, 2268-2270)

Part of our job is bringing the positive laws of our cultures closer to natural law. (Catechism, 1928-1942)

I don't think we'll have a perfect society two millennia, or ten millennia, from now. But I think we have a reasonable hope of building a better world. We certainly must try.
"...We ... have a mandate to maintain what is true and just in our societies, change what is not, and build a better world for future generations...."
(May 18, 2014)
These posts may be better-organized than today's, or maybe not:
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Sunday, August 10, 2014

Humility: Accepting Reality

A man trying to organize a men's choir said I had a fine voice. Given a choice, he asked, wouldn't someone prefer a beautiful voice to a powerful mind or athletic body?

I agreed, but was a bit embarrassed: since I've got two out of the three. My wife's opined that if bad hips hadn't kept me from excelling at sports: I'd be insufferable. She's probably right.

Self-Esteem Run Amok


Since pride is a sin, is it wrong to be proud of my voice?

Yes — and no. It depends on what sort of "pride" is involved.

When "pride" is self-esteem run amok, it's one of the seven capital sins: along with avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1866)

Ancient Greeks called it hubris. It's a bad idea in stories, from "Oedipus Rex," to Milton's "Paradise Lost" and Paul Ryder's "Cosmic Monsters."

Most of us don't get the sort of reality checks featured in Greek tragedies and epic poems, but hubris is a bad idea in real life, too.
"...A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you...."
("Mere Christianity," C. S. Lewis)
Since I'm a Catholic, I see it as a cause of envy, unjust social and economic inequities, war, and hatred of God. (Catechism, 2094, 2317, 2540)

Getting a Grip About Humility


One sort of humility is a sort of make-believe: smart folks pretending they're not; strong people pretending they're puny. Acting that way is "polite" in some situations, but in its own way it's as unreasonable as hubris.

Another sort of humility is the opposite of hubris. I'll get back to that.

St. Thomas Aquinas had quite a bit to say about pride, reason, and getting a grip, including this:
"...'A man is said to be proud, because he wishes to appear above (super) what he really is'; for he who wishes to overstep beyond what he is, is proud. Now right reason requires that every man's will should tend to that which is proportionate to him. Therefore it is evident that pride denotes something opposed to right reason...."
("The Summa Theologica," St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province (Benziger Bros. edition, 1947))
I'm "proud" of my voice, to the extent that I'm happy about having the native ability, and opportunities to learn how it works. That's using "right reason" to understand how I fit into my culture. But boasting about what God gave me would be an "offense against truth." (Catechism, 2481)

As if life wasn't complicated enough, I could even be proud of being humble:
"...Catch him at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, 'By jove! I'm being humble', and almost immediately pride—pride at his own humility—will appear...."
("The Screwtape Letters," C. S. Lewis)

A Balanced View


Humility is a virtue. Being delusional, not so much. (September 1, 2013)

As a Catholic, I'm expected to have a balanced view of myself, others, and God. It's okay to admit that I'm pretty good at writing, for example: as long as I acknowledge God's role in my existence and abilities.

I'm also expected to avoid pride. It's a matter of moderation: remembering that God's God, and I'm not.
"HUMILITY: The virtue by which a Christian acknowledges that God is the author of all good. Humility avoids inordinate ambition or pride, and provides the foundation for turning to God in prayer (2559). Voluntary humility can be described as 'poverty of spirit' (2546)."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary, H)

"PRIDE: One of the seven capital sins. Pride is undue self–esteem or self–love, which seeks attention and honor and sets oneself in competition with God (1866)."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary, P)
Humility is a good idea, but blindly accepting every humiliation isn't smart.

As St. Thomas Aquinas pointed out, God gave us brains, and expects us to use them:
"...However, it is the mark of humility to accept humiliations without hesitation; not in all cases, of course, but when it is necessary. For, since humility is a virtue, it does not work without discretion. So, it is not proper to humility, but to stupidity, for a man to accept every kind of humiliation, but what must be done for the sake of virtue a person does not reject because of humiliation...."
("Contra Gentiles," Book Three: Providence, Part II: Chapters 84-163; Thomas Aquinas; translated by Vernon J. Bourke; via Dominican House of Studies, Priory of the Immaculate Conception (www.dhspriory.org)) [emphasis mine]
Being humble means accepting the truth: about myself, God, the universe, everything.

Believing that God is truth, and that truth cannot contradict truth, leads to a counter-cultural conclusion — Science, studying this wonder-filled universe, is okay. (Catechism, 159, 214-217)

Sin and Science


Over the generations, some scientists have acted as if they were "beyond good and evil," using people for occasionally-lethal experiments.

