Madame Bovary

¨Avant qu'elle se mariat, elle avait cru avoir de l'amour; mais le bonheur qui aurait du resulter de cet amour n'étant pas venu, il fallait qu'elle se fut trompée, songeait-elle. Et Emma cherchait à savoir ce que l'on entendait au juste dans la vie par les mots de félicité, de passion et d'ivresse, qui lui avaient paru si beaux dans les livres....et elle ne pouvait s'imaginer à présent que ce calme où ell vivait fût le bonheur qu'elle avait rêvé.¨
(Before she married, she had believed that she possessed love; but with the happiness that should have been the result, not arriving, it must have been that she was mistaken, she thought. And Emma sought to find out just what was meant in life by the words felicity, passion, and euphoria, that had appeared so beautifully in books....and she could not presently imagine that this calm in which she lived was the happiness of which she had dreamed.)


To me it seems pretty clear that Emma has formed one idea of what happiness is from things that she has read or heard about, but not experienced. I think it this is often the case as we expect certain experiences to be constant bliss but we find that the true nature of happiness is something quite different. Not that intense joy doesn't take place but that real happiness is probably something less high-charged and more stable than what movies and literature present it as. I think we probably arrive at happiness after processes that require a bit of effort such as developing sincere gratitude for blessings, developing virtues in dealing with family and friends, and achieving goals that were difficult. Blissful happiness, while maybe not really existing, surely doesn't come in any lasting form as a result of “falling” into something.

"The Countryside Saved Him"

"Isak han forstod å arbeide, å drive sin håndtering. Nu var han blit en rik mand med en stor gård, men de mange kontanter som slumpen hadde ført indpå ham gjorde han dårlig bruk av: han gjæmte dem. Marken frelste ham. Hadde Isak levet nede i bygden vilde kanske den store verden ha indvirket litt endog på ham, der var så meget gildt, så fine forhold, han vilde ha kjøpt unødvendigheter og gåt med rød helgeskjorte til hverdag. Her i marken var han værnet mot alle overdrivelser, han levet i klar luft, han vasket sig søndag morgen og lauget sig når han var oppe ved fjældvandet." (Markens Grøde, Knut Hamsun)

(Isak understood how to work, to manage his affairs. He had now become a rich man with a large farm, but he managed poorly all the money that success had brought him: he hid it. The countryside saved him. If Isak had lived down in town the big world would probably have worked on him more, there was so much to consider, such fine conditions, he would have bought unecessary things and worn a red weekend shirt on weekdays. Here in the countryside he was protected from all exagerations, he lived in clear air, he bathed Sunday morning and when he was up by the mountain lake."

I am a city boy. I've been surrounded by civilization all my life. My perspective is probably affected by this but I find it incredibly interesting how our surroundings can influence us and get us to do things we normally would not do or even think about. This is not necessarily a negative thing for we enjoy many things from civilization. I think it is probably important though to be aware of motivations for actions so that we can constantly be aware of those things that have the most importance.

"CEUX qui accusent les hommes d'aller tousjours beant apres les choses futures, et nous apprennent à nous saisir des biens presens, et nous rassoir en ceux-là : comme n'ayants aucune prise sur ce qui est à venir, voire assez moins que nous n'avons sur ce qui est passé, touchent la plus commune des humaines erreurs : s'ils osent appeller erreur, chose à quoy nature mesme nous achemine, pour le service de la continuation de son ouvrage, nous imprimant, comme assez d'autres, cette imagination fausse, plus jalouse de nostre action, que de nostre science. Nous ne sommes jamais chez nous, nous sommes tousjours au delà. La crainte, le desir, l'esperance, nous eslancent vers l'advenir : et nous desrobent le sentiment et la consideration de ce qui est, pour nous amuser à ce qui sera, voire quand nous ne serons plus. Calamitosus est animus futuri anxius.

