This third post in my series on Nobility continues expositing the first definition of “nobility” given by the Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, as follows:
1. Dignity of mind; greatness; grandeur; that elevation of soul which comprehends bravery, generosity, magnamimity, intrepidity, and contempt of every thing that dishonors character.
Having noted that the verb “comprehend” here doesn’t only mean “understand,” but something more along the lines of “to completely lay hold of, to grasp, snatch, seize, catch,” we will look at the first quality that Webster says nobility comprehends:
The classical philosopher of ethics par excellence is, of course, Aristotle, to whom, outside of the Bible, we ought to direct inquiries about virtuous qualities. Aristotle presents the idea that virtue is always a mean between extremes. The extreme on one side involves a deficiency or defect in the virtuous quality sought, while the extreme on the other side involves an excess of the virtuous quality sought. What does Aristotle tell us about bravery, the first thing that Webster says the noble elevation of soul comprehends?
For one thing, bravery is not the absence of fear. Rather, bravery is the ability to deal with fear appropriately rather than being mastered by it.
Aristotle has it that a brave man should fear the loss of his good reputation. On the other hand, not fearing poverty while one wastes his wealth is not brave at all, but just stupid. Likewise, there’s not a hint of bravery in resisting pleasurable temptations (since the prospect of pleasure doesn’t produce fear), but there is a great deal of bravery in withstanding painful circumstances to the point of achieving the final goal of Virtue. Specifically, bravery must be understood as being oriented toward justice, for as the Roman philosopher-orator Cicero put it:
“…if the loftiness of spirit that reveals itself amid danger and toil is empty of justice, if it fights not for the common safety but for its own advantages, it is a vice. It is not merely unvirtuous; it is rather a savagery which repels all civilized feelings. Therefore the Stoics define courage well when they call it the virtue which fights on behalf of fairness. For that reason, no one has won praise who has pursued the glory of courage by treachery and cunning; for nothing can be honorable from which justice is absent.”
On Duties, (I.63)
A bit later he continues:
A brave and great spirit is in general seen in two things. One lies in disdain for things external, in the conviction that a man should admire, should choose, should pursue nothing except what is honorable and seemly, and should yield to no man, nor to agitation of the spirit, nor to fortune. The second thing is that you should in the spirit I have described, do deeds which are great, certainly, but above all beneficial, and you should vigorously undertake difficult and laborious tasks which endanger both life itself and much that concerns life.
On Duties, I.66
This said, nevertheless, like Aristotle before him, Cicero holds that nobility of soul steers a middle course between recklessness and cowardice:
We must never purposely avoid danger so as to appear cowardly and fearful, yet we must avoid exposing ourselves pointlessly to risk. Nothing can be stupider than that. When confronting danger, therefore, we should copy the doctor, whose custom it is to treat mild illnesses mildly, though he is forced to apply riskier, double-edged, remedies to more serious illnesses.
On Duties, I,82
What we should take away from all of this is that the noble soul is the one that is able to grasp, seize, catch, and hold onto boldness in the face of fear where that boldness has a correct motivation, a correct manner of application, and a correct final goal.
A tall order, indeed – which is why nobility requires elevation of soul. Those who remain stuck in the immediacy of the senses can’t rise above the deliverances of those senses to attain that which is higher and more meaningful: in this case, bravery.
