Presentism
in the Case of George Washington
Several
articles at The Abbeville Institute have rightly criticized a certain approach
to history they call ‘presentism’, judging people and events of the past by the
circumstances of the present. It strikes
us, though, that a recent article on George Washington posted by the Institute
has fallen prey to this attitude. In it
there is this extraordinary line written by Rufus Griswold:
In moral qualities, the
character of Washington is the most truly dignified that was ever presented to
the respect and admiration of mankind.
A
better example of presentism would be difficult to find, for it ignores all the
grand sweeping history of the Orthodox Church, with her holy saints, and judges
morality by the standards of Washington’s day, when holiness was very weak. We are not saying Gen Washington was a
mediocre man; he was remarkable in a number of ways. However, given the low ebb of religion and
morality in the last years of the 18th century, he appears more
remarkable than he would have in other ages.
Hence, we think, the overly-generous statement of Mr Griswold, and the
overlooking of certain indiscretions which would seem to suggest that his
statement is not quite accurate, such as his active membership throughout his
manhood years in the Freemasons:
There
is nothing wrong with honoring the virtues of Gen Washington, but it is quite
another thing to deify him the way Yankee-minded folks deify John Brown or
Abraham Lincoln. But this is exactly
what has been done, in the article linked above, in the Washington City Capitol
dome, and elsewhere:
--Photo
from https://johnstrickland.org/2015/09/24/from-christ-pantocrator-to-george-washington-pantocrator/
The
South, if she wants to be a faithful handmaid of Christ, needs to reconsider
this position.
Withal,
for those seeking the nourishment of a truly outstanding life of morality and holiness,
free of the taint of presentism, we would offer to them the life of the Holy
Martyr Gordius (+320, commemorated 3 Jan.) of Caesarea in Cappadocia as told by
St Basil the Great (+379, commemorated 1 Jan.), archbishop of that same city,
in one of his homilies (for all saints, being united to God and therefore holy,
are thus universally relevant for all times and places and peoples). Both of these holy men will be of interest to
Southerners. St Gordius, like Gen
Washington, was a soldier of high rank, a centurion in the Roman army. St Basil, like many Southerners, was trained
in the classical arts, including rhetoric, which he puts to good use in his
homily about Martyr Gordius. His homily
itself is woven around themes that are deeply ingrained in the Southern
character. That is how we will present
it here: not the entire thing, but parts
of it, each corresponding to one or more of those Southern traits.
A
discourse on the appropriate use of rhetoric in the service of memory of and piety
towards our forefathers:
Me also,
forgetting mine infirmities, the admiration of the martyr hath awakened, and
led forth. Let me also raise my voice, according to the measure of mine
ability, and murmur around his glorious achievements, as bees around the
flowers; at once discharging a debt of piety, and rendering a grateful service
to the hearer.* For as we lately read in the sapient discourse of Solomon,
"when a righteous man is made the subject of encomium, the people are
gladdened." And truly I was doubting in myself, what could be the meaning
of these enigmatical expressions. Do they mean, that when an orator or an
historian, hath framed a discourse to excite the astonishment of the hearer,
led captive by sounds melodious; the people are gladdened, admiring the
invention and arrangement of ideas, and the grandeur of a diction that resounds
with harmony? Would he have intended this; he who never indulged in such a
species of composition? Would he have exhorted us to display the pomp of
oratory in the encomiums of the saints; he who every where preferred simplicity
of expression, and an unlabored style? What then saith he? That the people are
exhilarated with a spiritual joy, at the bare commemoration of the achievements
of the righteous; and are stimulated by the recital, to imitate their virtues.
For the history of those who have wisely regulated their conduct, shine forth
as a beacon to mankind, illuminating the path of their salvation. Wherefore, in
the very instant that we hear the Spirit narrating the life, and the deeds of
Moses, we are fired with emulation of his virtues; and the meekness of his
disposition appears most enviable, and most blessed. The encomiums of worldly
men are built up from the accumulated stores of human eloquence; but when we
would panegyrize the saints, the mere recital of their achievements suffice to
demonstrate the preeminence of their virtue. Thus, when we peruse the lives of
those who have beamed resplendent in the hemisphere of virtue; we first glorify
the Lord by means of his servants; and then, we applaud the righteous by
attesting the truths we know, and we make glad the people, by the narration of
their deeds. The life of Joseph allures us to a life of continence, and the
exploits of Sampson impel us to acts of heroism. The divine school acknowledges
not the law of earthly panegyric; but considered a simple commemoration the
substitute for an encomium; at once sufficing to acclaim the righteous, and
incite the hearer to virtuous deeds. It is the established mode of panegyric,
to trace the country, to enquire the family, and to narrate the education of
the person who is magnified; but the sacred encomiast, passing by all
adventitious circumstances, filling up his portraiture with the immediate
actions of the individual. Am I the more illustrious, because my country
formerly sustained a laborious, a mighty war; and raised resplendent trophies
of her victory? or because she is so favorably situate, as to be adapted both
for a winter, and summer habitation? or because she is prolific in men, and
cattle? What benefit accrues thence to me? But in her race of horses, she
surpasses every country beneath the heavens!—And will this exalt me in the
scale of human excellence? Should we celebrate the loftiness of an adjacent
mountain; should we say that it soars above the clouds and invades the skies;
we should deceive ourselves, if we imagined that by our praise of the mountain,
we were perfecting our encomium of the man. If all the natural world be
despised by the saints of God; it is surely most preposterous to consummate
their praise, by a small portion of the very things which they contemn. A mere
commemoration therefore, suffices as a benefit to the people. No extraneous
appendages are requisite that the departed may be honored; but the history of
their lives is necessary for imitation, unto us who are alive. As naturally as
fire enlightens, and ointments diffuse their fragrance, a benefit resulting
from the actions of the good.
