Tema: The Christian Philosophy of Life by Fr. Tilmann Pesch SJ

CHAPTER III

MAN'S LIFE ON EARTH


Turning to the consideration of human life here on earth,
we find that, in order to estimate it aright, man must be
studied alike as an individual and as a social being.
Contemplated as an individual, he is all and he is nothing.
Behold in him a mere animal bipes, and what significance can
be claimed for him ? He is an insect crawling over the earth's
surface, a bundle of miseries, a being at the mercy of
physical laws which condition life for him at every turn, and
endowed with a gift of reason which lifts him above the level
of the brute world only in order that his sensuous enjoyment
of the pleasures which nature affords to every living thing
should be as exquisite as possible.

On the other hand, when this gift of reason becomes the
object of an idolatrous worship, when man is acclaimed as the
most excellent and finished product of matter which has, so to
speak, won its way through to life, when the whole universe is
considered as emanating from him as its source, and himself
as a manifestation of the Godhead, then he becomes all.

Yet, in truth, he is neither to be spurned nor deified. He
pales into insignificance indeed compared with the vast
universe confronting him ; his material necessities are so imperative
as to be in large measure the determining elements
in his life; the ground he treads on boasts a stability to
which he himself is a stranger ; beings devoid of reason surround
him on every side, and manifest their superiority over
him in many ways ; he seems to have been flung out on to
this little planet like a thing intrinsically worthless, fit only to
be tossed into a corner, and yet in spite of it all this perishable
child of earth is conscious of an inward excellence far
exceeding that of the universe about him.

O Nature, thou art a veritable enigma ! Here, gross
matter—there, impalpable soul, and between them a union
inconceivably complete.

What then is man upon this earth ? A sigh on the wind ;
an insect creeping up the mountain side ; a rose leaf afloat on
the wide expanse ; a drop in a limitless sea ; a moment
between two eternities ; an atom in the midst of countless
stellar systems—and yet we are to account him the creator of
a world !

Man is a feeble thing, unable to override a single law of
nature, or to prove himself master of events save in an
infinitesimal degree, yet how splendidly his powers of
reason and will assert their supremacy over against the world
about him. He is compared in the sacred Scriptures to the
fading flower of the field, but those same Scriptures speak of
him as a being little lower than the angels. In him the
material and the spiritual world meet and coalesce.

It is not to be denied that the advance of scientific
knowledge serves to throw into high relief the comparative insignificance
of man ; each new step forward reveals the
infinite distance beyond. But in proportion as man becomes
aware of his littleness, he is bidden to lift his head and
recognise that the spirit within him is greater than all that his
eyes light on here below.

2. The human intelligence is concerned not merely with
matter, but with those unseen laws which matter obeys.
Man lifts his eyes to the stars and measures their orbits, tracing
and analysing the various chemical elements which go to
build them up ; he looks down on the ant crawling at his feet,
and sees a world of science laid bare in its life history. It was
a true word spoken by Sophocles when he exclaimed : " This
world teems with wonders, but its greatest wonder is man
himself." His are the priceless gifts of mind and will ; not
this or that, but all good is set before him as the object of his
choice ; his will is free, and he is conscious of its freedom.
He finds himself faced continually by the necessity of choosing
between good and evil. Evil allures him by its aspect,
good repels him by its austerity. But who is there who
would dally with evil if it were shorn of its seductions,
and who would not gladly practise good if it were wholly
sweet in the doing ?

O God ! it is Thou Who hast clothed man's immortal
spirit with its earthly covering, and subjected him to the conditions
of this mortal life to the end, that he may fulfil his
destiny. Turn to him in Thy mercy ; strengthen him to walk
erect and live his life nobly, since all his salvation is from
Thee.

Nowhere, save in Christianity, has man found power to
correspond with his high destiny. What more lamentable
sight can be beheld than that of a Christless people ? To
contemplate it is to run the risk of despising one's fellow-men,
and of echoing Goethe's bitter words, " I have lost faith in the
world altogether, and have learned the lesson of unbelief.
Human nature is so foolish and contemptible, so systematically
irrational ; a man needs to live as long a life as mine has
been to become aware of the supreme contempt he is justified
in feeling for his fellow-men."


