The most interesting thing in the quote below is not that it came from a bunch of Trad Catholics referring to Plato. Christians have referred to Plato and Aristotle, properly, since before Augustine. For the love of wisdom is the love of truth and logic, and these are servants to theology, the queen of sciences.
The interesting thing is that Plato saw working for the interests of your city and people and tribe was self evident. it required no proof. It was. It is more interesting that he then bought in the idea of Karma, divine Utu: that if you honoured the gods and laws of your tribe you will be prosperous and all would be well.
Here’s Plato, writing in the Laws (book v)
“He who honors his kindred, and reveres those who share the same gods and are of the same blood and family, may fairly expect that the gods who preside over generation will be propitious to him, and will quicken his seed.”
Plato did not defend this proposition with an argument, which I suppose was because he though its truth would be self-evident. And we see that it is self-evident when we tweak the language.
“He who is impartial to his kindred, and indifferent to those who share the same gods and are of the same blood and family, may fairly expect that the gods who preside over generation will be impartial to him, and indifferent to his seed.”
The self-evident truth of the original proposition becomes even clearer when we tweak the language even more.
“He who reviles his kindred, and scorns those who share the same Gods and are of the same blood and family, may fairly expect that the Gods who preside over generation will revile him, and will scorn his seed.”Well, obviously!
Here’s the matter in a nutshell: existence requires what Schopenhauer called the will-to-exist. It requires a settled disposition to behave in ways conducive to survival, and to refrain from behavior conducive to extinction. And among the behaviors conducive to survival, loyalty to one’s group, defense of one’s territory, and propagation of one’s breed are very far from being the least.
To the ancients piety was adaptive. It was wise to sacrifice to Jove, to honour the Gods, regardless of their nature. Because it kept you and your family going. This exists to this day: anyone who has had a discussion with Chinese or Indians about their shrines will find an agreement with Plato.
The Pagans are among us. And they consider the abandonment of Gods as foolish.
But in the West we have done far worse. We have abandoned Christ Crucified.
20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
26Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, 29so that no one might boast in the presence of God. 30He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Christianity is a stumbling block to the neopagans, for they worship their nation. This is wrong: it is right and proper to worship God who made all nations, and then work for one’s tribe. But you don’t worship it. The nation next door is as loved as you are, and if they eat garlic with everything, prefer croissants to porridge and cannot make a decent cup of coffee (or tea) that is not a moral issue.
It does not matter if you like Marmite or Vegemite.
What matters is if you are of Christ.
The Virtue signalling of this time is about the destruction of any truth. The elite do not care about the Muslims or the Gays or the Transgender. They are being used to force us to accept the narrative, or the new Stazi will accuse us of #HateSpeech.
A loving nation, a caring nation, would protect the innocent from the reaver, get help for the gender distressed, and not redefine all things by the most neurotic rules of the women’s studies common room. It will not regulate conversations. It will accept that polite speech, respectful speech, is precisely that speech not needed in a crisis.
We need to speak true. The elite of this age say we must say a lie. But this elite want the tribe dead, believing they can remain: this elite are fools.
Thanks for the notice. It is important to keep our priorities straight, and not let existence become out greatest good. But if we neglect existence, that greatest good will really be out of reach.
The elite are indeed mostly fools – although from a secular hedonic perspective, it makes sense to optimise one’s own happiness in the predictable short-term – but their supernatural masters know what they are doing.