The Culture of the Will
The cultivation of the intellect has many patrons and advocates in our day. The materials of human knowledge in many departments of thought are accumulating. The lapse of time by the nature of the case is adding to the stores of history. Physical science is every day opening up new regions for investigation; mathematicians are making new deductions from principles long established ; philosophy endeavours to unravel the unsolved problems of earlier ages. Theology, too, at least within the precincts of the Catholic Church, is engaged in elucidating the truths of faith, and deducing practical consequences in the sphere of morals. Amidst this general activity of intellect, it may not be uninteresting to our readers to consider some of the advantages that are attendant upon the culture of the will.
The perfection and excellence of man in this life are dependent upon the state and condition of his will. The great philosopher ol antiquity tells us that the unqualified title of “good” applies only to those whose wills are in a high state of culture. A man is said to be & good sculptor when, by his skill and knowledge of art, he is able & impart to lifeless stone the features and characteristics of a living organism. A man is said to be a good orator when he is able to bring human language to bear upon the emotions, the intelligence, and the actions of his fellow-men. The painter is said to be good when, by the judicious adjustment of lines and colouring, he accurately portrays the face of nature, or the scenes of daily life. But we do not pronounce these artists to be good men until we have formed an estimate of their moral qualities, or, in other words, of those dispositions and habits that reside in the will. Thus we find that the common language of mankind, in this as in many other instances, opens up to us the salutary fountains of truth, and directs our attention to the necessity of acquiring those hidden and unseen riches which elevate us in the scale of being.
All men are desirous of their own individual excellence and perfection. It is true that this impulse towards self-exaltation is the source of many errors and follies; but these accidental drawbacks do not succeed in proving that the instinct itself is reprehensible. We do not blame the mother for appealing to the self-love of the child, when she is trying to correct its faults. Reproach is one great instrument of human improvement; and its efficacy is derived from the appeal which it makes to the love of excellence inherent in the heart of man. “No man,” says a great saint and philosopher, “will become what he desires to be unless he dislikes himself as he is;” and the parent or guardian unconsciously applies this principle when urging the young to throw more energy into their studies, and to profit more assiduously of the various opportunities which Providence and circumstances have thrown in their way. The faults of the young are laid before them in reproachful and striking terms, in order that, convinced of their deficiencies, they may endeavour to supply them by industry and labour.
The study, then, of our own hearts and our own habitual line of action towards our fellow-men combine to show that we are, all of us, animated by a great desire of our own personal excellence. It is not wise, even if it were possible, to repress this tendency; but it is of the highest importance for the conduct of life that we should direct it into the proper channels; and this we do when we subordinate all our pursuits and energies to the cultivation of our wills. In this sphere of labour we can never err by excess. If we set our hearts upon material wealth, the pursuit of it may involve us in many evils; it may lead us to be hard-hearted towards others; it may close our hands in regard of those who have claims on our generosity; it may lead us to be penurious towards ourselves in the supply of our own physical wants; it may lead us to disregard the education and training of those whom Providence has confided to our care. We may, in our unlimited desire of riches, be led into acts of dishonesty towards those whose temporal concerns have been entrusted to us, and in our hasty and headlong endeavours to become rich, we may be precipitated into a collision with the laws of civil society.
These examples may serve to show the necessity of giving a proper direction to our love of pre-eminence. If, instead of striving to surpass others in wealth, our efforts had been directed to the acquirement of those qualities which constitute the very substance of human excellence, our efforts would have been attended with success, and we should be masters of possessions altogether independent of fortuitous events.
It may, perhaps, occur as an objection to some minds that the humility so much advocated by Christian teachers seems to be inconsistent with the pursuit of that true excellence at which every man should aim. A very brief consideration will be sufficient to dispose of this objection. Christian doctrine has never condemned the impulse implanted by nature which leads to the pursuit of our own self-improvement. On the contrary, the aim of Christian teaching has been to elevate man, and to turn the desire of his own excellence into fruitful and profitable channels. The very virtue of humility, which lies at the root of Christian practice, is a moral excellence of an exceedingly high order, and the more we advance in it, the more we are exalted in the perfection which is appropriate to man. Thus reason and revelation combine to show that we are always safe when we are directing our energies to our own moral improvement; and that, while in the pursuit of material or even intellectual advantages we are liable to incur many dangers, we cannot fail to reap as fruit when we apply steady and persevering effort to the culture of the will.
First published by W. H. in the Irish Monthly Vol. 10, 1882