If, on the other hand, we consider man in the light of that
perfection to which his Creator destined him, can we ascribe
too high an excellence to him, or what worthier object of
study does the whole visible universe afford us ?

If God were to create such a human being to-day as would
satisfy the ideal of a non-Christian world, there would be
nothing for it but to relegate him forthwith to the four walls
of a prison or a lunatic asylum.

To understand what man is, and the task assigned to him
in this life, he must be considered, not only as an individual,
but as a social being, upon whom social obligations necessarily
devolve. Human society is no mere aggregate of units,
swept together by a force acting at random. True, the
individual has responsibilities towards himself in the first
instance, but he stands in organic relation to the whole, and
hence is compelled to take count of his fellow-men, and
justified in claiming that they, in their turn, shall take count
of him.

Those diverse groupings within the wide area of human
society, which emerge into view when that society is surveyed
as a whole, reveal themselves as the natural means by which
it has sought to attain its varying ends, such attainment only
being possible where there is recognition of common interests,
and of the necessity of striving for them in common. Just as
the body, though one organic whole, is yet made up of
various members, so we find the widest divergences exhibited
amongst the members of any given community, whether by
reason of their environment, or of disparity in physical and
mental endowments.

Community of interests and obligations holds good in
every sphere of life, high and low alike. Let a man beware
of saying, " I am self-sufficing, and intend to live for myself
alone ; what have I to do with the weal or woe of those about
me, or of society in general ? " Such an attitude is wholly at
variance with that decree of nature, in virtue of which the
good or evil befalling the individual of necessity reacts upon
his neighbour and the community at large. In many
respects the general well-being of the community tends to
enhance that of the individual, whilst the glory or shame
accruing to any single one of its members represents a gain
or loss to it as a whole.

Self-preservation is a primary duty, but a man's own
interests, far from being neglected, are often most truly served
when they are set aside in the interests of his neighbour. It is
an error to assume that we are the losers by what others gain.
The whole structure of Christianity rests upon this foundation
of common needs and obligations, and its teachings and
injunctions can only be rightly understood when the essential
solidarity of the human race is recognised and taken into
account.

This was the thought which underlay those words of Pius
IX., " Would that we could all unite, and thus reach the
desired end—the bringing of healing to every human ill, and
the triumphant vindication of truth upon this earth. The
principles upon which modern civilisation relies are often
erroneous. Far from giving in our adhesion to them, it
behoves us to combat them by a counter presentment of
truth."



Whether we contemplate the individual as a unit or as
forming part of a great whole, the true measure of his importance
is revealed, not in the light of that which is seen and
temporal, but of that inner personality or self which is
engaged in working out an eternal destiny. " As I draw near
to the end of my life's journey," wrote the renowned von
Moltke, looking back over his past eighty years, " I am struck
by the thought—what a wholly different standard will be
applied in another world to our work here ! The worth of a
man's life will be determined, not by the measure of success
achieved, but by the courage with which he fought, and by
his steadfast adherence to duty even in respect of details which
none but himself ever knew. What amazing changes will
take place in the ranks as a result of that last roll-call ! We
know so little after all of what is to be ascribed to ourselves
or to others, or, again, to the over-ruling of a higher Will.
Surely, then, we shall do well to refrain from judging too
exclusively by outward appearances !

CHAPTER IV

THE PASSION FOR KNOWLEDGE

1. The salvation of countless souls is imperilled in these
days by science falsely so-called, and by the misdirected
craving for knowledge. This craving is in itself a natural
one, and the conditions of human existence demand that it
should be met, but, given its fullest satisfaction, the true
significance of life may still have been missed. Thy knowledge
must be a light to guide thee on the path of life ; what can
it avail thee to know all if thou knowest not how to live ?

True knowledge is a precious possession, but Plato bids
us remember that he who seeks it must first be purified of
passions, since none but the pure soul can apprehend that
which is true and pure and eternal.

Have a care that thy will is upright. What use is light
to the eye that refuses to see ?

It is a perilous thing to be rich in this world's wisdom, for
thereby a man is rendered more truly lord and master than
by actual possessions. There is but a step between knowledge
and vainglory.

