Monday, January 7, 2013

"Non Nobis Solum Nati Sumus"

Cicero summed up the broad moral ideal of this tradition in a line in his De officiis that Renaissance Humanists and then the Jesuits loved to quote: "Non nobis solum nati sumus"--we are not born for ourselves alone.
Link (here) to read the full piece by Fr. John W. O'Malley, S.J.

1 comment:

TonyD said...

Fr. O'Malley's observation about education being "not about pietas but veritas" is important. There are many ways to structure education, but placing veritas above pietas is destructive to both society and individuals.

It would be good to have a job-focused education system. The job-focused education could include information such as is included in the books "Getting to Yes", "Non-Violent Communication", and "Evaluating Practice". These books are "milk", but they represent a very positive movement from where we are now. (If you recall, Biblical Prophets adjusted their message for each audience.)