Can Any Good Come From War?
The Tragedy of the Trenches
Dear Classical Wisdom Reader,
Since the beginning of time, there has been war... and plenty of opinions about it. Of course, it’s hard to comment on it if you’ve never seen the horrors of it up close and personal... to know what tragedies it causes and what aspects -both good and bad- of human nature it might reveal.
In the ancient times, it was discussed profusely and certainly by people who had front row seats to the action. Our favorite Ephesian, the ever profound and poetic Presocratic (read natural philosopher) Heraclitus has a famed quote on the topic:
“War is the father of all and the king of all; it proves some people gods, and some people men; it makes some people slaves and some people free.” - Heraclitus, XLIV, On the Universe
Now, Heraclitus has a penchant for acknowledging change... and the fact that much progress and movement can be born from conflict and tension.
Perhaps for that reason, war can make men and women realize what is important - what needs to be preserved and protected. Essentially, it can make us realize and appreciate what’s worth fighting for...
Such an epiphany occurred to a group of young men on the battlefield of WWI: on the necessity of the Classics.
Indeed, their story is part of our story... one 100 years in the making. So this Memorial Day, become part of a legacy that was born from the tragedy of the trenches...
All the best,
Anya Leonard
Founder and Director
Classical Wisdom
Dearest Anya, I already carry a tragedy from the trenches and it's not a legacy I'd wish on anyone.
Was in the night, we heard the wail.
Was in our heads, we could not fail.
Was in the morning, I saw you fall.
Not long after the bugle call.
Was in my arms, you breathe your last.
Was in our hearts, the dye was cast.
Rest my brother, heed the call.
Hear His golden trumpet call.
Mark Twain is my Epictetus and teacher of post classical wisdom. His war poem:
O Lord God help us to
Tear their bodies to bloody shreds
With our shells, help us to cover
Their smiling faces with the
pale forms of their patriot dead,
Help us to drown the thunder of our
Guns with the shrieks of their wounded.
Mark Twain was satirically wise: “it’s not what we don’t know that causes our problems, it’s what we know that simply isn’t so!”
Wisdom: Add something each day and take away something each day.