Heroism and Fortitude

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H e roism a nd Fortitude Josef Pi eper

Josef Pieper, who i s among t h e most respected a n d widely read p h i l o sophers of the p resent day, was born near M u n ster, G e rmany, i n 1 904. H e studied p h i l osophy, J u risprudence, and sociology at the U n i versity of M u n ster and a l s o at Berl i n . I n the c o u rse of h i s career h e has at va rious t i mes worked as an assistant at a soc i o l o g i c a l resea rc h i n stitute and has been a f re e - l ance writer. Since 1 946 he has been o n the fac u l ty of the U n i vers i ty of M u n ster, where at p resent he i s p rofessor of p h i losophical anthropology. He has spent considerable time i n t h e U n ited States, havi ng served as v i s i t i n g p rofessor at N o t re Dame ( 1 950) and Stanford ( 1 956 and 1 962) , and has taught a l so in I n d i a and Japan . I n 1 967 he was appoi nted cente n n i a l professor at the U n i versity of To ronto, Canada, a n d i n 1 968 he rec e i ved the Aq u i na s Medal of the Philosophe rs ' Cong ress held i n New Orleans. Of Professo r Pieper's vol u minous writing s, a n u m be r are available in En g l i s h . among them The Four Cardinal Vlftues. Pruden ce. Justice. Fortitude, Temperance ( 1 965) ; an essay on Plato ' s Phaedrus ca l l ed Enth usiasm and Divine Madness ( 1 964 ) ; A Guide to Thomas Aquinas ( 1 962) ; a n d , what Is perhaps h i s best - known work, Leisure, the Basis of Culture ( 1 963) . These

and other books by P rofessor Pieper have to date been translated into twelve lang uages and have sold more than a m i l l i on copies.

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an the "hero" be conceived as the principal figure of a great modern novel or a drama? Is "heroism " to be found in the real life of con­ temporary society? The first of these questions might he answered im­ mediately with a spontaneous "no." Obviously the age of the heroic epic is a thing o f the past. Yet we observe that the popular literature of our time abounds in heroes of adventure, is full of hero worship. Even in works produced under totalitarian regimes, glorification of the worker­ hero is as evident as the "cul t of personality" that supports the political leader. At the same time, we should recall that some of the great poetic works of the past, which we may have regarded as fundamentally simple in their portrayal of the heroic type, are actually sophisticated and mul ti­ faceted in this respect-as Schiller, for one, acknowledged when he ob­ served, in connection with the Iliad, that after al l it is Patroclus who lies buried and Thersites who returns. And those who in my opinion are the finest modern writers remain greatly interested in heroism, even where they appear, l ike Virgil, Calderon, and Cervantes before them, to reject it. Perhaps the modern difference is only that we realize a liule better than past ages seem to have done how hidden, how emlangered, how close to caricature true heroism is, and how easily it can be misconstrued. II The second question, whether heroism is to be found at the presen t time in real life, requires us to suppose that we know what "true" heroism is. And if we conceive of this mainly or exclusively as exceptional ability, developed through extraordinary effort in any sphere-footbal l, boxing, scientific experimentation, or landin1,1; on the moon-or, similarly, if we demand of the "hero" exceptional success, the brilliant fortune of the general, the surgeon, and the pol itician that captures the popular imag­ ination, then we arc saying that the hero is nowadays as much alive as he ever was-for heroism in this sense is not less evident in the contemporary world than it was in previous epochs. But what if we conceive it other­ wise? \Vhat if we recognize and accept the fact that the essence of true heroism is the virtue of fortitude-that it is through this virtue, indeed, that the "hero" differs from the average man? Because if we do this, we 51

The Hero and the Heroic Ideal

shall have to acknowledge that fortitude cannot be described except through a multitude of ostensibly (or perhaps seemingly) contradictory characteristics. And if we concede that this is so, we shall understand better than we are otherwise likely to do how it is that the image of the hero in the great works of world literature (which is based to a large extent upon the idea of fortitude), far from being as simple as our notion . of the " true . hero ol real life, is instead bewilderingly ambiguous. Fortitude is one of the four cardinal virtues ; the others arc prudence, justice, and temperance. For more than two thousand years these virtues have been looked upon, in the tradition of \Vestern thought, as a kind of four-color spectrum in which the concept of the "good" person fans out. In the formulation of this spectrum, all the original forces of the Occident-the Greeks and the Romans, Judaism and Christianity-par­ ticipated. This explains why the concepts of "prudence, " "justice, . . and "temperance" are also complex for us, and even contradictory in their elements, quite as much as "fortitude" is, which came into being in the same manner. Ill The concept of fortitude will be misunderstood if the world-view that underlies it is not clearly comprehended. The German author Bertolt Brecht says : "When I hear that a ship needs heroes for sailors, I ask whether the ship is not too old or moldering away. ·· In his opinion there is something rotten about a state that forces the average man always to be brave. "The world-an abode for heroes : where do we come in then? !" A similar idea appears (as Brecht would not have suspected) fifteen hundred years earlier in the writings of Saint Augustine. Fortitude, Augustine says in The City of God, * is a testimony to the existence of evil -by which h e means that fortitude is necessary because, in t he world, e,·il is powerful, i, even at times a supe1 ior force. In vie" ol thi,, to be bra,·e can be taken to mean that something must be risked whenever the obviomly weak offers resistance to evil. And nobod ) who ,,·i,hcs to be a good human being, and who is unwi lling to commit an injustice. can avoid this risk. Christianity has always been convinced that something really is , as • Brecht 1 c1 1 1ark,. rotten in the "·m id. This is not, of course, the same thing a, "'" i ng t hat the world i, absurd-an exi ,te11tialist thesis which may see 1 1 1 ('\'t•11 1 1 1 01 - c t e rrible. thoug h ( 11rioush enough it causes contemporary man le\\' difficult ies. :\ o, h ere it i, , t a t ec l : the world . along with existence ih('I I . h ; " ' lmt t he primordial orde r : hut, like exist ence, it still remains cap;1 l , k ol good and i s dircrt ed t ow;1rc l it. :\t the same time, the good is 110 1 1ea l i 1cd l , y itse l f , but require, lor 1hat end the cllort o l an individual wl10 is 1l' i l l i 1 1g l o struggle and ii net essan to san-ilicc 011 its behalf. It is s i 1 1 1ph a l i hci a l i s t i c i l l 1is i on t o be licn· th;1t one ran be comis tc11tlv just, 52