Between real atrocities like what happened at Willowbrook State School, and more-or-less lurid 'mad scientist' movies, it's small wonder that some folks think science is bad. (December 17, 2012; November 18, 2011)

Science, studying this universe, is part of being human. But like anything else we do, ethics matter. Experiments that needlessly endanger the subject are not right: even if the person understands the danger, and agrees to the experiment. (Catechism, 2292-2295)

The trick is hanging onto humility:
"...Our human understanding, which shares in the light of the divine intellect, can understand what God tells us by means of his creation, though not without great effort and only in a spirit of humility and respect before the Creator and his work...."
(Catechism, 299)
Science can't tell us why we exist, or what our goals should be. But science and technology can, used properly, let us help each other more effectively. (Catechism, 1723, 1942, 2292-2293, 2493)

We are made "in the image of God," stewards of this world: with the power and responsibility that goes with the job.
"4 What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them?

"5 Yet you have made them little less than a god, crowned them with glory and honor."
(Psalms 8:6)
"...The development of science and technology, this splendid testimony of the human capacity for understanding and for perseverance, does not free humanity from the obligation to ask the ultimate religious questions. Rather, it spurs us on to face the most painful and decisive of struggles, those of the heart and of the moral conscience...."
("Veritatis splendor," John Paul II (August 6, 1993))
More of my take on hubris, humility, and taking the universe 'as is:'
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Saturday, June 23, 2012

Pride: or, Humility isn't Being Delusional

I finally got last Sunday's guest post ready:
Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas has been letting me post his reflections/homilies for some time now:
Last week's included one of the better explanations for what humility is: and why it makes sense.

I looked up the quote Deacon Kaas used. It's from Thomas Aquinas' "Contra Gentiles:"
English:
"[23] However, it is the mark of humility to accept humiliations without hesitation; not in all cases, of course, but when it is necessary. For, since humility is a virtue, it does not work without discretion. So, it is not proper to humility, but to stupidity, for a man to accept every kind of humiliation, but what must be done for the sake of virtue a person does not reject because of humiliation. For example, if charity demands that some humiliating duty be performed for a neighbor, one will not refuse it through humility. Therefore, if it is necessary for the adoption of the perfection of the life of poverty that a man beg, then to suffer this humiliation is proper to humility. Sometimes, too, it is virtuous to accept humiliations even though our job does not require it, in order by our example to encourage others who have such a burden, so that they may bear it readily. For, a general may at times serve like an ordinary soldier, in order to spur on others. Sometimes, moreover, we use humiliations virtuously for their medicinal value. For instance, if a man’s mind is prone to undue pride, he may make beneficial use, in due moderation, of humiliations, either self-imposed or caused by others, in order to restrain this tendency to pride, provided that through bearing these things he puts himself on a level, as it were, with even the lowliest men who perform low-grade tasks. "
[emphasis mine]

"Ea vero quae abiectionis sunt sponte assumere, ad humilitatem pertinet: non quidem simpliciter, sed secundum quod necessarium est. Cum enim humilitas sit virtus, nihil indiscrete operatur. Non est igitur humilitatis, sed stultitiae, si quis quodcumque abiectum assumpserit: sed si id quod necessarium est fieri propter virtutem, aliquis propter abiectionem non recusat; puta si caritas, exigit quod proximis aliquod abiectum officium impendatur, hoc per humilitatem aliquis non recuset. Si igitur necessarium est ad perfectionem pauperis vitae sectandam quod aliquis mendicet, hanc abiectionem ferre humilitatis est. Quandoque etiam abiecta assumere virtutis est, etsi nostrum officium non requirat, ut alios nostro exemplo provocemus quibus incumbit, ut id facilius ferant: nam et dux interdum militis officio fungitur ut alios provocet. Quandoque etiam abiectis utimur secundum virtutem ut medicina quadam. Puta, si alicuius animus ad immoderatam extollentiam sit pronus, utiliter, debita moderatione servata, abiectis utitur, vel sponte vel ab aliis impositis, ad elationem animi comprimendam: dum per haec quae gerit, sibi ipsi quodammodo parificat etiam infimos homines, qui circa vilia officia occupantur." ("Contra Gentiles," Book Three: Providence, Chapter 135 [23], translated by Vernon J. Bourke. (Online at the Thomas Aquinas' Works in English, Joseph Kenny, O.P.)
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Monday, November 21, 2011

Sloth, Faustian Flip-Flops, and Temptation

New post about Marlowe's
"The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" each Monday
Christopher Marlowe's Doctor John Faustus said a few sensible things in last week's excerpts:
"..."MEPHIST. Ay, that is not against our kingdom; but this is. Think thou on hell, Faustus, for thou art damned.

"FAUSTUS. Think, Faustus, upon God that made the world...."

