We talked about the two foundational pillars of manhood, those being courage and wisdom and how they set up the foundation for everything else that you may build onto it. Now I want to talk about the pillar that you’ll drape across those other two pillars to make a complete flat archway to walk through to greater things. I know I’m mixing analogies but you get the point.
Once those two foundational pillars are in place it’s time for this next, underestimated and even ridiculed pillar to be put in place. This pillar that is essential to so much yet we take for granted. It’s literally what allows civilization, societies, and tribes to function. It what allows for armies to work properly, for marriage to work properly, households, businesses, and so much more.
Essentially it’s what makes the world go round when it goes right, and no obviously its not money. Like I said its something that underestimated and often ridiculed, even by those who have good intentions. And speaking frankly without the other two pillars this pillar can be a liability and be harmful to a person in a way, lead them to getting taken advantage of and destroyed.
However the other two pillars really aren’t complete without it. It gives them purpose and a higher calling. It ennobles them as it ennobles the men who embrace it and is responsible for creating something more, something higher. It’s the one thing that can hold human nature in check.
And its critical to having anything worthwhile in this life.
The Third Ridiculed & Often Forgotten Pillar
So what is this pillar, this forgotten and ridiculed pillar that has so much power to it when applied correctly. That third pillar is the pillar of character. Now what do I mean by character, as always I think it’s important that we define our terms so we know what we’re working with. The dictionary definition of character is “the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.” or “main or essential nature especially as strongly marked and serving to distinguish.” or “the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation.” or “one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual.”
However I don’t think any of those define character completely or perfectly. Another definition would be character is the actions that you take because it is actions that will define who you are. Talk is cheap, as is thought, but action is what matter and action is what reveals your character and who you are. Character has also been called “Who you are when no one is looking.” meaning who you are at your core.
What you’re made of. Whether you’re solid at your core or not and a whole lot more. Again there is no one perfect definition but I think we have a working base here. Character is often ridiculed and often confused with morality but they are two separate things. Morality can mean many things and certain moral systems are foolish and go against both God and nature or are just designed to keep you controlled. However character is something from inside yourself and always good when applied properly, honor is another word for it.
Why The Third Pillar Is So Essential
But why is this important? What’s so great about character? Well, as I was saying above character is essentially the only reason that we can have nice things as humans. What do I mean by this? Well things like art, cooperation, tribes, nations, trade, marriage, families, and a whole lot more. Without character none of this can happen at a high level. Sure primal drives cover some of us but not beyond a very low level. Without character we all become more devious apes each trying to destroy the other. The truly get the importance of character, first we have to take a look at human nature.
Human nature is a dark and ugly thing. Mentioned above humans are essentially more devious apes. If we had nothing but our biological drives and laws attempting to govern it then there’d be no hope. Nihilism and cynicism would be logical and the right choice then. Laws of the land are nothing compared to the laws of a man’s heart, that can be interpreted multiple ways. It is not through intellect that we overcome our base drives and nature, again intellect divorced from other things just makes us even more devious. It is character that allows us to overcome our base natures and allow higher things like art, marriage, and true civilization flourish and function at the highest level.
It is character that holds the darkness back and in check. Character is the reason that we can have nice things as humans. Without character man is hopeless. Again as more devious apes and the laws of the land can curtail this nature but if all that holds someone back is the threat of punishment then they’re still living at a base level and cannot go on to the higher forms of living, the nice things, that we talked about. At least not a high and properly functioning level.
The Third Pillar Is The Path To Transcendence
Transcendence has a very faux-spiritual connotation to it and that’s unfortunate. When we think of transcendence we think of misunderstood half-baked modern world “spirituality” that doesn’t have much correlation to reality or spirituality for that matter. When we look at true transcendence it’s not about sitting on a mountain top, though certainly nothing wrong with that. It’s not about giving up all worldly possessions and abandoning all worldly attachments. The first can be foolish and the second always. After all we were put on this earth with physical bodies for a reason and that reason wasn’t to reject it.
No, true transcendence is about forging character and overcoming your base human nature. That’s what true transcendence is. Character is an essential facet of this and much more. When you go out in life you’ll want to have brothers and tribe members who have character and when you marry the most important thing is that you marry a woman of character. Brotherhood, tribes, and marriage don’t work without good character of all involved. And remember that like attracts like.
Meaning to have worthy brothers, worth connections, and a worthy wife, you must first be a worthy man yourself. That’s involved a couple different things. The first is understanding that there are standards and proper judgements in life, meaning that there are things that are worthy and there are things that are base. The second is developing those first two pillars of courage and wisdom. And then the third is developing the third pillar of character.
Why This Pillar Is Third
There are many that would say this is the most important pillar and therefore it should be first, the true foundation, and I both agree and disagree with them. In a way, it is the most important pillar, however it can’t be the foundational pillar as much as we’d like it to be otherwise. But why? Why can’t something so great and important as honor and character be the foundational pillar? Well here’s why.
When someone has character but it is divorced from courage then they’ll be ineffectual. They’ll get trodden upon or they’ll know the right thing but do nothing about it. They’ll be walked over and never be a threat to things that deserve to be threatened. And you can’t forge character without courage. Like forging a blade with heat. Likewise a man who has character but it is divorced from wisdom will be tricked and fooled. He may very well call good evil and evil good and be happy about it.
And this is just scratching the surface of why character is futile or even “bad” without being attached to courage and wisdom. And that is why courage and wisdom are the two foundational pillars. And why they are essential to develop first so that the third pillar, the horizontal pillar if you will, has something to be placed on. The first two pillars lift it up and support it. Both are needed otherwise the third horizontal pillar will fall over. The three together make the “flat arch of man.”
So develop courage and wisdom but don’t forget to finish it with character.
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-Charles Sledge