The inordinate craving to know brings with it a fatal lack
of concentration, and, in the end, profound disillusionment.
In Plato's judgment, utter ignorance was a lesser evil than
confused and ill-assorted knowledge.

He alone is wise who desires knowledge in order that he
may the better save his soul.

Set bounds to thy desires, and acknowledge that the finite
mind of man may become aware of an existing ocean of
reality, but can never contain it. This world teems with
mysteries, and the simplest phenomena about us are the most
mysterious. Taken at its highest, how insignificant is the
sum of our knowledge, how vast the region of the unknowable !

The advance of science can only be compared after all to the
growing volume of a spherical body ; every increase serves to
develop more points of contact with the unknown beyond.
The growth of responsibility keeps even step with the
growth of knowledge. Many a man stands excused by the
fact of his ignorance, provided only this be not wilful.

Cherish no pride in thy fancied attainments. True selfknowledge
will be thy surest protection against this folly.

Esteem others highly ; think humbly of thyself. Be content
to be despised and ignored.

The one essential is that our apprehension of truth and
reality should itself be real and true. No mere opinions based
on sensible phenomena can suffice us : the region of true
knowledge lies beyond, and the road that leads to it is the
road of prayer and sedulous fostering of a love of truth within
the heart. Learned disquisitions are apt, as often as not,
to prove rather a hindrance than a help.

All men desire truth, but many seek it beneath the stimulus
of unbounded egoism ; hence the endless strife between
hypothesis and hypothesis. He who has come to acknowledge
the existence of a God must seek truth in utter dependence
upon Him, and must seek it in the way He prescribes,
and with no other purpose than that of submitting to its
authority once it is known. Let God Himself be thy Teacher ;
when He speaks His creatures must keep silence. Divine
illumination awaits the soul which seeks God in simplicity,
and where the knowledge of truth is at stake, one ray of this
light is worth more than the whole sum of human effort.

All our knowing here below is as a drop in an ocean of
nescience. The truest knowledge to which we can attain is
that of man's nothingness apart from God ; what he is, he is
in and for God.

2. Trust not overmuch to thine own understanding, but lend
a willing ear to the words of those who are wiser and better
men than thou. It is safer to receive than to give counsel.

Dwell on the thoughts of great men, but exempt not
thyself from the necessity of thinking thine own thoughts.

The value of terse pointed sayings lies in their power to
stir the mind to reflection. Cursory reading is like the swift
travelling of the eye over a series of pictures ; no one impression
abides ; each is continually being effaced by that
which succeeds it.

Suffer not thyself to be disconcerted however many they
may be who hold a contrary opinion to thine own. " Nothing
is more contemptible than a majority," says Goethe, "it is
made up of a few blusterers who lead the way, of rogues who
are ready to do and think anything, and of the bulk of the
populace which troops behind with little or no idea of what
it really wants." " A fig for your majority," echoes Schiller,
" wisdom has ever dwelt with the few."

Nourish the habit of calm deliberation amidst the rush of
the present day, which is continually seeking to take the mind
of man by storm. O Truth ! whither wilt thou turn for
sanctuary ?

Keep ward over the dispositions of thy heart, for " the
heart has its reasons which reason cannot know." It is
profoundly true that the whole current of a man's thought
is modified by his emotions.

Beware of the blind fanaticism which springs from
unreasoned convictions ; though the truth be set forth as
clearly and luminously as you will, it can avail nothing.
Only he who prays leaves truth a way of access to his soul.

Fear none of the difficulties and sacrifices which await
thee in thy search. Truth must be fought and suffered for.

Set a high value on knowledge. Much is belauded under
that name to-day, and it is no light matter that thine own
estimate concerning it should be the true one. Knowledge
means power, whether amongst men or in the daily details
of thy life.

Let the truth thou knowest bear fruit in thee. Barren
knowledge is a cloud without rain.

The one safeguard of truth in the soul of a man is a life
lived in accordance with truth. Let us rejoice that it is given
to us to be sons and daughters of the Catholic Church.