Ce grand precepte est souvent allegué en Platon, « Fay ton faict, et te congnoy. » Chascun de ces deux membres enveloppe generallement tout nostre devoir : et semblablement enveloppe son compagnon. Qui auroit à faire son faict, verroit que sa premiere leçon, c'est cognoistre ce qu'il est, et ce qui luy est propre. Et qui se cognoist, ne prend plus l'estranger faict pour le sien : s'ayme, et se cultive avant toute autre chose : refuse les occupations superflues, et les pensees, et propositions inutiles. Comme la folie quand on luy octroyera ce qu'elle desire, ne sera pas contente : aussi est la sagesse contente de ce qui est present, ne se desplait jamais de soy.

Epicurus dispense son sage de la prevoyance et soucy de l'advenir." (Montaigne, "Nos affections s'emportent au delà de nous")

(THOSE which still accuse men for ever gaping after future things, and go about to teach us, to take hold of present fortunes, and settle our selves upon them, as having no hold of that which is to come; yea much lesse than we have of that which is already past, touch and are ever harping upon the commonest huma ne error, if they dare call that an error, to which Nature her selfe, for the service of the continuation of her worke, doth address us, imprinting (as it doth many others) this false imagination in us, as more jealous of our actions, than of our knowledg e. We are never in our selves, but beyond. Feare, desire, and hope, draw us ever towards that which is to come, and remove our sense and consideration from that which is, to amuse us on that which shall be, yea when we shall be no more. Calamitosus est animus futuri anxius.1 'A minde in suspense what is to come, is in a pittifull case.' This noble precept is often alleaged in Plato, 'Follow thy businesse and know thy selfe;' Each of these two members, doth generally imply all our duty; and likewise enfolds his companion. He that should doe his businesse might perceive that his first lesson is, to know what he is, and what is convenient for him. And he that knoweth himselfe, takes no more anothers matters for his owne, but above all other things, loveth and correcteth himselfe, rejecteth superfluous occupations, idle imaginations, and unprofitable propositions. As if you grant follie what it desireth, it will no-whit be satisfied; so is wisdome content with that which is present, and never displeased with it selfe. Epicurus doth dispense with his age touching the foresight and care of what shall insue.)

The point of Montaigne, if I understand it, is that many of the emotions we feel have to do with events that possibly, may, perhaps, will occur in the future. Often these emotions have positive results, such as hope, and often they have negative results such as fear. From my perspective, the measure of the emotions usefulness lies in its impetus to action in the present since it is clearly the present that decides the future. "Wisdom is content with that which is present, and never displeased with it selfe."

"A study performed between 1907 and 1919 in 140,000 healthy adults applying for life insurance in the New York region suggested that a blood pressure of 140 (systolic)/90 (diastolic) mm Hg was abnormal because it reflected only 5-6% of the population in the United States (9); however, by nature, these early studies may not have been representative of the general population because they usually did not include subjects of lower socioeconomic status who could not afford insurance or patients who had been previously diagnosed with a disease. Nevertheless, on the basis of these early studies, a blood pressure of 140/90 mm Hg was adopted as the definition of hypertension."

I think that I'm seeing a pattern. How do we create a standard or definition of something? Often we have only that which is readily available or our experiences in order to understand things. In addition to the above example of creating a definition of "normality" in blood pressure, Milk has been used as the standard for substances containing calcium. For a long time nothing else was known to contain more calcium. Milk thus became the standard. It was a 10 and any other substance was given a ranking on this scale. I think this practice often applies to more abstract things like thinking patterns, conception of beauty, and cultural morals and norms. The French Academy of Arts for over a century had a very narrow definition of what was a beautiful painting. Those paintings which did not match this definition were rejected as was the case with the impressionist painters. The impressionists are now the recognized as beautiful while the old standard is almost forgotten.

Menteurs

"Secondement qu'il me souvient moins des offences receuës, ainsi que disoit cet ancien. Il me faudroit un protocolle, comme Darius, pour n'oublier l'offense qu'il avoit receue des Atheniens, faisoit qu'un page à touts les coups qu'il se mettoit à table, luy vinst rechanter par trois fois à l'oreille, Sire, souvienne vous des Atheniens, et que les lieux et les livres que je revoy, me rient tousjours d'une fresche nouvelleté." (Montaigne, Les Menteurs)

(I find some consolation, also, in the reflection that I have, in the words of a certain ancient author, a short memory for the injuries I have received. Like Darius, I should need a prompter. Wishing not to forget the insult he had suffered from the Athenians, the Persian king made one of his pages come and repeat three times in his ear, each time he sat down to table: "Sire, remember the Athenians"; and it consoles me too that the places I revisit and the books I reread always smile upon me with the freshness of novelty.)

I think that "having a short memory" is one of the most important elements of Christ-like love. It is quite ugly and sad what happens to individuals who dwell on past offenses. They seem to always be the topic of discussion. I just read how a lady in Iraq killed 10 people as a suicide bomber to avenge her two sons' deaths. The pain she felt was surely great but how unfortunate is it to cause more pain because of it! Better yet, it would be best to not be offended in the first place; to assume that what people do is not mean-spirited, that they really don't mean it, or understand. As I like to think, being naive is sometimes good. It is not naivety though. It is "thinking no evil."

Being Seen

Louis XIV felt a great responsibility to make the French royalty the model of grandeur and exactitude. The court rituals were elaborate and, to our removed perspective, quite ridiculous. Hundreds of courtiers lived at Versailles and were required to be present when the King arose and got dressed, when he ate, at mass, at performances, and all other court functions. The main purpose was that the king was to be seen. This was the key of Louis XIV's reign. To be seen was to be great.

Oscar Wilde said that "the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about." I've been thinking about this desire, even need, that we all have to be seen and be judged by others. We work hard at presenting ourselves in the right way in order to meet an artificial standard. Our society is based on this idea as in the pressure to publish at universities, political campaigns, mayors cutting ribbons, business suits and the ostentatious display of wealth. I think we feel a need to "play the part" which our culture or surroundings prescribe.
I notice in myself that I always want all the good things that I do to be seen but of course not any of the bad things. I want people to see me playing the piano, doing this kind act, etc. Why? Does the pleasure that I derive from playing Chopin increase if others see it. I understand the value in sharing talents but I am just wondering at motivations for doing things. I'm guessing that the most important thing probably is how we act when we are not seen. This quote by Emerson seems to fit here:
"We pass for what we are. Character teaches above our wills. Men imagine that they communicate their virtue or vice only by overt actions, and do not see that virtue or vice emit a breath every moment." (Self-Reliance)

Experiences

"In short, since true fortitude of understanding consists "in not letting what we know be embarrassed by what we do not know," we ought to secure those advantages which we can command, and not risk them by clutching after the airy and unattainable. Come, no chimeras! Let us go abroad; let us mix in affairs; let us learn and get and have and climb. "Men are a sort of moving plants, and, like trees, receive a great part of their nourishment from the air. If they keep too much at home, they pine." Let us have a robust, manly life; let us know what we know, for certain; what we have, let it be solid and seasonable and our own. A world in the hand is worth two in the bush. Let us have to do with real men and women, and not with skipping ghosts." (Emerson, "Montaigen: or a skeptic")

I do not want to turn this blog into some sort of shrine to Emerson but the man just speaks to me. When I read one of his essays he seems to hit on exactly what I'm thinking about at that time and express it in a very eloquent manner. This excerpt from an essay on the skepticism of Michel de Montaigne basically hits on exactly my feelings between thought and action. I've realized that a lot of the necessary things we need to learn in life must be obtained through doing. I believe that it is through mixing "in affairs" that we learn quickest. I love Utah and BYU but I am looking forward to following Emerson's advice and seeking to have "a world in the hand" and not "two in the bush."