"...FAUSTUS. Ay, go, accursed spirit, to ugly hell! 'Tis thou hast damn'd distressed Faustus' soul. Is't not too late?..."

"FAUSTUS. Ah, Christ, my Saviour, Seek to save104 distressed Faustus' soul!..."
("The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus")
Like I said last week: Christopher Marlowe is no theologian. His "Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" is a rip-roaring good drama, in my opinion: which is partly why I'm coming back to it each Monday.

Let's see: where was I?

Faustus, Fear, and the Boys From Below

Faustus had said "Christ, my Saviour," and gotten LUCIFER, BELZEBUB, and MEPHISTOPHILIS, instead.

After dialog that reminded me of "The Godfather" (1972), Faustus did a sharp about-face: and promised to be a thoroughly bad man.

Even granting the presence of the boys from below: that 'repentance' of Faustus seems to have been rather shallow, at best. Or maybe Faustus was so fearful, that he couldn't think straight. I put a few points about reason, repentance, and sin, under last week's Background.

Moving on.

Sloth and Soliloquies

After that little declaration of allegiance, Marlowe's Lucifer trotted out what I called the Seven Deadly Sins floor show. Marlowe got the names right, pretty much. I put terms used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1866, under the ones with different names:
  • Pride
  • Covetousness
    (Avarice)
  • Wrath
  • Envy
  • Gluttony
  • Sloth
    (Sloth or acedia)
  • Lechery
    (Lust)
Compared to Shakespeare's soliloquies, Marlowe's seven deadly sins don't have much to say. Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" thing, for example, keeps going for 276 words.

Marlowe's Lust only gets 30 words. Gluttony hogs most of the lines for that revue, with 105 words; Sloth has 47:
"...SLOTH.
I am Sloth. I was begotten on a sunny bank, where I have
lain ever since; and you have done me great injury to bring me
from thence: let me be carried thither again by Gluttony and
Lechery. I'll not speak another word for a king's ransom...."
("The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus")
I think it's pretty clear that Sloth is - slothful. Lazy. Just what you'd expect, from a character with a name like "Sloth."

Definition Time!

Sloth:
  • Noun
    1. A disinclination to work or exert yourself
    2. Any of several slow-moving arboreal mammals of South America and Central America
      • They hang from branches back downward and feed on leaves and fruits
    3. Apathy and inactivity in the practice of virtue
    (Princeton's WordNet)

Sloth, Acedia, and the American Work Ethic

The first definition of "sloth" had me concerned a few years ago, when I was acutely aware of not having gotten as much done at my job as I liked. A priest assured me that he'd never met an American who had a problem with low productivity. (August 16, 2009) This country has its problems: but laziness isn't one of them, in my opinion. Except by our own arguably-exaggerated standards. And that's another topic.

Definition number three is pretty close to what the Catechism has to say about sloth:
"ACEDIA: A less common synonym for sloth, one of the seven "capital" sins (1866). See Sloth.

"CAPITAL SINS: Sins which engender other sins and vices. They are traditionally numbered as seven: pride, covetousness, envy, anger, gluttony, lust, and sloth (1866).

"SLOTH: A culpable lack of physical or spiritual effort; acedia or laziness. One of the capital sins (1866, 2094, 2733)."
(Glossary, Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Having "a culpable lack of physical ... spiritual effort" is still pretty close to the Anglo-American idea of "sloth," but discussions I found in the Catechism about sloth and/or acedia were mostly about prayer and our attitude toward God. (More, under "Background," near the end of this post.)

"All Manner of Delight," and Faustus Flip-Flops Again?

Maybe Marlowe's seven deadly sins revue sounded more enticing, back when Elizabethan English was the latest dialect. Or, maybe not, considering how Faustus reacted to Glutony's little speech:
"...FAUSTUS. No, I'll see thee hanged: thou wilt eat up all my victuals...."
("The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus")
Faustus doesn't seem to show enthusiasm for any of the seven deadly sins. So how come he says this after they leave?
"...LUCIFER. Now, Faustus, how dost thou like this?

"FAUSTUS. O, this feeds my soul!

"LUCIFER. Tut, Faustus, in hell is all manner of delight.

"FAUSTUS. O, might I see hell, and return again,
How happy were I then!..."
("The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus")
I don't know why there's that apparent disconnect between Faustus's reaction to the seven personified deadly sins, and his professed desire to see Hell. That won't stop me from making a few guesses. Maybe:
  1. The actor was supposed to 'act eager'
    • Or something
  2. It's a dramatization of the vacillating desires of Doctor Faustus
  3. Marlowe didn't finish editing that part of the play
  4. Something else is going on
The way Faustus has been flip-flopping about his deal with Mephistopheles, guess number two might be right.

