Thank you, Cecil, for such a thoughtful installment before Independence Day, and an effective catalyst for my own rumination.
For me, to make any attempt at discernment, it is always important to try to put things into context. The “Committee of Five” selected by the Continental Congress to come up with a Declaration included Franklin, Adams, Sherman, Livingston, and Jefferson. It has never been settled as to how it fell to the young Virginian to compose the document. Adams, famous at the time for his legal arguments, later claimed he declined and that he insisted it be Jefferson, who did not recall it transpiring that way. At any rate, I think that picking Jefferson would not have happened without the guidance and approval of the old statesman from Philadelphia. Historian David McCullough tells us that Franklin was not the most influential member of the entire Congress, but surely he had attained the most wisdom.
In “First Principles,” Thomas E. Ricks describes how the revolutionary generation was influenced by classical education and the prevalent awareness in the 1700s of Roman and Greek history, law, literature, philosophy, and concepts of “virtue.” The document that shouted to the world our new “Americanism” did indeed declare that all “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” We learn that the 33-year-old author of that familiar expression was deeply influenced by Epicurus, who states in a letter that “Pleasure is the beginning of and end of living happily.” We can choose to interpret that definition as we see fit, but the Greek philosopher continues, “we are not speaking of the pleasures of a debauched man, . . . but we mean the freedom of the body from pain, and the soul from confusion.” Thomas Jefferson himself avowed that “Liberty in all essential needs, is not a privilege granted by Government, but an inherent right possess by all,” and also summarized his Epicurean ideals:
Life and Liberty; they seem obvious, but what of Happiness? Or, rather, its Pursuit? In my opinion, one must appreciate the context of its meaning to a classically aware 18th-century audience. To usurp the prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice bestowed by a Divine Source to each individual is to infringe not on happiness itself, but on the self-evident right to pursue it. Would that not be a violation of basic freedom? To quote from a landmark Supreme Court opinion: “No right is held more sacred, or is more carefully guarded by the common law, than the right of every individual to the possession and control of his own person.” This is the principle embedded in the phrase, “Pursuit of Happiness.” The inherent human right to be left alone by Power.
The profound contradictions in the life of the complex gentleman who would pen the Declaration of Independence and become the third president will be debated beyond the lifespan of all who read this, but we would dismiss his revolutionary genius at our peril. That there is something essentially “Jeffersonian” at the heart of our long experiment as a free, personally secure, land-based culture seems undeniable to me, but that would be an analysis for a future comment.
So you concur with my statement then. Did you just come up with that over coffee this morning? I was just shooting from the hip as usual, you statement is more like an expert sniper shooting a target a mile away. A very enjoyable read. Thanks for that.
my statement, " one’s own feeling of rightness, being in harmony with life" therefore constitutes Virtue I would guess. I really like the pithy "Happiness the aim of life.
Virtue the foundation of happiness, Utility the test of virtue . . ." a very cleaver statement. The four qualities 1. Prudence, 2. Temperance, 3. Fortitude, 4. Justice, for artists it might be well practiced self-discipline and a sensitive aesthetic or as I said, an intuitive feeling of rightness tested out by working continually at it through one's art = utility.
I left out Divine Source because that, for me, is an unspoken given so I just depended on birthright and left it to the reader's own imaginings related to the Divine Beloved. Again John, thanks for chiming in. So lovely.
Never the less, the pursuit of happiness - the subject in question - is, in fact, like snipe hunting.
Thank you, Cecil, for such a thoughtful installment before Independence Day, and an effective catalyst for my own rumination.
For me, to make any attempt at discernment, it is always important to try to put things into context. The “Committee of Five” selected by the Continental Congress to come up with a Declaration included Franklin, Adams, Sherman, Livingston, and Jefferson. It has never been settled as to how it fell to the young Virginian to compose the document. Adams, famous at the time for his legal arguments, later claimed he declined and that he insisted it be Jefferson, who did not recall it transpiring that way. At any rate, I think that picking Jefferson would not have happened without the guidance and approval of the old statesman from Philadelphia. Historian David McCullough tells us that Franklin was not the most influential member of the entire Congress, but surely he had attained the most wisdom.
In “First Principles,” Thomas E. Ricks describes how the revolutionary generation was influenced by classical education and the prevalent awareness in the 1700s of Roman and Greek history, law, literature, philosophy, and concepts of “virtue.” The document that shouted to the world our new “Americanism” did indeed declare that all “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” We learn that the 33-year-old author of that familiar expression was deeply influenced by Epicurus, who states in a letter that “Pleasure is the beginning of and end of living happily.” We can choose to interpret that definition as we see fit, but the Greek philosopher continues, “we are not speaking of the pleasures of a debauched man, . . . but we mean the freedom of the body from pain, and the soul from confusion.” Thomas Jefferson himself avowed that “Liberty in all essential needs, is not a privilege granted by Government, but an inherent right possess by all,” and also summarized his Epicurean ideals:
Happiness the aim of life.
Virtue the foundation of happiness
Utility the test of virtue . . .
Virtue consists in
1. Prudence, 2. Temperance, 3. Fortitude, 4. Justice
Life and Liberty; they seem obvious, but what of Happiness? Or, rather, its Pursuit? In my opinion, one must appreciate the context of its meaning to a classically aware 18th-century audience. To usurp the prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice bestowed by a Divine Source to each individual is to infringe not on happiness itself, but on the self-evident right to pursue it. Would that not be a violation of basic freedom? To quote from a landmark Supreme Court opinion: “No right is held more sacred, or is more carefully guarded by the common law, than the right of every individual to the possession and control of his own person.” This is the principle embedded in the phrase, “Pursuit of Happiness.” The inherent human right to be left alone by Power.
The profound contradictions in the life of the complex gentleman who would pen the Declaration of Independence and become the third president will be debated beyond the lifespan of all who read this, but we would dismiss his revolutionary genius at our peril. That there is something essentially “Jeffersonian” at the heart of our long experiment as a free, personally secure, land-based culture seems undeniable to me, but that would be an analysis for a future comment.
So you concur with my statement then. Did you just come up with that over coffee this morning? I was just shooting from the hip as usual, you statement is more like an expert sniper shooting a target a mile away. A very enjoyable read. Thanks for that.
my statement, " one’s own feeling of rightness, being in harmony with life" therefore constitutes Virtue I would guess. I really like the pithy "Happiness the aim of life.
Virtue the foundation of happiness, Utility the test of virtue . . ." a very cleaver statement. The four qualities 1. Prudence, 2. Temperance, 3. Fortitude, 4. Justice, for artists it might be well practiced self-discipline and a sensitive aesthetic or as I said, an intuitive feeling of rightness tested out by working continually at it through one's art = utility.
I left out Divine Source because that, for me, is an unspoken given so I just depended on birthright and left it to the reader's own imaginings related to the Divine Beloved. Again John, thanks for chiming in. So lovely.
Never the less, the pursuit of happiness - the subject in question - is, in fact, like snipe hunting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniper