The Fall of the Educated Man

It would seem to the author that the world which currently exists is the decayed corpse of one which came before it. Where there was once a beauty, there is now calamity. Where there was once intellect, there is now ignorance. Where there was once a drive for men to make more of themselves than they were before, there are now shells of people who are content to remain the nothing they always have been. What sickness has overtaken this world? Has it always been this way, or has something drastically shifted in the universe? Is it that the decadence of the Renaissance has turned to the paltry of the modern social normality? If so, then the truth of the matter is that humanity is on the road to its utter destruction. If not, then the Intellectual Movement may be able after all to decimate the chains which have strangled the mind and rise again to the heights of perfection. The questions which the author wishes to deduce the answer and course of action to are simple in their design, but require much attentive thought before they may be publicized to the world of men.

Question 1: Was there ever a time when men were at their intellectual peak? If so, when did the shift towards mediocrity occur?

            Since the dawning of the ancient philosophers in Greece, man has never been in want of intelligent minds and groups to organize them. It is with the utmost compassion that the author contributes most of his earlier years of education to the words of Plato, Horace, and Cicero. From these men, the author learned of morality, Stoicism, understanding, creativity, the capacity to generate a will of iron, and the presence of manhood. Moving forward into history, the author also credits Saint Augustine for a genuine understanding of his faith. Through the works of William Wordsworth, the author adopted his clever wit and presence with the English language. Francis Bacon is noted for the lessons of essay writing as well as civil affairs. The works of John Locke only magnified the author’s love for the multitude of experiences into the schism of government and just policy. With just a few individuals the author has mentioned, a man will have a total understanding of what it means to be an intelligent man, for he has studied nearly all of the core curriculums through the eyes of these wise and influential males. The author says “men” as a universal terminology, and is not suggesting there were not women as well who have not aided in the understanding of human thought; however, as this essay is not directed to the female counterpart, the remaining piece shall study the male role only.

            In continuation through the years, the author has discovered heartache through Poe, the tyranny of obsession from Melville, the tragedy of unbridled love from Stoker, and the search for paradise in a world of confusion from Fitzgerald. This selection not only expands the subjects which the author has begun to understand and know, but delves deeper into the great divide which standardized education has shunned from conventional modern education. Through the delving of the Quran, the author began to understand the significance of all religions and was intrigued to continue his advance to the Lotus Sutra, which held answers to questions he raised through the Holy Bible. The Baghavid Gita provided simple and yet powerful prose to the advancement of his mind, and the Necronomicon to understand the power of darkness from within the human soul. The Torah and the Talmud gave the author understanding of structure not only in the laws of God but also in the laws of men, which led the author to the acceptance of his stated religion Catholicism. Through the authors many years of study within his church, he has also gained a thorough understanding of the inner workings of each and every church within mankind. It was here, hidden deep within the verses of scripture, that the author discovered the reasoning as to why the intelligent man is a decaying lot: he has forgotten the first truth to obtaining wisdom, and that is acknowledging there is a God of the universe.

            Taken loosely from King Solomon, any man who does not accept a God of the universe is a fool, and this makes sense to the author. Whatever God a man prays to, he seeks wisdom from that particular place. If his God is a man, then he will take the lessons of that man. If his God is a bottle, then he is destined to learn all that particular flavor of drink can give him. However, as any believer will tell you, the God of the universe is not versed in one man or idea or law but is the essence of creation which has allowed such false gods to exist, and the sole controller of all elements of life. If one serves such a God and utilizes the gift of wisdom from him, then that man is destined to be the master of the man, the bottle, and each false prophet and god which exists. By the power of his God, he will see through the confusion and despair which would lead others to tremble in the presence of such obstacles. This is the defining authority which the belief in God bestows upon man: the ability to transcend their humanity by refuting the notion of giving into the world with all of their heart.

            This leads to the next point. To become an intelligent man, he must be a motivated man ready and willing to adapt and grow for the benefit of himself and for those who rely on his judgments. If he is not a self-starter, then he must allow God to bestow within him a mind which will enable him to become a man of persistence. Once a man is persistent, he will have the ability to follow through with his plans for his life, he will be able to bend the world to his will and will be able to utilize the lessons which his God has bestowed upon him. This is the actual basis for advancement in a man’s life, and too often these unelidable truths are far too overlooked in a world for equality and tolerance. For a man to harness these first two truths, he must be the master of his world and not the world around him.

            Refuting to the objectivity of will, which is a combination of faith and persistence, it must be carefully constructed and disciplined within the virtues of a Stoic that have stood the test of time. The powerful truth which must be understood is that the virtues of a man’s life are the foundation for the life in which he lives and the construction of the world he must establish. Without some understanding of the self, a man is doomed to the outside influences of the society which he dwells, and is shackled by the false sense of security which the culture around him generates. To be a man, it takes a deep security of one’s self and a deep infallibility of the virtues which he holds within his heart. The primary reason why these ideals are long gone in men’s culture of the modern age is that intellect is deemed feminine, that productivity is considered a reclusive act, and that the betterment of the self is rooted in the man alone and not in the connected relationship with God. When a man has severed the cord which connects him with the all-knowing king of the universe and abandons the power of obedience, then he will never again feel wise or authoritative in his life and will slip down the slope of mediocrity, corralled by the vestibules of every other man who followed the same path.