Temptation, Hell, and Real Estate Fraud

I don't think LUCIFER's claim, that "in hell is all manner of delight" is an altogether accurate statement. Which isn't the same as thinking that temptations are disgusting at first glance:
"...discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a 'delight to the eyes' and desirable,154 when in reality its fruit is death...." (Catechism, 2847)
Then there's Genesis 3:6. It's sort of like real estate fraud. And no, I do not think that owning property is Satanic, or that everybody who buys, sells, or deals in, real estate is doing something wrong.

Moving on.

I remember reading jokes about 'Rainbow Acres,' or 'El Mirage Estates,' quite a few decades back. Times were different then, and quite a few folks wanted to buy land: and had the credit to do so. Some of them were - imprudent.1

That was then, this is now, and I discovered that today's emphasis is on things like mortgage fraud and a variation of the Nigerian scam. And that's almost another topic. I put some links under "More background," below.

Bottom line? Temptations are tempting because there's some sort of attraction: an immediate pleasure; something "...pleasing to the eyes,...desirable..." (Genesis 3:6)

But, in my opinion, even if 'it feels so good,' walking away from God is a really, really, bad idea.

About Halfway Through Marlowe's "...Faustus"

I did a quick page count, and see that I'm roughly halfway through "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus." So far, I've been having fun with the play. I think it helps that I didn't expect Christopher Marlowe to display much in the line of profound theological insights.

I've been able to enjoy the story: and all those opportunities to see what the Church teaches about the serious topics touched on in the play.

As for whether or not Marlowe was really leading some sort of secret life? He really doesn't seem to have been a 'closet Catholic.' (Footnote 1 (November 14, 2011)) I may get back to the 'conspiracy theory' side of Marlowe and Faustus. Or, not.

Next week, I see I'll be reading CHORUS saying things like "...Did mount himself to scale Olympus' top...." Those Elizabethans do seem to have liked their shout-outs for the classics.

Sort of like today's dramatists dropping something about sustainable development or environmental awareness into a script. Then there's Captain Planet - and I'm getting seriously off-topic.

I'll probably skip ahead, to where Faustus takes a trip to Rome. Now, that might be interesting.

Other posts in this series:
Related posts:
Background:
  • Acedia
    • A form of depression due to
      • Lax ascetical practice
      • Decreasing vigilance
      • Carelessness of heart
    • Presumption "opens the gate" for acedia
    • Acedia "is the reverse of presumption"
    (Catechism, 2733, 2755)
  • Hell
    (Catechism, 1033-1037)
    • Exists
    • Its chief punishment is eternal separation from God
      (Catechism, 1035)
    • "God predestines no one to go to hell...."
    • To enter Hell
      • "...a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary..."
        • "and persistence in it until the end...."
      (Catechism, 1037)
  • Prayer and
    • "Our dullness and laziness"
    • "Humble, trusting, and persevering love"
    (Catechism, 2742)
  • Sloth as one of the capital sins
    (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1866)
  • Temptation
    • Tempting God
      • Testing God's
        • Goodness
        • Almighty power
      • By
        • Word
        • Deed
      • Bad idea
        (Catechism, 2119)
    • Discerning between trials, and temptations
      (Catechism, 2847)
    • Help for resisting temptation
      • Fortitude
        (Catechism, 1808)
      • The Sign of the Cross
        (Catechism, 2157)
      • Practicing
        • Self-knowledge
        • Ascesis
          • Self-denial
          • Self-restraint
        • Obedience to God's commandments
        • Exercise of the moral virtues
        • Fidelity to prayer
        (Catechism, 2340)
      • Avoiding idolatry
        • Idolatry is divinizing that what is not God
        (Catechism, 2113)
      • "Lead us not into temptation"
        (Catechism, 2846-2849)
    • Temptation in prayer
      • Lack of
        • Faith
        • The disposition of a humble heart
      • Acedia/sloth
        (Catechism, 2732-2733)
      • Summarized
        (Catechism, 2753-2755)
    • Prayer and avoiding temptation
      (Catechism, 2612)
    • Temptation of Jesus
      (Catechism, 538-540, 566)
  • Ways to sin against God
    • Indifference...
    • Ingratitude...
    • Lukewarmness...
    • "Acedia or spiritual sloth goes so far as to refuse the joy that comes from God and to be repelled by divine goodness"
    • Hatred of God...
    (Catechism, 2094)
More background:
"...Faustus" excerpts in these posts taken from:
1 Some of the 'wonderful bargains' were outright frauds: there was no land, or the seller had no legal rights to the property. Other deals were a bit more clever. The proud new owner might discover that the property was:
  • Inaccessible
    • Except by helicopter
    • Because the seller hadn't bothered to include streets in the 'development'
  • A total of 10 acres
    • In 100 1/10 acre plots
      • Scattered across several southwestern states
    • One yard wide, by 48,400 yards long
Maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration: but I remember reading about quite a few folks discovering that their "secluded" Florida estate was in the middle of a swamp; or that reaching the "desert paradise" they bought involved a long hike over rough ground.
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Sunday, November 13, 2011

