The Art of Manliness - Manvotionals - Brett McKay [70]
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Every man has a latent power within him. Author Sam Keen called this energy our “fire in the belly.” Plato called it thumos, or manly spiritedness. Thumos is a man’s life force, the engine of soul which inspires bold, courageous action and the pursuit of glory.
Plato believed that thumos was just one of the three parts of a man’s psyche, the other two being his reason and his appetites. In the Phaedrus, Plato used the symbol of a chariot to explain the interplay of forces in this tripartite view of the soul. The chariot is pulled by two winged horses, one white, the other dark. The white horse, willing, strong, and handsome, represents a man’s thumos, or noble ambition. The dark horse, obstinate, lumbering, and deformed, represents man’s bodily appetites. Guiding these horses is the Charioteer, symbolizing reason and intellect. Reason is tasked with guiding and disciplining the two disparate steeds. When the white horse is directed towards honorable aims, it serves as the ally of the Charioteer. Together they force the stubborn black horse to fall into line and pull the chariot into the heavens. Without Reason holding tightly the reins, the two horses would move in opposite directions or not at all. In other words, harnessing one’s passions through discipline is the only way for a man to move forward in life and reach his full potential.
Discipline. It’s not a very popular word these days. It may bring to mind punishment—getting disciplined by one’s parents or teachers. And in a culture that venerates instant gratification, quick fixes, and a “do whatever you feel like” attitude, discipline is often seen as constraining and cruel. But the truest discipline comes from within and is a man’s chief source of power. While it may seem like a paradox, only by placing constraints and limits on ourselves can we truly become free and thus progress as men.
Many young men today grow up thinking that greatness can come without sacrifice and discipline. They want an impressive physique without having to dedicate hours to disciplined diet and exercise. They want to amass riches without having to discipline themselves with a monthly budget. They want stellar grades without disciplined, focused study. But as several selections in this book proclaim, “There is no royal road to success!” Discipline is the price we must pay to obtain our deepest desires and become our best selves.
When you take a step back, discipline is the linchpin virtue that makes acquiring the other manly virtues possible. Developing courage requires a man to have the discipline to step outside his comfort zone on a regular basis. Becoming industrious requires the discipline to get up and work, even when your mind and body tell you to stay on the couch. Developing the virtue of resolution requires the mental and sometimes physical discipline needed to keep going despite the overwhelming odds against you.
Our goal as men should be to become like the Charioteer in Plato’s allegory: reining in our appetites, guiding our spiritedness, and disciplining ourselves on the path to godlike greatness.
The selections in this chapter, while thoroughly engaging and insightful, are longer and meatier than the rest. This is by design; reading them is an excellent first step in developing your discipline!
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A King or a Slave
FROM SELF-CONTROL, ITS KINGSHIP AND MAJESTY, 1905
By William George Jordan
Every step in the progress of the world has been a new “control.” It has been escaping from the tyranny of a fact, to the understanding and mastery of that fact. For ages man looked in terror at the lightning flash; today he has begun to understand it as electricity, a force he has mastered and made his slave. The million phases of electrical invention are but manifestations of our control over a great force. But the greatest of all “control” is self-control.
At each moment of man’s life he is either a King or a slave. As he surrenders to a wrong appetite, to any human weakness; as he falls prostrate in hopeless subjection to any condition, to any environment,