Personal Sovereignty
THE NINE NOBLE VIRTUES
If it is not right, do not do it.
If it is not true, do not say it.
Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor
These nine brief essays were written by Dénes Martos, who is part of the Second Republic Project Team in Argentina.
Dénes manages several websites in Spanish – notably La Editorial Virtual (www.laeditorialvirtual.com.ar) – and has written extensively on the matter of Personal Sovereignty.
We post these essays on Honour, Truth, Loyalty, Discipline, Perseverance, Work, Freedom, Bravery and Solidarity, for they are key ethical values for all human beings that form the very foundations of Personal Sovereignty.
Introduction
For quite some time now, I’ve been increasingly feeling some irritation whenever I hear that universal complaint that says that we are suffering ”a crisis of values“.
Not that I disagree. What bothers me rather is that, usually, people who bitterly complain about the lack of values in our post-modern world do not bother to specify exactly what values they are talking about. They seem to take for granted that everybody knows what is missing. The unavoidable consequence of this is that those people who lack that which they are missing to begin with, do not actually have a clue of what is being talked about.
With this modest essay I only wish to somehow fill that gap – at least up to a certain extent. But let me set something straight: what I propose here is not a set of norms and standards that should be followed, but rather a set of concepts on which to think about. What I have done is to consider them, reflect upon them, and draw my own conclusions. I would be very flattered, and more than satisfied, if this somehow helps you to do the same.
Even if you might come to different conclusions.
Aside from this initial comment, I must also be honest, both with myself and with all of you, and quote my sources. I did not discover the Nine Noble Virtues, nor did I collected them. They come from a work by John Yeowell and John Gibbs-Bailey dating back to the 1970s. These authors systematized the ethical and moral code of the peoples of Northern Europe, basing their work on the traditions contained in the Havamal of the Poetic Edda, the Icelandic sagas and Germanic folklore. Another important point that I would like to highlight is that the intention of these authors was to recreate and restore the Pagan religion to which these rules referred; to the extent that they even founded Neopagan congregations, some of which still exist today in some way or another.
Regardless of the sympathy I may have for the values codified by Yeowell and Gibbs-Bailey, I must however state clearly and categorically that I do not share their purpose. There can be no doubt that all religions contain an ethical and moral code. But in my opinion, this still does not mean that such ethical and moral codes can be reconverted into a religion. In other words: you can build a moral code from a given religion; but I do not think you can rebuild a religion by taking its moral code as a starting point. Even less so if it is a dead religion. The reason for this being that religion – any religion – is much more than a mere moral code. And although it may be possible to rebuild the part from the whole, rebuilding the whole from one of its constituent parts seems, to me at least, a task that will carry such a large margin of error that, if you consider the nature of the subject in question, the risk involved becomes unacceptable – at least as far as I am concerned.
Besides, I do not see why there should be any compelling reason to do it. Historically, Christianity and the Church as an institution may indeed deserve substantial criticism. In fact, the harshest and deepest criticism has come more from their own faithful followers and not so much from their opponents. But nowhere have I found anything that renders the Nine Noble Virtues incompatible with the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. I really do not believe that any sincere and true Christian would feel ashamed of being honourable, truthful, loyal, disciplined, persevering, hard-working, independent, brave or supportive. For that same reason, I do not see any essential conflict between any of these values, and the four traditional Christian Cardinal Virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. Or even the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity.
However, and leaving theological issues aside, we would still need to merge all these values into one great and comprehensive ethical and moral system, adapting them to the language of our times, making them understandable to the people of this century and applicable in our present environment. That would be a task well worth the effort. Unfortunately, given my own limitations, I suppose I must leave such a synthesis to others more qualified than I.
Perhaps to someone like you.
Buenos Aires, October 2010.