That's Funny: Another Way of Being Catholic

Growing up in America, about a half-century back, I 'knew' what 'being spiritual' was. There were folks who:
  1. Apparently equated poor health with virtue
  2. Sent money to chronically peeved radio preachers
  3. Were grimly pious
    • Might have smiled
      • Once
      • In their sinful youth
      • But had since repented of such wicked ways
  4. Acted fairly sane
    • And went to church
Then there were those 19th-century pictures of Jesus, where my Lord was "apparently seven feet high, with the face of a consumptive girl." Folks in category #4 helped me take Christianity seriously.

Humor seems to be part of being human. I don't know where the notion that being humorless and being spiritual were the same thing: but I suspect that it's a cultural thing. Sort of like the assumption that churches should be as devoid of decoration as possible.

Reverend Feelgood, The Gospel According to Newsweek, and Mystic Crystal Revelations

Then came the '60s, feel-good religion, weird 'in the spirit of Vatican II' nonsense, and weirder New Age stuff.

My parents were part of a nice mainstream Protestant church, which lacked the pathological extremes I've mentioned. For the most part, and that's another topic.

Crazily incompatible notions about 'being spiritual,' Christianity, and human nature encouraged me to take a long, hard, detailed look at religion in general: and Christianity in particular. Eventually I converted to Catholicism, and that's yet another topic.

Smiling's Not a Sin?!

I'm pretty sure that Jesus never said "thou shalt ever bear a grim countenance, even as one who hath bitten a lemon which rotteth." Ever notice how King James' English tends to sound like someone with a lithp? Which reminds me of Carrie Nation, the temperance movement, Prohibition, Demon Rum,1 and I'm wandering off-topic again.

Saints: Getting the Whole Picture

Then there were saints. I 'knew' about saints, too.

They were
  • Folks who
    • Died of starvation
      • On pillars
      • More than a thousand years ago
      • In some faraway land
        • That isn't there any more
    • Inhumanly perfect characters
      • In a melodrama
      • Dying horribly
        • From some disease
        • Or hideously painful torture
    There's a little truth to those lurid tales: and that's - you guessed it - still another topic.

    Some Saints could probably have given my Nordic forebears lessons in grim fortitude: but that's not the whole picture. One of the Saints, Philip Neri, earned a reputation for having quite a sense of humor. Which he wasn't afraid of using.

    If that's not like the Philip Neri you read about, I'm not surprised. Some details of his life were, ah, bowdlerized from 'proper' books for the American Catholic market.

    An AMIABLE Saint?!

    Sometimes Saint Philip Romolo Neri is called the Apostle of Rome, or Amabile Santo: which doesn't mean the same thing. Depending on which Italian phrase book you read, Amabile Santo means "Lovable Saint;" or maybe Agreeable, Amiable, Genial, or Sweet Saint. I've mentioned Saint Philip Neri's distinctly unsour approach to life before:
    "...St. Philip devised mortifications without end for attacking pride in souls of promise who could bear his heavy-handed humor. ... An especially pious young man asked permission to wear a hair shirt and Philip granted his request with this stipulation: he wear it on the outside. He was known around Rome as 'Berto of the hair-shirt.'..." ("St. Philip's Suggestions for Idleness and Learning Patience," CatholicCulture.org) (first posted March 15, 2011)
    Hair shirts have been out of fashion for quite a while, at least in America's branch of Western culture. They're a sort of exquisitely uncomfortable underwear: think of an all-wool T-shirt. Starched. The idea was to wear a hair shirt under normal clothing, and suffer in silence.

    I'm not criticizing the practice: I'm a practicing Catholic, and understand a little about the value of penance and mortification.

    But wearing a hair shirt - OVER your clothing?! That would be more comfortable, physically, than the usual arrangement. Socially, not so much. (Hair shirts were really uncomfortable to have next to the skin - I'm guessing that having one on the outside would be socially 'uncomfortable.' In a different way, of course.)

    Learning to Laugh - at Myself?

    In a society where your neighbors understood what a hair shirt was, and how it was supposed to be used, my guess is that wearing one on the outside of your clothing would be a bit like wearing a clown wig at a formal dinner. Or skivvies over a tuxedo.

    I think it's a good idea to cultivate the sort of humility we call 'laughing at yourself.' Think of how you feel about stuffed shirts, and I am not going to start off on another 'shirt' digression.

