Fortitude and failure
President Teddy Roosevelt once said that “The longer I live the more I think of the quality of fortitude… men who fall, pick themselves up and stumble on, fall again, and are trying to get back up when they die.” Fortitude is the virtue of strength and courage in the face of adversity. It is […]
Prudence is not just for ourselves
We conclude our week on prudence with the story of Joseph in Genesis 46. After being granted by God the ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dream about the coming years of plentiful harvest followed by severe famine, Joseph prudently advises Pharaoh to store up the excess grain to be “a reserve for the land against the […]
But how do we become Prudent?
This week we’ve been considering the virtue of Prudence. But what is it that makes someone prudent in the first place? Proverbs 13:16 gives us the answer: “Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.” Prudence, then, requires that we both know something, and then have the will and courage to act on that knowledge. […]
Prudence on the way in
Aesop’s fable of the Old Lion and the Fox: An old Lion, whose teeth and claws were so worn that it was not so easy for him to get food as in his younger days, pretended that he was sick. He took care to let all his neighbors know about it, and then lay down […]
Is prudence always prudent?
If prudence is wisdom in practical matters, then is there ever a time not to be prudent? Should we ever cast reason to the wind? C.S. Lewis observes that that genuine prudence requires “a child’s heart, but a grown-up’s head.” So, for example, when we give to charity out of the kindness of our heart, prudence still […]
Prudence and providence
In addition to the Honor Code, CCA also embraces the seven classical virtues: prudence, fortitude, justice, temperance, faith, hope, and charity. The first of these, prudence, is wisdom in practical matters—it helps us to determine the best course of action in any situation. The word prudence comes from the Latin, prudentia, which means foresight or practical […]
As a man thinketh…
Over the last five weeks, we have considered all of the provisions of the Honor Code. We recite it every morning. It is posted in various places around the building. But why the Honor Code, and why so much of it? Because, as Proverbs tells us: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is […]
Facing Difficulties, not Avoiding Them
The first stanza of Edgar Guest’s poem See It Through reads, When you’re up against a trouble, Meet it squarely, face to face;Lift your chin and set your shoulders, Plant your feet and take a brace.When it’s vain to try to dodge it, Do the best that you can do;You may fail, but you […]
Joy, not happiness, in the face of difficulty
We’ve been talking about having joy in the face of difficulty this week. But what is joy, precisely? Are we supposed to have fun in or be excited about our difficulties? Should we pretend to be happy even when we’re not? Or is joy something else entirely? Well, the Bible mentions joy at least 59 times using the Greek word chara, which means […]
The joy of achievement requires difficulty
On May 29, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first men to climb to the top of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, a summit over 29,000 feet high. Various expeditions had tried, as early as 1885—but none reached the summit before Hillary and Norgay nearly 70 years later. On September 19, […]
