Men of Wisdom

I was intrigued by the words of the ancient philosophers, Leanardo Da Vinci, Plato, and King Solomon, who was known for his great wisdom. Plato suggested that, "The first and best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile." I certainly agree with the first half of this statement. However, I believe the second have is subjective. Of course, if giving in to pornography (for example) is the subject, then his statement would be right on point. However, if depression is "self" that needs conquering, then of course, it is sad and difficult, and often tragic, but shameful and vile? I'm not sure I agree with him. Da Vinci stated, "You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself. The height of a man's success is guaged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment. ...And this law is the expression of eternal justice. He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over other." Da Vinci was easier to agree with. the way he worded it made more sense. "the depth of his failure..." This means "in as much as..." So, if someone only committed a small sin that didn't hurt anyone, he has only abandoned himself (or rather, his morals) a little bit. It is a lesser problem to that of ,say, burglary, or murder. The self-defeating disappointment shoul not over power the mind. "Eternal justice", is gratefully swallowed up in the mercy of Christ. Solomon's statement, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city" (Proverbs 16:32), may be the most accurate of the three, for the person who can control his temper and "rule over his spirit" can be stronger, and a more far-reaching affect on the world, than all the wars in the world. It is true that self-mastery can be one of those characters that eludes most of us. But those who make the effort will find quiet growth and great peace in their lives. They can share their gifts to uplift others and make the world a better place.

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