The Ethical Negations

... "Do to others only that which you would have done to you. And you know a good heart by its good deeds, and a bad heart from its bad deeds."

Castellan replied, "Those are the Golden Precepts. And the Fifteenth Chapter was an essay that I wrote on these precepts, with the title of the Negations of Two Attractive But False Ethical Axioms. In my time many just called it the Negations."

The opening paragraph.... There are two axioms that are advanced by preachers, teachers, and magistrates as they try to preserve order and peace amongst men. The first is sometimes called the Golden Rule. It has many variations, but the most common in contemporary ethics is "Do to others only that which you would consent to have done to you." The apparent virtue of this rule is one of equity. It offers the illusion of protection from future threats, in exchange for a mild curtailment of a freedom which in practice cannot be executed by many. It is a useful saying - it allows for the illusions that are needed for social progress. A farmer will not work to protect his fields if he believes that they will inevitably be plundered before he can see the harvest. A merchant will not send a caravan across a province if the rule is not honored. It is in the interest of the church, the school, and the law to inculcate this rule. Nevertheless, like the canard, "That it is sweet and beautiful to die for one's country," this is a vital lie.

The so-called Golden Rule should be treated as binding for the class of inferior men who need it. Should any of them transgress the rule, they should be punished accordingly, and should any of them appeal in order to remedy an injury, then the superior class of men should enforce the rule as they think convenient. But this should not be in order to bribe the gods, or to gain applause in the marketplace, or honour in the courts of the law. This should be done purely for prudential purposes, much as one would trim an barren branch of a tree in order to gain the fruit of the plant thereof. The mass of the people will be more content, and work for the superior class of men with more happiness with faith in whatever illusion of justice that the superior men wish to maintain.

"And who are the superior men? The superior men are those, who, through their native strength and cultivated virtue, recognize the fact that chaos and chance rule the world, that the strong in brawn, mind, and constitution will always direct the lives of those that are not as strong, and not recoil in fear from this fact. And as the superior class of men also recognize that decay and destruction are inevitable, there will come a time when they themselves will be subject to someone stronger yet, and they can face the consequences of that circumstance without complaint and without appeal to the so-called First Golden Precept. It is then that man can truly be called a superior man, tested by fire."

It is well to get out of the clouds of generality and speak of specifics. It may be more prudent to use as examples people long dead, but it is more effective to use as examples those whose actions are in the living memory of men.

For example, did Marius the Great abuse the trust of one of his protogees, Julius the Pious?

Belboz interrupted, "You are following what I thought that I knew of the Fifteenth Chapter, up to this point. However, my reading did not have this particular example. One of the founders of our order was Marius Lucius of Gana, and he taught Julius the Pious, who later became a king and knew the arcane arts. But there was no record of an abuse of trust."

"There was an old saying in my order, Belboz. If you do not want to know the answer, then do not ask the question. Of course, once I came of age, I was not afraid to ask the questions. Do you want me to continue, or are you satisfied with what I have told you so far?"

1. Yes, I am satisfied. I believe that you are Castellan, But how did you get trapped in this place?
2. Let me hear more. But no lies about Marius and Julian.
3. Let's skip to the part about the second precept.

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree