St Vincent Seminary - Symposium Yearbook (Latrobe, PA)

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:mummuu Sllli Elllllli :...E illlllllllllllll . C 2 ' ' . . 3 ! C . . 7 . . . 7 . . I .x . . . . . . . . . . . ' ii 7 . . 7 . . , . . . . 7 . . . 7 . . 1 1 . . , . ? fl I ! . . . ,, . . Jllllllllllllh . . s H lllilllll or how they button their shirt, or how many strokes they give their hair, or on what side of their mouth they begin to brush their teeth, or which shoe they first unlace at bed-time. These facts prove the tremendous influence of habit in man's daily life. Habit obviously plays a predominant part in man's make-up And since man and his character are inseparable, habit marks off his character as strong or weak, vacillating or firm, courageous or effeminate noble or despicable. But habit is not character and man s character is called a bundle of habits only in an analogical sense For character is life dominated by principles and habits are secondary and flow from the exercise of these principles in daily life Habits manifest the character, strengthen the character and aid it in carrying these principles into action Hence they are the builders of character Is it any wonder then that Professor James declares that the 'great thing in all education is to make our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy as soon as possible. In other words, he advises men to build good habits of thought and action, in- timatmg that efficiency of self depends upon the strength of habit. Work will become easier: decision will trample upon in- decision. VVill power increases, so that what formerly lured us away from truth and virtue will now be scoffed at. One great question confronts all men. This question is the manner of ac- quiring good habits and eliminating those which are harmful. Professor Bain has some practical advice upon this question In his chapter on Moral Habits he remarks that, we must launch ourselves with as strong and decided an initiative as possible to build agood habit or to counter an old one with a new. Stir up powerful motives for actiong tell some friend of the resolution which has been made' make engagements incompatible with the old habit' devise situations that will demand the new habit and reject the old ' Above all never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life. Such a catastrophe wears the old channel more deeply into the nervous system and deflects the new one. Never lose an engagement. Success begets encourage- ment and victory satisfaction, while the sting of defeat leaves the poor will shivering fearful to start anew. Seize the very .first opportunity to act on every resolution you make' and on every emotional prompting you may ex- perience in the direction of the habit to which you aspire to gain. St Paul 1n one of his epistles warns against the foolish wi ull lllflll I ' ':.- I I : .1 an :4 . ,. ,: fal Tllllllll IIIR 1 . . 7 . . illllllllllllls glllg gllllllg sllIs Hllllllllllillf

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Sllillllllllllll Elllllli Lai, ' I I ' glll - :llllll . . , Y , u , . 1 I S X . 'N 'K . . . , 0 5 , U 0 . Y Y 'Y that habit in living beings is due to their plasticitvg which makes Y Y Y 1 Y ' YY , . . . Y Jllllllll I IL l I 5 l Ill Ill l T f by active being capable of boundless energy,-asceticism becomes a welcomed term a much-sought means to an end. DoctorVerner Moore remarks Impulses are ineradicable and it is vain for us to attempt to dominate them by uprooting them, but they can be-and must be-balanced by other impulses. You hear of no negative suppression in these words, but there are implications of a skillful guidance and direction of action--the spirit of true asceticism Asceticism does not imply the stunting of man's progress, nor a negation of his powers. It rather stimulates their develop- ment rules effemmacy out of society, pleads for, and gives, a noble vigorous manhood provides a stability which wonders at the fickleness of man supplies a virility which thwarts the at- tack of false freedom In its ultimate analysis asceticism marks man as a truly rational animal, placing reason ever in her sublime coign of vantage for leadershipg and manifests a will untrammeled by the unrelenting appeals of the animal. VVith these few words as preface, our subject shall be con- sidered indirectly by proposing what it really means when understood in the light of true psychology and in the light of that ideal which IS our true aimg the end after which we strive for the attainment of which we constantly pray. So considered asceticism involves knowledge of man in the power of his weak- ness or as a creature subject to habit. It is a weakness in man to be so facile yet in this very weakness he manifests his strength. Professor james in his classic chapter on habits maintains them weak enough to yield to an impulse, but strong enough not to yield at once. Organic matter, especially the nervous system seems to be endowed with an extraordinary degree of through the blood stream and the stimuli pouring into the brain from the sensory nerve roots. Once in these currents must find a way out' right here IS an opportunity to counter the march of an old habit with a new. It is not our intention to treat of the na- ture of neurones synapses or what takes place in the building up and breaking down of habit. We shall only consider the nature of the end-result Habit has been aptly called a second nature. Habit is ten times nature! the Duke of Wellington exclaimed. The truth of this statement may be readily recognized from an analysis of man s daily life of men about us: of society itself. Few men ever take the time to note which shoe they slip on first in the morning ll34ll -IIIIIIIIIIIIE jlllg gllllllg + illli 0 llllllllllllll mmlulmll. plasticity. The brain moreover, is subject to habit formation llll- :mmnmmi

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J lllll ll 'I u mu : . illlil '5' nlllllllllmn X 'N alll I 1 li ness to introspection and to a life of vapidity. These cravings 5 II . H l , I man beating the air But this is exactly what man does when he forms resolutions and refuses to put them immediately into execution. Such aone easily becomesa sentimentalist, adreamer g1v1ng neither humanity nor himself that which rightly might have been expected of him. Action, not potency, is perfection! And to attain perfection there must be ceaseless striving. Mere resolutions or emotional promptings do not train or set the nervous system-that demands action. Furthermore, to make resolutions and then to fail in carrying them out is detrimental to character. Modern psychologists rightly maintain that by this sanguine listlessness the will becomes enervated and soon arrives at such a state where it becomes completely indifferent about making any resolutions or undertaking any action which demands effort. As regards this subject, William James, who displays such virulent distaste and hatred for the old ascetics, has penned a few sentences which may be deemed classic. He remarks, Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gratuitous exercise each day. That is, be systematically ascetic or heroic in little unnecessary points-do something just because you would rather not do it. It pays high and welcome dividends in a moment of crisis. Is this not one of the narrow paths to sainthood when motivated by the supernatural? True, James emphasizes the natural' so likewise have we to a certain extent but all the while never losing consciousness of the great truth that grace does not destroy nature but builds upon it. How strikingly familiar this thought-how new the old psychology, how old the new I Man IS not merely a creature subject to habit but in a very particular aspect he is a being of impulse and desire. Habit very often correlates itself with man's strong desires. Hence, to ob- serve man as influenced by desire is imperative Man possesses powerful impulsesg inhibit the impulse and desire follows. Now it IS clear, as Dr. Moore remarks that some outlet must be provided for the forces of our impulsive activity. All the channels cannot be kept closed all the time This seems reasonable, for surely man cannot expect to bottle up his emotions continually without a break of some kind. God did not create man to atrophy through desuetude and repression. Life is too strong and positive for this. Too much restraint leads to morbidity a sickly weakness, lack of individuality, a prone- exhibit dynamic forces capable of urging man to great accom- S2 .XX - 4 . ll36l Flll lllllllillllll glll, gllllllg sllls illlllllllllllh Q q - - '- Tlllllllllllll' - 0 7 . a . . . 1 0 a ! ! 7 - :illlillllllil