Problems of Conduct: An Introductory Survey of EthicsDrake, Durant
Philosophy
Problems of Conduct: An Introductory Survey of Ethics
Drake, Durant
Ethics
(1) Certain abstinences, that might not seem in themselves important,
are necessary. Little familiarities, kisses and caresses, must be
avoided; they are a playing with fire; and the youth never knows when
the electric thrill will vibrate through his being, awakened by a
touch, that will summon him to a new world wherein he must not yet
enter. The finest men do not take these liberties, nor do well-bred
girls permit them or respect those who seek them. Vulgar jokes and
stories must be despised, as well as all allusions to vice as a natural
or amusing thing. Alcohol, gambling, and all unhealthy excitements
must be shunned. Above all, the imagination must be controlled; nothing
is more dangerous than the indulgence in voluptuous dreams. Longings
so fostered, so pent up without outlet, are too apt to break out, in
despite of scruples and resolves, if a favorable and alluring
opportunity occurs. The battle against sin is won more in private than
in the actual moments of temptation.
(2) But in this matter, as always, we must not merely avoid evil, we
must overcome evil with good; we can best hope to escape the sirens
not as Ulysses did, by having himself bound to the mast, but as Orpheus
did, by playing a sweeter music still than they. The best antidote
to impurity is a pure love, the next best the dedication to a love
yet to be found. The passionate youth must speak in the vein of the
Knight in Santayana's poem:
"As the gaudy shadows Stalked by me which men take for beauteous
things, I laughed to scorn each feeble counterfeit, And cried to the
sweet image in my soul, How much more bright thou wast and beautiful."
Normal friendships with pure girls are vitally necessary for a man,
and comradeship with men important for women. Normal interests of all
sorts are necessary; the man or woman who has a full, all-round life,
who cultivates wholesome intellectual, aesthetic, religious activities,
is in far less danger of an unregulated passion. Human energy must
find some happy outlets, or it will tend to run amuck; what we become
depends largely on what we get interested in. In particular, the
abundant physical activity of robust health makes it much easier to
banish immoderate desires.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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