In the heart of all men is the desire for greatness. For some this desire is manifested in an overwhelming compulsion to achieve success and a name for themselves. Some, like Alexander, settled for nothing less than conquering the world while others, like Achilles, sought immortality. History is the bestower of the kind of immortality Achilles sought and the men like Alexander obtained it.
The uncountable others, though, desired and desire an un-named greatness; something abstract that they can’t quite define. They don’t know what it is, they only know that they want it. This desire doesn’t take the shape of a larger-than-life goal, it is vague and abstract; and they know somehow that, though lacking an objective, what they want is larger than life. Perhaps what they yearn for is not larger than life, but simply a larger life.
The society of our day has offered us an ease and prosperity no other civilization thought to dream of. The average American today enjoys greater access to comfort and convenience than the royalty of any other age. We’ve come to hunger for so much and are able to indulge so many wants, yet we expect so little and our desires remain unsatisfied. We are a culture of consumers, wanting quantity of possessions while forgetting to expect quality of life. We buy kitsch, forgetting to expect beauty.
We all know that man is more than a glorified ape. Glorified apes can not long for greatness. Yet we sabotage our destiny of glory when we settle for so little. We pursue things rather than God. Rather than forming our minds and attitudes with the great books that have survived for millennia and fueled the imaginations of great men and women, we settle for sitcoms. We’ve exchanged heroes for the-flavor-of-the-month actors or actresses. Rather than seeking the glory of a virtuous life, hard won by discipline and self-control, our society settles for the passing mores of the day. It takes very little energy after all to develop a weak character.
There is more to life than the practicality that wears us down. There is truth, beauty, and goodness; the required elements of a life well lived.
Alexandra the Great's Private Papers 