Western civilization has had many great contributors to what we enjoy and take for granted today. But the single, most influential person in human history is undoubtedly the Jewish carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth. Our calendar system still differentiates between BC and AD, or as some prefer, before or after the common era (CE).
George Washington performed in a play in which he played Juba, an adoptive son and protégé of Cato.
George, always one to take instruction seriously, absorbed through this painless medium the idea that civility was to be prized above the state of nature:
A Roman soul is bent on higher views:
To civilize the rude, unpolish’d world,
And lay it under the restraint of laws;
To make man mild and sociable to man,
To cultivate the wild, licencious savage
With wisdom, discipline, and liberal arts,
The embellishment of life. Virtues like these
Make human nature shine, reform the soul,
And break our fierce barbarians into men.
reason over instinct:
Let not a torrent of impetuous zeal
Transport thee beyond the bounds of reason:
True fortitude is seen in great exploits
That justice warrants, and that wisdom guides;
All else is tow’ring frenzy and distraction.
justice over laxity of standards:
. . . this base, degenerate age requires
Severity, and justice in its rigour. . . .
This awes an impious, bold offending world
Commands obedience, and gives force to laws.
When by just vengeance guilty mortals perish
The Gods regard the punishment with pleasure
And lay the uplifted thunderbolt aside.
public service over private comfort:
. . . what pity is it
That we can die but once to serve our country. . . .
I should have blushed if Cato’s house had stood
Secure, and flourished in a civil war. . . .
My life is not my own when Rome demands it.
the great ideal of perseverance under pressure:
. . . valour soars above
What the world calls misfortune and affliction . . .
The Gods, in bounty, work up storms about us
That give mankind occasion to exert
Their hidden strength.
the enduring fear of arbitrary power:
Bid him disband his legions,
Restore the commonwealth to liberty,
Submit his actions to the public censure,
and stand the judgment of a Roman Senate,
Bid him do this, and Cato is his friend.
and, over all, the conviction that life without self-determination is worse than no life at all:
Western civilization has had many great contributors to what we enjoy and take for granted today. But the single, most influential person in human history is undoubtedly the Jewish carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth. Our calendar system still differentiates between BC and AD, or as some prefer, before or after the common era (CE).
George Washington performed in a play in which he played Juba, an adoptive son and protégé of Cato.
George, always one to take instruction seriously, absorbed through this painless medium the idea that civility was to be prized above the state of nature:
A Roman soul is bent on higher views:
To civilize the rude, unpolish’d world,
And lay it under the restraint of laws;
To make man mild and sociable to man,
To cultivate the wild, licencious savage
With wisdom, discipline, and liberal arts,
The embellishment of life. Virtues like these
Make human nature shine, reform the soul,
And break our fierce barbarians into men.
reason over instinct:
Let not a torrent of impetuous zeal
Transport thee beyond the bounds of reason:
True fortitude is seen in great exploits
That justice warrants, and that wisdom guides;
All else is tow’ring frenzy and distraction.
justice over laxity of standards:
. . . this base, degenerate age requires
Severity, and justice in its rigour. . . .
This awes an impious, bold offending world
Commands obedience, and gives force to laws.
When by just vengeance guilty mortals perish
The Gods regard the punishment with pleasure
And lay the uplifted thunderbolt aside.
public service over private comfort:
. . . what pity is it
That we can die but once to serve our country. . . .
I should have blushed if Cato’s house had stood
Secure, and flourished in a civil war. . . .
My life is not my own when Rome demands it.
the great ideal of perseverance under pressure:
. . . valour soars above
What the world calls misfortune and affliction . . .
The Gods, in bounty, work up storms about us
That give mankind occasion to exert
Their hidden strength.
the enduring fear of arbitrary power:
Bid him disband his legions,
Restore the commonwealth to liberty,
Submit his actions to the public censure,
and stand the judgment of a Roman Senate,
Bid him do this, and Cato is his friend.
and, over all, the conviction that life without self-determination is worse than no life at all:
. . . let us draw her term of freedom out. . . .
A day, an hour, of virtuous liberty
Is worth a whole eternity in bondage.
Source: https://www.whatsoproudlywehail.org/curriculum/the-american-calendar/young-washington-and-cato
Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