Culture and Barbarism

The primary difference between the cultured man and the barbarian is a difference in permanence. The cultured man values things that are long lasting, that provide on-going value, that make a difference in the long run. He will accordingly make short-term sacrifices in order to obtain the long-term gain. The barbarian seeks whatever his bodily appetites and passions crave at that moment, without looking to the long-term benefits.

What would happen to a cultured person who stopped searching for these higher, longer-lasting things in life? He would inevitably slip back into barbarism. If he stops searching for the higher things it is because he no longer recognizes their value. If he doesn't recognize their value, then he will accept the short-term joys. They are more immediate; their benefits more tangible, understandable.

How many people today understand the long-term benefit of the higher things in life? How many understand the life of the spirit and the virtues it demands: courage, prudence, justice, moderation, faith, hope, love? How many understand that the lust for short-term gains–bodily passions and appetites–dampen the spirit, thereby wounding those virtues?

Not many. But that normally wouldn't be a problem. Very few men have truly understood why the spirit is longest lasting and why its accompanying virtues are most important. But most men have accepted such things throughout our civilization as fundamental facts. That is no longer the case. The higher things are not sought; the life of the spirit ignored. And short-term, transitory joys are littering the cultural landscape.