Love
for one’s native place and people:
It is a matter
of no small importance, to acquire an exact knowledge of things which have
happened formerly. A certain obscure narration hath been delivered to me,
recording the martyr's heroism in the hour of his contestation. And in some
measure, our art appears to resemble that of painters. For when they execute a
copy of a picture, it falls far short, as we might expect, of the original
production; and there is reason to apprehend that we also may obscure the
truth, not painting in colors sufficiently glowing, the spectacle of his
triumph. But since the day hath arrived, which brings the commemoration of a
martyr, of one who nobly combated in the cause of Christ; let me relate what
things I know. He was a native of our city; and hence we are the more attached
to him, inasmuch as he is our peculiar ornament. For as a tree which bears
delicious fruit, to its own country commends the delightful produce; so he,
having grown up in our native soil, and attained the very height of glory,
bestows on her who bore and nurtured him, the fruits of his own piety.
Excellent do we account the fruits even of a foreign country, provided they are
both sweet and fitted for our food. But far sweeter is the fruit which grows in
our own, our native land; for in addition to the enjoyment, we can boast that
it is our own.
The
renunciation of a powerful position for a quiet life; seeking God with all of
his being:
He was raised
to a considerable rank, for he was entrusted with the command of a hundred
soldiers; and he was conspicuous among the warriors, both for corporeal
strength, and undaunted hardiment. But when the reigning monarch gave such
unbounded license to his fell, inhuman spirit, as even to war against the
church; when he raised against religion, his God-defying arm; when the mandate
was everywhere promulgated and in every forum and every conspicuous place, the
imperial edicts were unrolled, commanding that Jesus should not be adored, or
that death should be the penalty of such an adoration; . . . for men were
ignorant of each other, with so dire a charm did Satan enchant their souls:
when houses of prayer were cast down; when altars were overturned, and there
was no oblation, and no incense, and the Christian votary was unable to make
his offering; for dejection and despair, louring as a cloud, enveloped all:
when the worshipers of God were driven from their ruined sanctuary; when every
assembly of the pious, was thrilled with dread; and daemons spreading around
the defilement of their sacrifices, in hellish chorus rioted through the
city—then, this noble combatant, anticipating the judgment of the tribunal,
cast off his zone, and became an exile. Despising the pomp of power, despising
glory, accumulated wealth, consanguinity, friends, domestics, the enjoyments of
life; despising whatever men most earnestly desire, he fled into the bosom of
the deepest, and most sequestered solitudes.
For he deemed
that to commune with the beasts of the desert, was less barbarous and savage,
than communion with the worshipers of idols. He felt, as felt Elijah, who fled
to the mountains of Horeb, when he perceived that idolatry was triumphant
through Sidonia; and tarried in a cave seeking God; seeking until he found Him
whom his soul desired, and as far as a mortal could, beheld Him. Such was
Gordius. Fleeing the tumult of the city, the distraction of the town, the pride
of power, the tribunals, the informers, the buyers, and the sellers; those who
were forsworn, and those who were deceived; the base extortions, the shiftings
of character, and those multifarious corruptions,, which like skiffs towed by a
mighty vessel, populous cities draw in their train; making pure his ears, rendering
pure his eyes, but above all, purified in his heart, that he might see his God,
and become blessed; he beheld Him in revelations, he was instructed in the
mysteries, "not from man nor by man," but having the Spirit for his
mighty teacher. Entering from hence on the contemplation of human life;
considering how vain it is, how unproductive, how much emptier than a shadow
and a dream; he was more vehemently inflamed with the desire of the heavenly
calling.