    I've got at least my share of self-importance. My wife tells me that if I hadn't been crippled, I would probably have been insufferable. That isn't quite another topic, but this post is getting long. "Has gotten" is more like it.

    Humor, Emotions, and Being Human

    Humor, in one form or another, seems to be part of the package: part of being human. I figure that 'God doesn't make junk,' and that having a sense of humor is no more sinful, by itself, than being able to feel non-dour when seeing a sunrise. Like any other emotion, 'humor' can be misused - or used. There's quite a bit in the Catechism about emotions: 1762-1770, summarized in 1771-1775.
    "Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us persevere in a good life. Therefore the servant of God ought always to be in good spirits." ("Saint Philip Neri," Saints.SQPN.com)
    Somewhat-related posts:
    More:
    Background:
    1 Alcohol abuse is a very real problem, as I know from personal experience. Being sober makes sense.

    Then there's the 'Biblical' attitude about alcohol: Demon Rum, and all that.

    Sure enough, the Bible says "you and your sons are forbidden under pain of death, by a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations, to drink any wine or strong drink."

    Wow. Even Carrie Nation and her little hatchet didn't carry temperance quite that far.

    That quote isn't quite complete, though. It's from a part of Leviticus that describes distinctly hardball discipline involving Aaron and his sons:
    " 'When you are to go to the meeting tent, you and your sons are forbidden under pain of death, by a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations, to drink any wine or strong drink. You must be able to distinguish between what is sacred and what is profane, between what is clean and what is unclean; you must teach the Israelites all the laws that the LORD has given them through Moses.' " (Leviticus 10:9-11)
    I could use Deuteronomy 29:5 to 'prove' that wine and beer lead surely to damnation. But first, I don't need the kind of trouble that'd come from deliberately messing with the Word of God - and to be consistent, I'd have to claim that eating bread is sinful.

    Besides, the first miracle my Lord performed was getting drinks for a wedding party, and that's another topic, too. (John 2:1-10) Which has theological significance. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1613)

    Even being "Biblical," the reasonable instructions seem to be 'don't get drunk.' Ephesians 5:18 is pretty clear on that point.

    The Catholic Church doesn't forbid alcohol. Or food. Or Bingo. What we're taught is to not drink in excess. We're also not supposed to eat in excess. There's more to it, of course. (Catechism, 2290, for starters) The key seems to be moderation. Our reasons for permitting 'wicked' activities like Bingo and pinochle follow the same general reasoning. (Catechism, 2413)
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    Saturday, September 24, 2011

    Another "...Doctor Faustus" Post: But the End is In Sight

    New post about Marlowe's
    "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" each Monday
    Yet another post about Christopher Marlowe's "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus." Again, I've put a 'what I've written so far' link list near the end of this post.1
    After four posts about Marlowe's "...Faustus." I'm not quite a third of the way through the play: which means that, at this rate, I'll have an even dozen when I'm done. That's a lot of posts.

    On the other hand, 12 is a nifty number: 12 hours in a day, 12 apostles, 12 eggs in a carton. All of which I might think is meaningful: but don't.2

    Where was I? Marlowe. Faustus. Posts popping up like mushrooms. Right.

    Why Focus on Faustus?

    I'm spending this much time on Marlowe's "...Faustus" because "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" is:
    • A cool story
    • Still part of English-speaking cultures
      • As a dramatic template for
        • Tales of horror
        • Fables of faith
        • 'Mad scientist' B movies
      • After four centuries
        • Durable!
    • Something I hadn't read in decades
    Faust? Mad scientist?! I made that connection a few days ago. (September 20, 2011)

    Marlowe, Henry VIII, and Theology for Fun and Profit

    Another reason I'm so interested in Marlowe's "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" is that it was written not long after Henry VIII decided that England's church should be English. And set up his own copy of the Catholic Church. With 'improvements.'

    Re-reading "...Faustus," I think I'm looking at a lastingly-popular drama: written by someone who
    • May have been more interested in keeping his head
      • Than in the latest official national theology
    • Knew about drama
      • And people
    Marlowe's "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" may be anti-Catholic, or have been intended as a pro-English, anti-Rome drama. But so far there's quite a lot of solid Catholic thinking in the dialog.

    Which is interesting: to me, anyway.

    I put links to maybe more than you may want to read, about England's Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and brute-force social engineering, under "Background" in yesterday's post.

    Marlowe's "...Faustus:" In a Catholic's Blog?!

    All this discussion of an Elizabethan play that prominently features a devil dressed up as a Franciscan friar may seem - odd - in a Catholic's blog. Particularly since I don't rant about Marlowe's heathen ways. I don't think I'm ranting, anyway: and that's almost another topic.

