Comments on: Manvotional: Heroic Education

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 05:48:38 +0000

@William: Their are indeed cynics out there who will be lost to their own narcissistic cynicism, but I do believe I smell a Troll. Tread softly.

By: Gerard

Gerard — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 02:29:39 +0000

It’s so hard to inspire humility, yet this excerpt does it wonderfully.

As almost everyone has stated before me, thanks Brett and Kate.

By: korg20000bc

korg20000bc — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:36:16 +0000

Thanks for the post.

Here’s a link to some related material. http://ejmas.com/jwma/articles/2006/jwmaart_hackney_0906.htm

Its about the foundations of European martial arts and cultivating virtue. Great stuff.

By: William

William — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:54:42 +0000

Zane- Take your flaming negativity somewhere else. Nobody here wants to read it.

By: zane

zane — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 00:54:06 +0000

ridiculous. this is the modern world where we’re post religion and post tradition. cant u feel the paradigms shift? there’s no place for hero worship or a love of the old. As to the supposed ‘good’ people in this world? they havent been given an opportunity to be truly evil. We are selfish by design and you can harp on about whatever good qualities a person possesses, they arent all that great. Personally, i’d like to live a life like my fictional hero Harry Flashman. One of cowardice and caddishness

By: Bob G

Bob G — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:58:45 +0000

Excellent post.
The full maxim is “Nihil mirari, nihil lacrimari, sed intelligere” and is by Spinoza. It can be translated as “Let nothing cause astonishment, let nothing cause despair, but understand.” The teaching, in my opinion, is to not let emotion rule us or cause us to shy away from understanding anything. Even though some things may seem intimidating (either overwhelmingly good or impossibly bad), have courage and seek the truth.
Thanks

By: Days and Adventures

Days and Adventures — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 09:33:51 +0000

Beautiful words. The world is bright if we wish it to be.

Marc

By: Simj

Simj — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 08:50:30 +0000

i Haven’t read this word for word but would say that its essence is not to be cowed rather than awed. Some people are truly terrifying…..think Hitler et al. He cowed half of Europe and had a go at the world. I don’t honestly believe there is shame in being cowed by such people as the lengths they will stop at are not particulalry limited. This said the maxim is based along the lines of loss of personal freedom and enslavement to anothers intentions through fear/terror. Its an ideal and perhaps a goal but understandable in many cases for those that do not live up to this.

By: Brett McKay

Brett McKay — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 04:45:17 +0000

@Patrick-

Thank you for the kind words of appreciation.

We find the manvotionals in a few ways. A lot of it is comes from spending hours searching through the amazing google book archives and looking for the gems. We also buy old books and find stuff in them. And sometimes readers tip us off to a good find.

I’m afraid the article you referenced on etiquette doesn’t ring a bell…..

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 23:35:30 +0000

Incredible work. This truly explains how we feel amongst all that is around us. Its as if there is some difficulty in living that we cannot recognize. Yet now it is worded out, and it is very true even if it is over a hundred years old. I for one know that this will be kept in my mind, and I will search out the modern, simple heroes in my life. I still have much to learn, and I am excited for it.