Reading the news, some famous words often come to my mind. “Carthago delenda est” (Carthage must be destroyed), the Roman statesman Cato the Elder (234-149 BC) is quoted to have said at the end of his speeches.
Anyone who has a little knowledge of ancient history will remember the great hate that existed between Rome and Carthage, which caused the Punic Wars till the complete destruction of the African city, nowadays a suburb of Tunis. It was such a hate that could only be extinguished through the utter annihilation of the enemy. And here I am, once again, pondering about the human condition, which under certain circumstances brings intelligent beings to abhor other beings to such an extent that only the total crushing of one or the other can put an end to the situation.
As I am a firm believer in Positive Thinking, I therefore presume the intimate goodness of human nature to be true. But I can’t deny that certain features of mankind include a strong desire for power which, left uncontrolled and brought to the extreme, is the ultimate cause of most of the problems that plague, and have always plagued, this world of ours. Craving for supremacy over another (be it a person, possessions, even entire countries) is the root of wars, of disputes, of fights, of quarrels.
Whenever an understanding, a compromise cannot be found, there is hunger for control, for domination. Think about this the next time that you, too, feel the need to prove yourself right at all costs, or have the desire to see your opponent humbled. Maybe you don’t want to see him or her destroyed like Carthage, but the starting feeling might be the same! Be careful, and don’t forget that feelings, like thoughts, can be changed. It would be a good idea to think and do something about it, before it’s too late.
As every medal has a flip side, so has every situation and attitude. Going back to Cato the Elder, I’d like to cite a couple of his quotes as he, beside being a strict politician and a severe human being in all respects, including his personal life, he was also a just individual who envisioned the path leading to order and virtue in a disciplined life. I wonder what he would think, had he had the opportunity to see our present world, where we certainly don’t see too much discipline in any walk of life! “Freedom” is the word that is continuously repeated here, there and everywhere. A philosophical definition of freedom is “the right to do as you please without infringing upon the right of others.” But…who remembers the second part of the definition? Once again, it’s just “I,” “my,” “mine.”
Anyway, Cato the Elder said that “anger so clouds the mind that it cannot perceive the truth.” Have you ever experienced a situation where you (or someone you know) got upset to such a degree that you weren’t able to be logical, fair or even sensible? Anger makes you blind, therefore you need to pull yourself together before it fully manifests inside your “self.” Block it in time. Later, you’ll be glad you did!
Another of Cato’s pearls of wisdom is the following: “The first virtue is to restrain the tongue; the most virtuous is the one who knows how to be silent, even if he is in the right.” I totally agree and say this once again: You don’t need to prove your point at all costs. As a well-known saying asks if you prefer to be happy or to be right, here we are tackling the same concept. When you feel you have to prove that you are right to a person who is on a total different “wavelength,” you are wasting your time — not only — but you are also allowing a situation to degenerate into a quarrel… and for what? For the satisfaction of seeing your opponent K.O.? But… will you really see him knockout? In case he is as stubborn as you, where will the argument lead to? And finally: Is all this verbal (or any kind of) fighting worth your serenity, your peace of mind?
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Blog: recreateyourlifetoday.blogspot.com