The
beginning of his chivalrous contest with the persecutors of the Christians:
Now, the whole
people were collected above the hippodrome, and not a Gentile or a Jew was
absent. No small portion of the Christians was mingled with them, who guarded
not their lives from sin, but sat in the assemblies of vanity, shunning not the
communion of evil doers, but flocking there, to witness the swiftness of the
horses, and the skill of the charioteers. Even slaves were permitted to be
present; children released from school ran to behold the spectacle; and women
of the lower order, thronged the place. The stadium at length was crowded, and
everyone was intent on witnessing the contention of the horses.
Then, the
illustrious champion, mighty in soul, sublime in resolution, descended from the
mountains upon the theatre. He trembled not at the collected multitudes: he
reckoned not into how many hostile hands he was about to consign his life; but
with undaunted courage, passing those who were seated round the stadium, as if
they had been closely-wedged rocks, or interwoven trees, he placed himself in
the midst: confirming those words of Solomon, "The just man is confident
as a lion." So intrepid, so unappalled his spirit, that standing where all
might view him, with voice grandisonous he pronounced that spiritual saying,
which was heard by some who are still alive. "I am found by those who do
not seek me. I am made manifest unto those who do not enquire for me."
Thus it was apparent, that he was not forced into the midst of dangers, but
voluntarily exposed himself to the conflict; imitating his Lord, who being
unrecognized through the darkness of the night, revealed himself to the Jews.
The eyes of the whole theatre were instantaneously fixed on the unwonted
prodigy. They beheld a man of aspect wild, and savage, through his long abiding
in the mountains: his hair was matted, his beard bushy, his garments squalid,
his whole body parched and shriveled: he bore in his hand a staff; a wallet was
suspended by his side; and beaming around him from an unknown source, a certain
grace ineffable threw a charm upon the whole. As soon as he was recognized, a
loud and commingled shout was raised by all; those who were allied to him in
faith, crying out for joy; and those who were enemies to the truth, exciting
the judge to murder him, and before his trial, condemning him to death. . . .
[Picking up with some of
the martyr’s last words] Have you not
read that fearful threat? "Whosoever shall deny me before men; him will I
deny, before my Father who is in the heavens." And for what, do you advise
me thus to counterfeit? Is it that I may acquire aught unto myself by such an
artifice? That I may gain a few days respite? But I shall thereby suffer an
eternal loss. That I may escape corporeal pain? But then, I shall not behold
the retribution of the just. It would be utter madness to die in the practice
of deceit; by fraud and stratagem, to labor for an eternal punishment. And now
let me counsel you. If your thoughts be evil, repent and seek the paths of
holiness. But if ye have accommodated to the occasion; casting off the deceit,
proclaim the truth. Declare, that "Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father! This declaration shall every tongue repeat, when "in the
name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of the inhabitants celestial, terrestrial,
and subterranean." All men are mortals, but few are martyrs. Let us not
await the death of nature; but from life, let us ascend to life. Can ye be
satisfied with that death which comes spontaneous? It is unfruitful: it yields
no profit: it is common to man, and to the brute. Him, who by natural
generation enters upon life; either time brings to an end, or disease bows to
the grave, or some dire accident destroys. Since then it is appointed to us to
die; let it be our studious endeavor to gain life by death. Let that which is
an unavoidable event, be the object of your choice. Be not tenacious of that
existence, to whose bereavement ye must submit. If terrestrial objects had e'en
an eternal duration; we should be eager to exchange them for things celestial.
If they endure for a season only; if they be devoid of all that is great, and
dignified; awful indeed our infatuation, should we for their sake be severed
from that beatitude, which is enshrined in hope.
St
Gordius’s final act of chivalry and St Basil’s final evocation of memory:
He spake: he
signed himself with the symbol of the cross, and went forward to receive the
blow. No fear blanched the hue of his complexion, or dimmed the glory of his
countenance. He seemed, not as if he were delivering himself unto the Lictors,
but as if consigning himself to the hands of angels; those angels, who in the
moment of his liberation, wafted him to the blessed life, as once they wafted
Lazarus. But oh! who can describe the terrific shout, which arose from the
assembled multitude? What thunder, pealing from the clouds, ever transmitted
such a sound to earth, as then thundered from earth to heaven? This is the very
stadium in which he was enwreathed. This very day beheld that wondrous
spectacle; whose impression, no time can obliterate; no familiarity can weaken;
no future achievements can surpass. For as we ever behold the sun, and ever
admire his brightness; even so, will the memory of the Martyr be ever blooming
and efflorescent. "The just man is for an everlasting memorial;" a
memorial with the inhabitants of earth, as long as the earth endures; a
memorial with the Saints in Heaven; a memorial with the all-righteous Judge;
unto whom be ascribed glory, and dominion, through eternity. Amen.
We
have left out a great amount from St Basil’s homily and encourage everyone to
read the whole thing, which is not overly long:
Holy
Martyr Gordius and Holy Basil, pray for us sinners here at the South!
--
Holy
Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema
to the Union!
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