Question 2: When did the intelligent man become such a rare jewel in the world?

            In the previous section, the author discussed the process in which he has encompassed his beliefs and how a man must create his own. He has also orchestrated his belief as to how the intelligent man has been stripped from society. The following is his belief as to why the wise man has become nothing more than a shadow fading as the sun rises, and lay dormant in the lives of humans in the twenty-first century. The man who once was everywhere now resides only in the characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, his virtues only with the clergy, and his work ethic seemingly a faint glisten in the night sky. Of course, there are many reasons why this male is nonexistent. However, the author believes there is one singular act which allowed this change authority to come to pass: man’s lack of concern for his health and the rise of obesity in males.

            This notion may seem impossible to some, but in truth, a man who is diligent in the training of his body typically is persistent in multiple ways of life, as he must tactfully plan his routine and set in place strict guidelines for it. Are these not the basis for the intelligent male’s life in other areas as well? Is it not the amount of control a man has over himself which determines his authority over his intellect, his duty to his family, and his work ethic in his employment? Through the power of his body, a man’s mind is forced to elevate to the excellence which it requires to be an equal. This is why Leonardo da Vinci placed his physique in the priority with his art, why Marcus Aurelius spent his free time away from his philosophy to the advancement of his body, and why Thomas Jefferson made sure that his mind and body were performing at their peak simultaneously through his life. These pioneers of men understood fully that, without their bodies functioning just as hard as their minds, then they were never going to reach the potential of their forefathers.

            The dawning of the fast food industry and instantaneous gratification has led the world into a double-digit obesity rate, causing the overall health of the modern culture to decline in paramount levels. Once the lack of personal health and wellness befuddled this world, almost in parallel, the intellect of man fell right along with it. Not to say there are not out of shape intelligent people residing in the world today, but there are few who live long enough to lead a fulfilling life and a well-rounded life due to their inability to obtain the physical needs to sustain an intelligent life. Intellect, in this case, is defined as the ability to understand how to improve one’s life in each and every avenue of that life. Without a physical well-being, a man will not achieve this task and will miss the opportunity to glean the lessons from taking care of themselves, in addition to earning an existence of constant restraints. So thus, a man who is not well adept in the skill of self-maintenance, a man will not find it worth his time to expanding his mind, for he has no care for his very physical image, which is the one portion of his life that will project the entire outlook of his life.

            In his now apparent laziness, man has placed more and more responsibility upon his female counterpart. Where once women only needed to be concerned with the rearing of children, she now works just as hard, if not more strenuously, than her husband. Such an abrupt shift in the family dynamic has left a disestablishment of order within the household, inadvertently leading to unconscious problems within the leadership of the residence. Where once the man had total control over his ward because it was he who constructed the house, now the female leads the finances. Where once the male had absolute authority over the bearing of the children, there is now a challenge between the matriarch and patriarch due to the equality of the amount of work placed within the income streams. In some cases, a man abandons his responsibility in its entirety, subjecting himself to switching roles with his wife, and taking the role of the mother. This in itself leads to deep seeded issues within the family dynamic, for it is not the place of the father to undertake the role of the mother, just as it is not the place of the mother to take responsibility for the patriarch’s duties. By doing so, the father will one-day attempt to usurp his traditional power within his home, only to realize it is not his home, but rather the home of his wife.

            It is the man who has generated such an issue within his home; it is not the work of anyone else, and man has no one to blame but himself. It was the male who chose gluttony over productivity, it was the man who chose atheism over faithful service to God, it was the man who chose the bottle over the well-being of his family, and it is the man who has to answer for his crimes against the established order of nature. If a male makes the attempt to blame another for his crimes, then he is no man; he is simply a child who never was placed through the process of becoming what he was born to be. The only glimmer of hope which males have now is that, since they are the ones who have established such rash change, it is the masculine society that has the power to reverse the damage which they have caused. To perform such a surgery on the anatomy which they have distorted, however, they must understand the eugenics behind such an operation, and know that it will take time for the rest of the world to accept something so against the status quo. Just as a mighty bond welded upon metal, this clasp likewise is not so easily broken with just one swing of the hammer of rejuvenation. 

Question 3: Is there any possibility for a man to push past the adversity of the world around him, and once again become an intelligent man?

            In short, the author would say yes, for anything can be taught and controlled with diligence and discipline. Then again, the lack of these two skills is the primer for why males are the degenerates which they are today. For a man to arise from the pits of intellectual decay, he must first make the effort of doing so by utilizing the ladders of discipline and diligence. To push past the adversity of the world, he must be grounded within himself, and must, therefore, establish a method of structure within himself before he attempts to discern order upon anyone or anything else. It is not wise for a man who has no control over his life and does not have a keen understanding of his purpose to make an attempt to guide another through such a journey. He must first make the confession that his life as it is now is not worth living, and understand what changes must be implemented to become the man he wills himself to be. Without such a will, he will never rise to the level of such great men before him. Without such an increase in productivity, in faith, in discipline, in understanding, then it is true that chivalry is dead, that tradition has sung her final verse, and that the established order is nothing more than an old legend created by men who are no longer remembered. If a man chooses this path, if a man wants to live in a tyranny of the world, then he need not continue this essay and must accept the consequences of it.