Unmündigkeit

"Unmündigkeit ist das Unvermögen, sich seines Verstandes ohne Leitung eines anderen zu bedienen."
(Immaturity is the inability to use one's own reason without the guidance of others)

"Satzungen und Formeln, diese mechanischen Werkzeuge eines vernünftigen Gebrauchs oder vielmehr Mißbrauchs seiner Naturgaben, sind die Fußschellen einer immerwährenden Unmündigkeit." (Kant, Was ist Aufklärung?)
(Rules and formulas, those mechanical aids to the rational use, or rather misuse, of his natural gifts, are the shackles of a permanent immaturity.)

This essay, and especially these quotes hit me really hard. Many different applications came to mind, and although I know there is a specific historical context, I think it is important to apply truth to ourselves.
To me, these ideas are equivalent to what God says in Hebrews 8: 10-11:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their chearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest."
When we are spiritually mature enough to rely on revelation and experience we become more independent and more mature. This does not mean prophets become obsolete; not at all. It means that we are better able to use the tools God has given us to make the decisions which will result in the greatest happiness. Personally, I see that I must improve greatly in this area for I often try to pry advice and guidance out of others when I myself am in the best position to make such decisions. There is a balance however. There are times when it is wisdom to listen to others who may know more than us. Ultimately, though, we are responsible.

Mauvaise foi

We humans often, according to Sartre, deny an absolute freedom that we have by forcing ourselves into acting a certain way because of outside influences such as religion and culture. This to him is "bad faith."

I've always been fascinated by this idea. To what degree does my cultural background, religious or otherwise, determine the things I do. I remember that one of the most frustrating things to encounter as a missionary were people who dismissed you because they said you were brainwashed. It is such an unfair argument! I don't dismiss though the reality of letting ourselves kind of be moved along by predetermined patterns of thought and actions. While my belief and knowledge in my faith remain secure I find it refreshing sometimes to go back to square one and ask myself, "why do I believe this?" I often have the most uplifting scripture studies as I look at basic principles in this light.

Too Much Thought

"Our age is bewailed as the age of Introversion. Must that needs be evil? We, it seems, are critical; we are embarrassed with second thoughts; we cannot enjoy any thing for hankering to know whereof the pleasure consists; we are lined with eyes; we see with our feet; the time is infected with Hamlet's unhappiness, —

'Sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought.' "(Emerson, "The American Scholar")

While I echo Emerson in defending Introversion (being interested in one own's mental life) I have noticed, however, that sometimes thinking too hard can be detrimental to present peace and happiness. If "we cannot enjoy any thing for hankering to know whereof the pleasure consists" then we miss out on the point of Introversion. As Elder Maxwell said concerning how we view our personal happiness "if we open the oven too often to see if the cake is done, it falls instead of rises." For example, I found myself today in church getting a bit anxious about possibly becoming less spiritual as my time is consumed with things such as school and other things. I realized quickly though that my worrying was irrational and self-centered. It would not solve the problem. Only engaging oneself in life and service solves the problem. So while I affirm the importance of pensiveness, I wish to be someone who is inspired by ideas but preoccupied with action.

Skepticism

"We should never make any permanent commitment to any doctrines but instead assume a perpetual attitude of inquiry. Contentment, said Montaigne, is possible only when we achieve a tranquility of mind. What disturbs this tranquility is the attempt to go beyond our ordinary experiences and penetrate the inner nature of things. The saddest spectacle of all is to find people formulating final answers on questions that are far too subtle and variable for such treatment. The final folly of this attempt is the attitude of fanaticism and dogmatism." (Commentary on the Skepticism of the French political philosopher Montaigne)

I have always been troubled by the fact that I can never seem to arrive at, or adopt, absolute political or social conclusions. I consider myself somewhat engaged and well-informed (at least more than average) in such questions. Yet I find myself frequently dissatisfied with both sides of an argument or often persuaded easily by the latest argument I hear. Social Welfare States vs. Privatization for example is one question that seems to offer no final answer as to which one is more conducive to the production of wealth and security of the individual. Reading this quote made me feel better about not being able to claim clairvoyance and finality on such topics. I can continually seek answers and not necessarily have to come down on one side or the other. This attitude, however, cannot apply to spiritual matters where we affirm the ability to arrive at absolute truth. Not that we can't arrive at absolute truth in secular matters as well, just that our approach must be more open to changing knowledge.

