| You are misreading me. I did not say that you despise fortitude. I expressly said that I expected you to affirm it. I said that I considered your extrapolation of what Thomas a Kempis said to be as overblown as would be an accusation that you despised fortitude. There is no reason to go so far on a single passage. The book from which it is taken is about spirituality and how to become more Christ- like. It mentions charitable acts positively, although it is true, given its focus, that it urges attention to motivation, and speaks disparagingly of acts motivated by vainglory rather than the love of God. At a time (the 14th century) when comparatively little could be done to alleviate suffering, it makes some sense to focus on how to bear it. Why would one bring up overpopulation in this context? When I mentioned reading sympathetically, I was not referring to one's reaction ("I like this, oh, I don't like that"), I was referring to giving some attention to context, trying to understand something on its own terms. For example, this passage was written about the time of the Black Plague that ravaged Europe (remember "The Seventh Seal"?). No one knew what to do about it, and it decimated the population. Overpopulation was not a big issue, and they were medically largely helpless........ |
