“Men (humanity) are good in one way but bad in many.” Aristotle
This little piece of Aristotelian opinion can be found in his Nicomachean Ethics. After having read Hesiod’s “Works and Days”, I stumbled upon a noteworthy part where Perseus (Hesiod’s brother) said the following:
“… Badness can be caught in great abundance, easily; the road to her is level, and she lives nearby. Good is harder, for the gods have placed in front of her much sweat; the road is steep and long and rocky at first”.
This is in line with Aristotle’s observation. Perseus, however, makes the point that when you reach the top, she (goodness) is not hard to find, but he also said:
“Such a man is best who reasons for himself, considering the future. Also good is he who takes another’s good advice. But he who neither thinks nor learns from others is a failure as a man.”
I know that it is imperative to always strive for doing good; if only more people will make this a priority and actively be good, not because I ask, but because it is the right thing to do. If I can make you rethink goodness, as a virtue, then I have succeeded in my daily aim. Allow me to end today’s thought with the words of Mikhail Bakunin:
“Freedom, morality, and the human dignity of the individual consists precisely in this; that he does what is good, not because he is forced to do so, but because he freely conceives it, wants it, and loves it.”
Once you have tasted the sweet taste of goodness, you will find it difficult to turn towards that which is bad. Practice goodness, practice it without external pressure but from within a well of willingness and want.
Goodness is a non-failing investment,
so Henry David Thoreau has said,
but if you think that this is some kind of bewilderment
then you have to go and re-assess your head…
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