"When your longings center on things such
that sharing them apportions less to each [party],
then envy stirs the bellows of your sighs.

But if the love within the Highest Sphere
should turn your longings heavenward, the fear
inhabiting your breats would disappear;

for there, the more there are who would say 'ours,'
so much the greater is the good possessed
by each--so much more love burns in that cloister."

Purgatorio VI.49-57

I realized the other day that human happiness is not a commodity that decreases when others have it. I think that often we see other people who are happy and we might be tempted to think that we are missing out or that we somehow now are less happy because they are happy. I think everyone can be happy in their own way, with their own talents, and with their own futures that lie ahead of them. We have tough breaks for sure, but if we realize that we the reservoir of human happiness is bottomless, our feelings would be more in line with the above quote. A love that is turned "heavenward."

Kinetic Happiness

Before I share this quote I have to explain a bit. Kinetic happiness, or pleasure, is the type of happiness that we get from a pleasurable change of state. Katastematic pleasure is thus pleasure from undergoing no-change, or being in a state of satisfaction. If I have a stomache ache, and then it subsides, that change is kinetic happiness. Soon thereafter I enter a state of Katastematic Happiness. Okay, the quote:

"We often do seek kinetic pleasures and katastematic satisfactions of the first sort. It seems to be a natural preoccupation with us, for we invent problems to solve; we play games. If there are no challenges, we quickly invent some. We enjoy the kinetic pleasures and the katastematic satisfactions of the first sort which accompany such activities. We even endure the pains of love because of the immense kinetic pleasures and first order katastematic satisfactions which great passions promise. Yet Epicureans 'do not believe that the wise man will fall in love...'" (David B. Suits)

I have to think more about this quote. I think it is significant though. I'll probaby edit this post later.

Beauty

Beauty is an experience, nothing else. It is not a fixed pattern or an arrangement of features. It is something felt, a glow or a communicated sense of fineness.
~ D. H. Lawrence~

I was at work the other day working on a spread sheet of addresses that needed to be organized. When I began it was a cluttered, unorganized mass of black letters and numbers on a white background. After working for an hour or two they were all arranged in nice rows. I said out loud "How beautiful!" I quickly realized that my perception of beauty might not be shared by a passerby. His first reaction to a few lines of letters and numbers on a computer screen might not be to praise the transcendant beauty of such a cyber sight. Nonetheless, to me it was beautiful. Why? I had seen the beginning and the end product. I had put effort into it. I realized that I had found an important element of humanity's perception of beauty: The difference between the beginning and the end. A possession in your home may be quite ugly but it may represent something to you. Something from your past, your life. Something that you have put effort into to. This gives the object a quality which the most dazzling aesthetics could never give. The couple, bent low by age, wrinkled beyond recognition after 50 years of marriage may not present a stereotypical view of aesthetic beauty, but to themselves, they who have endured together, lived together, worked together, raised children together, maybe even fought each other but still love. To them the beauty of their togetherness surpasses any and all beauty which dazzles the eye.

Coercion, Freedom, Absolute Truth

So My brother and I were having this conversation with my uncle Dave about religion and the communities they create and the individuals relation to that community. Intermixed in this discussion were philosophical questions about positivism and objectivism. Basically we were trying to understand our views on what degree the religious individual is free to make decisions independent of communal pressure and coercion. My uncle felt that one is really not free unless he is completely free of those communal considerations. What I realize now is that there is a fundamental difference of what freedom means. He might define it as being free from outside influences in order to make an independent decision based on your own intellect. I think that that is a valuable thing. However, I believe freedom is actually having the knowledge necessary to make the right decision. This might underline another major difference; that being our views on whether or not absolute truth exists or whether each individuals reality is just as good. Interesting questions.