CHAPTER V

TRUE AND FALSE SCIENCE

I. By the light it sheds on the principles underlying the
phenomena which surround us, science puts us in a position
to apprehend and interpret these latter truly. If men were
guided by a right motive in their search after knowledge, all
separate sciences would be revealed as constituent parts of
one supremely harmonious whole. But many desire to
know, not that they may know truth, but that they may
minister to the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence
of the eyes and the pride of life.

" It is only too certain," said Leibnitz, " that many who
are unquestionably learned -men, are yet devoid of the light
of truth." Hence we are confronted, not only by the science
which really knows, but by a so-called science, which has far
less claim on our respect, or may be altogether misleading.
With what different eyes men behold thee, O Science ! By
the one thou art hailed as an immortal goddess, by another
as a means to daily bread.

Rational man seeks light on past and future, and reflects
on the mysteries of his own being and the end of life ; this
he does for his own sake, and not to prove to himself that
knowledge is attainable. He is justified in thinking little of
any knowledge which fails to elucidate the meaning of life,
and to contribute, in however small a degree, towards the
amelioration of the conditions of human existence.

Knowledge is a good, but not the supreme good. Men
speak of the right of science to assert her independence, and
they are justified in demanding that no illegitimate influences
be suffered to impair her freedom. Yet it is idle to claim
for her an absolute independence. There is a certain well-defined
limit which she cannot afford to transgress; once it
is ignored, science ceases to be science, and becomes a
deception and a lie. This limit is truth ; science which is not
primarily concerned with truth is a source of confusion and
calamity. There is that above her which she must hold
inviolable. He who seeks knowledge must beware of
dethroning truth.

The dogmas of the Catholic Church are as unchanging as
the axioms of geometry ; neither the one nor the other can
be held to constitute an obstacle in the path of civilisation.

" Science," says a writer of our own day, " is a slave,
bought and sold in the market place ; at whatever cost to
her dignity, she must bow to every caprice of her all-powerful
master. Truth, on the other hand, is a queen, with whom
none may deal lightly. She abates nothing of her claims,
nor suffers others to abate them ; she accepts no homage
save that of entire submission."

Men point to the conclusions at which modern thought
has arrived. What are they ? Do they carry us one
whit further than the conclusions of a hundred years ago
or more ? " Since there are beings," says one, " there is
necessarily a Being of beings, and in this Being of beings
we are all immersed." " Precisely the contrary is true,"
rejoins another. " I myself alone am ; all else is a web of
illusion spun by the Ego." A third : " I concede the
existence of world and soul ; each is ignorant of the other,
but both alike tend to that which is in its essence one." A
fourth : " Being and soul are unknown things to me ; I can
only say that they seem to be, yet they are more than mere
seeming." A fifth: "I am I, i.e., I postulate myself; if I
postulate myself, I thereby postulate a non-self." A sixth :
" Presentation there certainly is ; this implies a thing
presented, and a thing which presents, and together these
make three."

2. It need occasion no surprise that such doctrines should
find many adherents, despite their unintelligibility. The
most preposterous absurdities have a way of sounding learned
if only they are sufficiently obscurely expressed. Men are
ready to do homage to the unintelligible, provided that their
passions are accorded free play. Ask them why they admire
this or that, and they will have no answer to give.

True knowledge is to be attained, but only by the lover
of truth. A thousand traitors are ambushed beside thy path,
O Truth ! but thou treadest so lightly as to pass through
their midst unheard.

Seek true knowledge, but beware of overrating thy power
to know. Do as thou wilt, thy knowledge must ever be
fragmentary. Few realise how much a man must have learnt
in order to know his ignorance. Even the little knowledge
which thou hast, thou owest to God, and not to thyself.
Sometimes natural perception, a momentary insight, is a
surer guide to truth than any conscious chain of reasoning.
With reflection comes in the possibility of error. Those
very reasoning faculties of thine, and the objects with which
they concern themselves—dost thou owe them to thyself or
to God ?

The Catholic Church has always looked upon true science
as one of the most priceless natural goods to which humanity
is heir.

It is more than ever essential in these days that the
assertions of a would-be science should be met by the
counter assertions of true science. The peculiar peril of the
conflict in our own day lies in the fact that the powers of
darkness have set up their standard in the very field of
natural science, and are seeking to turn this whole universe,
with all its glory and beauty, into a weapon of offence against
the Creator.