    So far, it looks like Marlowe may have confused what 'everybody knows' about the Catholic Church with the real thing. Which is how I wrapped up yesterday's post:
    "There are not a hundred people in America who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions of people who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church - which is, of course, quite a different thing."
    (Bishop Fulton Sheen, Foreword to Radio Replies Vol. 1, (1938) page ix, via Wikiquote)
    Besides, there's a whole lot of ways to be Catholic. And that is another topic.3

    Evil Angel's Closing Argument: And Faustus Gets Delusional

    Here's where I left Marlowe's "...Faustus" yesterday:
    "...GOOD ANGEL. Sweet Faustus, think of heaven and heavenly things.

    "EVIL ANGEL. No, Faustus; think of honour and of76 wealth.
    "[Exeunt ANGELS.]..."
    ("The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus")
    Marlowe's Faustus takes a break from reality at this point:
    "...FAUSTUS. Of wealth!
    Why, the signiory of Embden shall be mine.
    When Mephistophilis shall stand by me,
    What god can hurt thee, Faustus? thou art safe
    Cast no more doubts. - Come, Mephistophilis,
    And bring glad tidings from great Lucifer;—
    Is't not midnight? - come, Mephistophilis,
    Veni, veni, Mephistophile!...    "
    ("The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus") [emphasis mine]

    Brilliant: But No Head for Business

    Maybe Doctor Faustus is like the proverbial 'absent-minded professor:' a whiz kid in his field, but not so much with practical details. In the play, it hasn't been all that long since Faustus, referring to himself in the third person - - - and I'm not going to let the 'editorial we' and pretentious writing distract me.

    Like I was going to say, Faustus had recently defined the terms of Mephistopheles' service:
    "...Seeing Faustus hath incurr'd eternal death
    By desperate thoughts against Jove's59 deity,
    Say, he surrenders up to him his soul,
    So he will spare him four and twenty60 years,
    Letting him live in all voluptuousness;
    Having thee ever to attend on me....    "
    ("The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus")
    Benefit/cost ratios, anyone? Faustus is trading 24 years - just shy of two and a half decades - of high living for what promises to be a really unpleasant eternity.

    Maybe Faustus is bad with math.

    Or has no business sense. At all.

    Hubris on a Titanic Scale?

    Granted, it would be three centuries before the "practically unsinkable" Titanic sank.4 Even so, someone with the sort of education Doctor Faustus had should have known about hubris. "Overbearing pride or presumption"5 or "arrogant, excessive self-pride or self-confidence, ... a lack of some important perception or insight due to pride in one's abilities"6 shows up in stories that predate Marlowe and his Doctor Faustus by millennia:
    "What god can hurt thee, Faustus?" I don't know if that's hubris, or lack of foresight worthy of Wile E. Coyote. Either way, not paying attention to what happens after those 24 years are up is just plain daft.

    Mephistopheles, Doctor Faustus, and a Simple Contract

    Next, Mephistopheles tells Doctor Faustus that the 'high living for eternal death' deal is okay, provided Faustus observes a few formalities. At this point, Faustus asks a sensible question, but still doesn't get the 'big picture' aspects of his plan:
    "...MEPHIST. But, Faustus, thou must bequeath it solemnly,
    And write a deed of gift with thine own blood;
    For that security craves great Lucifer.
    If thou deny it, I will back to hell.

    "FAUSTUS. Stay, Mephistophilis, and tell me, what good will my soul do thy lord?

    "MEPHIST. Enlarge his kingdom.

    "FAUSTUS. Is that the reason why79 he tempts us thus?

    "MEPHIST. Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris.80..."
    ("The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus")
    Faustus asked a reasonable question, "what good will my soul
    do thy lord?" Mephistopheles' response, that Satan wants souls to "enlarge his kingdom," is - again - consistent with what the Catholic Church says.7

    If Faustus had started thinking about the implications of his deal with the ruler of Hell: as I said before, Marlowe's play might have been very different.

    Mephistopheles, Motive, and Misery

    There's more Latin here: Mephistopheles' "Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris." I ran it through Google's Translate, and got "Allies to have had the wretched consolation of suffering." I think 'Misery loves company' might be a reasonable paraphrase.

    Faustus, Blood, and Too Many 'Aliens' Movies

    Faustus stabs his arm to get blood for the contract's signature, but his blood congeals. It's like his body is trying to stop Faustus. Mephistopheles helpfully fetches a Renaissance equivalent of a hot pack, to get things flowing: and Faustus does the old 'signed in blood' thing.

    Melodramatic? Over-the-top? Ridiculous? In detail, maybe. It's certainly not the sort of thing many would be likely to take seriously these days. We're more into explosions and high-speed chases, when it comes to drama.