La Vertu d'Acceptation Totale

"Certes, la souffrance d'un enfant etait humiliante pour l'esprit et le coeur. Mais c'est pourquoi il fallait y entrer. Mais c'est pourquoi, et Paneloux assura son auditoire que ce qu'il allait dire n'etait pas facile a dire, il fallait la vouloir parce que Dieu la voulait. Ainsi seulement le chretien n'epargnerait rien et, toutes issues fermees, irait au fond du choix essentiel. Il chosirait de tout croire pour ne pas etre reduit a tout nier. Et comme les braves femmes qui, dans les eglises en ce moment, ayant appris que les bubons qui se formaient etaient la voie naturelle par ou le corps rejetait son enfection, disaient: "Mon Dieu, donnez-lui des bubons", le chretien saurait s'abandonner a la volonte divine, meme incomprehensible. On ne pouvait dire: "cela je le comprends; mais ceci est inacceptable", il fallait sauter au coeur de cet inacceptable qui nous etait offert, justement pour que nous fissions notre choix. La souffrance des enfants etait notre pain amer, mais sans ce pain, notre ame perirait de sa faim spirituelle."(Paneloux en La Peste par Albert Camus, p. 248)

This reasoning by the priest in the The Plague that we must choose to accept completely the way of God despite difficulties in understanding why bad things happen for seemingly no reason is enlightening for me. I do not know exactly what Camus is trying to get across--if he is actually trying to discredit this reasoning--but it seems clear to me that we cannot pick and choose what we will believe in depending on our preferences. That would negate the good which comes only on the condition of complete submission. I do not mean that we must submit to what others believe is the correct way but what we know is right.

L'ignorance

"Le mal qui est dans le monde vient presque toujours de l'ignorance, et la bonne volonté peut faire autant de dégâts que la méchanceté, si elle n'est pas éclairée. Les hommes sont plutôt bons que mauvais, et en vérité ce n'est pas la question. Mais ils ignorent plus ou moins, et c'est ce qu'on appelle vertu ou vice, le vice le plus désespérant, étant celui de l'ignorance qui croit tout savoir et qui s'autorise alors à tuer. L'âme du meurtrier est aveugle et il n'y a pas de vraie bonté ni de bel amour sans toute la clairvoyance possible."(La Peste, Albert Camus pg. 151)

This quote speaks for itself. Ignorance is the greatest vice.

La Misère

"Mais le moindre prêtre de campagne qui administre ses paroissiens et qui a entendu la respiration d'un mourant pense comme moi. Il soignerait la misère avant de vouloir en démontrer l'excellence."(Rieux en La Peste par Albert Camus)

In this quote we have Rieux who is disagreeing with a priest who has given a sermon on how the plague which has come to their city is a punishment from God and can push the populace to repentance. Rieux who is a mild atheist reasons in this quote that one must first "treat misery before wanting to show its excellence." I believe this and should take care to follow such counsel. It does not change the fact, however, that "all these things shall give (us) experience and be for (our) good."

Friendship

"Delicious is a just and firm encounter of two, in a thought, in a feeling. How beautiful, on their approach to the beating heart, the steps and forms of the gifted and the true! The moment we indulge our affections, the earth is metamorphosed: there is no winter and no night: all tragedies, all ennuis vanish--all duties even: nothing fills the proceeding eternity but the forms all radiant of beloved persons. Let the soul be assured that somewhere in the universe it should be rejoined its friend, and it would be content and cheerful alone for a thousand years."(Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friendship)

Le Père Goriot

"Moi et la vie, nous sommes comme un jeune homme et sa fiançée." Le Père Goriot in Honoré de Balzac's Le Père Goriot.

What an attitude with which to approach each day of life! An enthusiasm, a feeling of good will and of boundless hope, and a love for life which characterizes newlyweds would surely be worthy sentiments to retain everyday.