Summary: The poor are the GRIST IN THE MILL OF SOCIETY!
Commentary:
Read one of his other articles for school and looked him up. Apparently this is his most famous. It contains the excellent:
Alternatives for the cultural functions of the poor could be found more easily and cheaply. Indeed, entertainers, hippies, and adolescents are already serving as the deviants needed to uphold traditional morality and as devotees of orgies to "staff" the fantasies of vicarious participation.
Then may we not say, Simmias, that if, as we are always repeating, there is an absolute beauty, and goodness, and an absolute essence of all things; and if to this, which is now discovered to have existed in our former state, we refer all our sensations, and with this compare them, finding these ideas to be pre-existent and our inborn possession—then our souls must have had a prior existence, but if not, there would be no force in the argument? There is the same proof that these ideas must have existed before we were born, as that our souls existed before we were born; and if not the ideas, then not the souls.
And they are right, Simmias, in thinking so, with the exception of the words 'they have found them out'; for they have not found out either what is the nature of that death which the true philosopher deserves, or how he deserves or desires death. But enough of them:—let us discuss the matter among ourselves: Do we believe that there is such a thing as death?
To be sure, replied Simmias.
OH HERE WE GO
Is it not the separation of soul and body? And to be dead is the completion of this; when the soul exists in herself, and is released from the body and the body is released from the soul, what is this but death?
Just so, he replied.
Yes, there is no other logical definition of death for an ancient Greek person. "When your heart stops beating for more than an hour" or whatever is clearly not reasonable.
There is another question, which will probably throw light on our present inquiry if you and I can agree about it:—Ought the philosopher to care about the pleasures—if they are to be called pleasures—of eating and drinking?
Certainly not, answered Simmias.
And what about the pleasures of love—should he care for them?
By no means.
And will he think much of the other ways of indulging the body, for example, the acquisition of costly raiment, or sandals, or other adornments of the body? Instead of caring about them, does he not rather despise anything more than nature needs? What do you say?
I should say that the true philosopher would despise them.
DESPISING IS CARING!
Would you not say that he is entirely concerned with the soul and not with the body? He would like, as far as he can, to get away from the body and to turn to the soul.
Quite true.
THAT IS DEFINITELY CARING!
I'm just gonna read this for 15 minutes a day until I'm done. That was the rule, right? Should be done by the end of the week.
I wonder if it'd be better in another translation. (It was not, at least of the ones I had quick access to. Might float by a book store to get a modern one.) My FiL is apparently too drunk to walk home, so we're giving him a ride.
I AM OFFICIALLY DONE BOOK 1 OF THE HARVARD CLASSICS!
Beyond that, I learned that it's better to just stick with one book (even one like this) than trying to use it as filler in between. I remember basically nothing before the last few chunks of the first book. Second, a little better.
All in all, I think what sticks with me across both books is that you should try to be a decent person, and you'll probably be happier in the long run if you do.
I flipped through my posts, and that seems to come up a lot. And I like it.
Summary: Charity is good. If you don't do charity, you're an inhuman monster.
Commentary:
283. They that feel nothing of this, are at best not above half of Kin to Human Race; since they must have no Bowels, which makes such an Essential Part thereof, who have no more Nature.
If you don't do charity, you ain't human, because you ain't shit!
292. An Universal Remedy against Discord, and an Holy Cement for Mankind.
This is why people who volunteer are less miserable.
271. This seems to be the Master-Piece of our Politicians; But no Body shoots more at Random, than those Refiners.
The Refiners have a high fire rate, but poor aim.
274. If an able Man refines upon the Proceedings of an ordinary Capacity, according to his own, he must ever miss it: But much more the ordinary Man, when he shall pretend to speculate the Motives to the able Man’s Actions: For the Able Man deceives himself by making t’other wiser than he is in the Reason of his Conduct; and the ordinary Man makes himself so, in presuming to judge of the Reasons of the Abler Man’s Actions.
This is the William Penn version of the Dunning Kruger effect.
Summary: It is okay to conform if it's A. Necessary and B. Not against your Conscience.
Commentary:
253. And yet the Latitudinarian that I love, is one that is only so in Charity; for the Freedom I recommend is no Scepticism in Judgment, and much less so in Practice.
213. It shews a Depraved State of Mind, to Cark and Care for that which one does not need.
cark 1 of 2 verb ˈkärk -ed/-ing/-s
transitive verb : to burden with care or anxiety : vex, worry, trouble
216. But it is strange, that Old Men should excel: For generally Money lies nearest them that are nearest their Graves; As if they would augment their Love in Proportion to the little Time they have left to enjoy it: And yet their Pleasure is without Enjoyment, since none enjoy what they do not use.
It seems to me that (today) most elderly people are either relatively wealthy, or dirt poor. Is there such a thing as "middle class elderly"?
219. Such are they as spend not one Fifth of their Income, and, it may be, give not one Tenth of what they spend to the Needy.
220. This is the worst Sort of Idolatry, because there can be no Religion in it, nor Ignorance pleaded in Excuse of it; and that it wrongs other Folks that ought to have a Share therein.
I think framing it as "what percent of your money can/do you actually spend?" is effective at pointing out how absurdly rich someone can become. If you can't spend (most of) it, you should give (some of) it away.
181. Justice is a great Support of Society, because an Insurance to all Men of their Property: This violated, there ’s no Security, which throws all into Confusion to recover it.
Something I find interesting in these readings is how the "right to property" has basically disappeared from discourse in the last 75 years. It's all over the Enlightenment, and you see it occasionally out to the early 1900s, but it peters out after that. I think it's mostly replaced by "freedom from want", which is related (no one can take the stuff you need to live) but doesn't fully align (no one can take your stuff in general, because stuff=work=you).
Summary: You can't do enough good to make up for your bad.
Commentary:
177. Of what Benefit is it to say our Prayers regularly, go to Church, receive the Sacraments, and may be go to Confessions too; ay, Feast the Priest, and give Alms to the Poor, and yet Lye, Swear, Curse, be Drunk, Covetous, Unclean, Proud, Revengeful, Vain and Idle at the same Time?
178. Can one excuse or ballance the other? Or will God think himself well served, where his Law is Violated? Or well used, where there is so much more Shew than Substance?
179. ’T is a most dangerous Error for a Man to think to excuse himself in the Breach of a Moral Duty, by a Formal Performance of Positive Worship; and less when of Human Invention.
I think the answer to this is honestly yes. You can't never make a mistake, but you can try to do good things as much as possible. We all forgive a "good" person who does something bad occasionally. We tend to have less patience for someone who is a continual asshole.
This stopped working for like a week, worked again last night, and now doesn't again after I updated everything. Ughhhhh
Summary: Don't just be formal for formality's sake.
Commentary:
170. Form is Good, but not Formality.
171. In the Use of the best of Forms there is too much of that I fear.
Ahhh, Plato!
’T s absolutely necessary, that this Distinction should go along with People in their Devotion; for too many are apter to rest upon What they do, than How they do their Duty.
Summary: True Friendship can never die, our things own us, you'd be happier if you listened to God.
Commentary:
128. Death cannot kill, what never dies.
or
137. They narrow their own Freedom and Comforts, that make so much requisite to enjoy them.
Someone tell my wife!
146. It must be therefore a gross Fault to strive so hard for the Pleasure of our Bodies, and be so insensible and careless of the Freedom of our Souls.
I should count how many times this comes up if I ever do a reread.
