From the Desk of the President
Rooted in the Love of Wisdom and Ordered to Virtue, Convocation
Day Remarks
(Fall 2007 Newsletter)
[Index of
Past Articles by President Dillon]
 In
a few weeks, the freshmen will read and discuss Plato's dialogue
the Gorgias. In this dialogue, we are explicitly confronted with
the fundamental question we must all ask ourselves: how ought we
to live our lives?
The Age of Callicles
Furthermore, we see two characters in the dialogue, Callicles
and Socrates, articulating two diametrically-opposed positions in
answer to this question: for Callicles, the only acceptable life
is one of unrestrained appetite and pursuit of pleasure. "A
man who is going to live a full life," he proclaims, "must
allow his desires to become as mighty as may be and never repress
them. When his passions have come to full maturity, he must be able
to serve them through his courage and intelligence, and gratify
every fleeting desire as it comes into his heart." We see in
this opinion of Callicles, that if there is any use for the intelligence
at all, it is only to be at the service of appetite.
Now, Socrates, on the other hand, points out that there are in
fact two ways of cultivating either the body or the soul, one aimed
at pleasure, the other at the best good. Arguing for the importance
of restraint and self-control, Socrates maintains that more beneficial
and happy than the life of insatiable self-indulgence, more beneficial
and happy even than the life of politics, is an ordered life immersed
in philosophy.
Callicles, as you might expect, finds Socrates' view about the
importance of the philosophic life, and the earnest pursuit of wisdom
which it entails, to be ridiculous-at least at this stage in his
life. As Callicles succinctly puts his view, "Philosophy does
have a certain charm, if one engages in it in one's youth and in
moderation, but if one dallies overlong, it leads to ruin."
A life devoted to philosophy, he says, puts one out-of-touch with
the details of practical daily living, with day-to-day political
matters, and with the variety of human pleasures. It is, in fact,
disgraceful for a mature man to go faring deeper and deeper into
the abyss of philosophy, and Callicles advises Socrates to give
up his questions and refutations and to take up instead the art
of business, where Socrates can cultivate something that will give
him a reputation for good sense.
Now, if we think about the age in which we live, isn't it apparent
that this is becoming more and more the age of Callicles? All around
us, it seems, we are urged to pursue every pleasure, to scoff at
self-control and self-sacrifice, and to follow our feelings and
desires rather than our reason. The life of the mind is denigrated,
the pursuit of virtue is ridiculed, and serious inquiry into truth
is regarded as a waste of time and of no real consequence.
Standing with Socrates
By coming to Thomas Aquinas College, by devoting yourselves to
four years of a liberal education, you are standing with Socrates
and opting not for Callicles' life of sensual self-indulgence, but
rather for a life rooted in the love of wisdom and ordered to virtue,
especially intellectual virtue.
Such a life is not easy, for it demands discipline and self-denial,
but it is a life of genuine freedom and self-direction rather than
one of slavery to the passions; and it is the kind of life that
engenders true happiness.
The greatest gift God has given us is our intelligence, and in
engaging in intellectual activity-in knowing the truth-we are in
some measure imitating God in his own activity. Indeed, the most
God-like element in us is our intelligence, and knowledge of the
truth is a great human good-so good, in fact, that Aristotle was
moved to say that we should strain every nerve to live in accordance
with reason, that divine element in us which elevates us above the
beasts and makes us most like God Himself.
A Life's Work
Now, as the College's founding document points out, the pursuit
of wisdom begins in wonder, and we invite you to fully indulge your
wonder as you progress through the curriculum. Socrates says that
the unexamined life is not worth living, and our hope is that in
your four years here, you will make the most of you opportunity
to think reflectively and critically about the matters treated in
the various arts and sciences which make up our integrated course
of studies, beginning with the liberal arts of the trivium and quadrivium
and culminating in sacred theology.
Only by asking questions, only by deep reflection on what you
study, can you make what you are attempting to learn your own. It
is important for you to test what you think you know and to ponder
what you do not know.
The mind comprehends what is true only when it understands reasons
and causes, and most often, this does not occur except through our
wrestling with problems, perplexities, and contradictions. The road
to wisdom is indeed replete with many impediments, difficulties,
and occasions for wrong turns, but the College can at least help
you to make a good beginning in your attempt to understand reality,
and we should all keep in mind that the pursuit of wisdom, to which
our very minds are ordered, is a life's work.
Revelation is our Guide
Further, there is one great consolation for all of us who are engaged
in Catholic liberal education-even though we are prone to error
and uncertainty, and even though it is difficult to understand the
truth about so many things-and that consolation is that we have
God's revelation, mediated through the Church, as a guide in our
intellectual endeavors. Because our Faith can illumine our reason,
we can be confident that where our understanding is dark, it can
be brought to light. After all, Our Lord tells us that He is the
Light of the world, and if we follow that light as it is reflected
in the Gospels and in the teaching Church, then we can advance in
understanding, and move toward wisdom-which has God both as its
source and as its end.
Serenity and Joy
Today is the Feast day of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. In a meditation
on today's Gospel, wherein we see the rich young man approaching
Christ as a teacher, inquiring what he might do to gain eternal
life, Saint Bernard says the following:
"How precious is the wisdom by which we know God and
despise the world! The one who has found it is indeed blessed,
if he holds fast to it….The person who does not know God
does not know where he is going, but walks in darkness and dashes
his foot against a stone. Wisdom is light, the true light that
shines on every person coming against this world, not the one
who is wise with the wisdom of this world, but the one who is
not of the world although in the world….Where God is, there
is joy; where God is, there is calm; where God is, there is happiness."
So, let us begin this new academic year with the serenity and
joy of which Saint Bernard speaks, as we whole-heartedly engage
in the pursuit of wisdom. Indeed, let us undertake the noble task
before us with all the energy and determination we have.
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Fall 2007
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