Word: compassionate
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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At the age of four he was installed upon the Lion Throne in Lhasa and inducted into a formidable course of monastic studies. By the age of six he was choosing his own regent, and by the time he was 11 he was weathering a civil uprising. The Dalai Lama...
In the third book of his Confessions, Augustine offers a penetrating observation on the nature of compassion. He writes, "si enim est malivola benivolentia, quod fieri non potest, potest et ille, qui veraciter sinceriterque miseretur, cupere esse miseros, ut misereatur" (it is only if there could be a malevolent benevolence...
With this statement, Augustine acknowledges the unseemly side of compassion; he recognizes that the compassionate can inadvertently find themselves depending on the existence of the wretched for fulfillment. He makes this observation while discussing the moral problems of theatrical tragedy--namely the power of tragic stories to enthrall audiences. But the significance of his insightful comment extends far past theater, illuminating a set of behaviors in society at large and at Harvard in particular...
Stich's article conveys the understandable frustration with which the dedicated volunteers on this campus have responded to their deprecation by the "activist" left. But Harvard's volunteers should not misinterpret the source of the attacks upon them. Only through the lens of Augustine's critique can we understand such...
There are moments in our lives when the exceptional qualities of people we know shine through and surprise us. Sometimes tragedy alerts us to the goodness in people. When a familiar person dies unexpectedly, our criticisms of that person suddenly look very petty in the face of what we are...