    Although Elizabethan England had quite a lot in common with contemporary America,8 there were differences, too. I think one reason that the balky blood of Doctor Faustus may seem silly today is that this culture has seen pretty much the same story told and re-told for something like four hundred years.

    Look what happened to the 'shock' movie Alien (1979).9 And that's yet another topic.

    Faustus, Mephistopheles, and a Floor Show

    Marlowe's Faustus isn't the only one who talks to himself in the play. Mephistopheles says "O, what will not I do to obtain his soul?" as an aside.

    Maybe it's just me, but I get the impression that Mephistopheles' patience is wearing a tad thin at that point.

    Skipping lightly over the 'deep meaning' and 'trenchant metaphor' of Faustus' blood not cooperating with his self-destructive decision, let's get right to what Mephistopheles does after the contract is signed:
    "...MEPHIST. I'll fetch him somewhat to delight his mind.
    [Aside, and then exit.]

    "Re-enter MEPHISTOPHILIS with DEVILS, who give crowns
    and rich apparel to FAUSTUS, dance, and then depart.

    "FAUSTUS. Speak, Mephistophilis, what means this show?

    "MEPHIST. Nothing, Faustus, but to delight thy mind withal,
    And to shew thee what magic can perform.

    "FAUSTUS. But may I raise up spirits when I please?

    "MEPHIST. Ay, Faustus, and do greater things than these.

    "Here, Mephistophilis, receive this scroll,

    "FAUSTUS. Then there's enough for a thousand souls.
    Here, Mephistophilis, receive this scroll,
    A deed of gift of body and of soul:
    But yet conditionally that thou perform
    All articles prescrib'd between us both.

    "MEPHIST. Faustus, I swear by hell and Lucifer
    To effect all promises between us made!...    "
    ("The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus")
    As I recall, this agreement doesn't end well for Doctor Faustus.

    More posts in this series:Background:
    • Angels who rebelled against God
    • The fallen angels "...try to associate man in their revolt against God."
      • Catechism, 414
    • Satan
      • Opposes God
      • Brought sin into the world
        • And death
        • Catechism, 2852
      • Has been defeated
    "...Faustus" excerpts in these posts taken from:
    1 Another link list of 'Fasutus' posts and headings. I'm still keeping keep track of what I've already said about Marlowe's Faustus, or trying to:
    2 I might think that having 12 posts about something was just simply fraught with significance. Particularly since if I assign an integer value to each letter of the Latin alphabet, a=1, b=2, and so on, and add up the letters of my Christian name, Brian, I get the number 45.

    Which, divided by 12, is 3.75! And the 75th verse of the third book of the Bible is Leviticus 4:25: which is all about a priest putting blood of the sin offering on the horns of the altar of holocausts!!

    I do not take that sort of thing seriously: at all.

    But a remarkable number of folks seem to. Particularly when a radio preacher is savvy enough to use names out of the Bible, particularly Revelation.

    But not The Book of Wisdom. That got edited out of Protestant Bibles. (see "Book of Wisdom," Catholic Encyclopedia (1912)) It's true, by the way: Solomon didn't write The Book of Wisdom. The author wasn't an American, either, and didn't conform to post-Renaissance Western literary customs.

    I've written about a radio preacher, and getting a grip, before:
    3 I've written about tolerance, real and imagined, diversity, and the Catholic Church before:
    4 The Titanic's owners - and the press - provided succeeding generations with an excellent example of hubris. And why it's a bad idea:
    5 Source for this definition of hubris: Princeton's WordNet

    6 Source for this definition of hubris: Dr. L. Kip Wheeler, English Dept., Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City, Tennessee

    7 Satan isn't a nice person. And not helpful. At all. Part of what the Church says about:
    • Angels who rebelled against God
    • the fallen angels "...try to associate man in their revolt against God."
      • Catechism, 414
    • Satan
      • Opposes God
      • Brought sin into the world
        • And death
        • Catechism, 2852
      • Has been defeated
    Even on strictly selfish grounds, Satan and the rest of the fallen angels are losers: and all they can offer is a share in their loss. Siding with them is, in the long term, stupid.

    I think this is an important reminder, about who's who:
    "The power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God's reign. Although Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and his kingdom in Christ Jesus, and although his action may cause grave injuries - of a spiritual nature and, indirectly, even of a physical nature- to each man and to society, the action is permitted by divine providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history. It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but 'we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him.'275"
    (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 395)
    8 I've discussed Elizabethan England, whalebone, and hip huggers before:9 Recently, another tale of horror, suspense, and all that got re-told a few too many times, I think:
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    Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

    Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

    What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

    From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

    I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

    For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

    Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

    Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.