Josef Pieper

for example, without having to risk someth ing for i t . That is wh ) for­ titude is necessary. \Vhat is risked , i f the occasion arises, may he some­ thing less than l i fe i tself. I t may imtead he a q uestion of immediate well­ being, of daily tranquillity, possessions, honor, or face-saving. On the other hand, what is required may he the surrender of l i fe, or more exactly, the acceptance of death at a nother's h a mb. The martyr is the u ltimate symbol of fortitude. In these terms, of course, fortitude is both a virtue fundamentally re­ quired of everyone and the essence of " heroism." And if that is so, then "heroism" is viable in every age, today no less than in the time of Homer or in that of the Song of the Sibrl zwgs. But it is not for this reason a quali ty that is easily identifiable, and i t olH·iomly cannot he represented adequatel y in the u nproblematic, radiant figure of the "hero."

IV Forti tude is not an absolute ideal , nor i s it even foremost among the cardinal virtues. I ts realization is l inked to several requirements. A brief adage of Saint Ambrose states : "Fortitude mmt not trust ibel f." It mat­ ters li ttle that we " live dangerously," accordi ng to � ietzsche's maxim, but rather that we lead a "good" l i fe. For this the virtue of prudence is the first necessity. That is to say, we must be able to recognize the ele­ ments of l i fe as they really are and to translate this recogni tion into resolution and action. Otherwise, because the fearful is encountered as a stark reality in the world, we may be fearless i n a manner that should not be confused ,vi th true fortitude-as, for example, when we make a false evaluation of danger, or when we are reckless from an inabil i ty to love anything or anyone ("Fear is fleeing love," says Saint Augustine). Sigmund Freud's assertion that most heroism stems from an i nstinctive conviction that "Nothing can happen to me" is true in a sense that pos­ sibly he did not perceive-the deep sense i n ·which it is seen that for one who loves good, death cannot be entirely evil (as Socrates, along with Saint Paul, real ized and affirmed) . Another requirement of true fortitude is j ustice. The fortitude of a criminal i s a m isconception; there are no criminal heroes. Our generation i s aware that the fruits of forti tude can be corrupted by i nj ustice, chiefly by the injustice of poli t ical power. \Ve have come to know firsthand the truth of the old adage : "The praise of fortitude is conti ngent upon justice." \Vhen I used this i n the second year of �a tional Socialist tyranny ( 1 934) as the motto of my short hook, On the i\11'(111 ing of Fortitu de, my friends immediately recognized i ts dangerous implicat ions ; and these were probably noticed as well by others who were less kindly disposed toward me.

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• GBWW, Vol. 18, pp. 129-618.

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The Hero and the Heroic Ideal

V I t has been said that the hero is a figure whose proper element is war. And it is precisely on this poi m that the complexity of the relationship be­ tween heroism and forti t ude comes to the fore most drama tically. On the one hand, there may be agreeme n t that forti tude presupposes the con­ flict of hosti l e forces ; it mani fests itsel f in com bat, though rn111 /Ja1 docs not necessarily mean w a r. Even where it does mean war, it does not necessari ly mean enthusiastic war. There i s a statement by Thomas Aqu i nas, as there is one by Aristotle, to the effect that perhaps the bet ter soldiers are those who arc less brave. H erc the word j1crhaj1s is to be underl i ned, for it is bravery and aggressiveness that distinguish the born soldier. B u t that is somethi ng di fferent. The surrender of one's l i fe, which ca n be demanded of a soldier i n the j us t defense of the community, can scarcely be expected without the moral virtue of fortitude. On the other hand, we are more apt to perceive and honor the hero in the figure of conqueror than i n one who merely suffers. And si nce forti­ tude means precisely to endure "wounds" incurred on behal f of justice (from loss of reputation or well-being to imprisonment or bodily harm), we are really looking·, when we contemplate someone who has manifested this virtue, at the a n t ithesis of the "conq ueror . " Such a person docs not vanquish, he sacrifices. I n the u ltimate test of fortitu de, which is martyr­ dom, there is absol u tely nothi ng of the victorious, though this character­ istic is essential to our more usual conception of the hero as conqueror. Nor is there any supposi tion that fortitude or heroism w i l l be spoken o f i n true cases of martyrdom. I f s u c h things are tfocussed, i t is almost a sure sign that no instance of genuine fortitude has occurred . \Vhen it comes to a pornographic novel, which may be hai led as "daring'' or "bold,'' the author in reality risks nothing. Far more courag·e and perhaps genuine forti tude is req uired to call such a product repugnant, or to say i n public that purity is a funda mental elemen t of human dignity. Talk of the "mart) r" alwa)s occurs J1osl fesl u m . In the act of forti tude i tself, such a person docs not appear to be a mart)) ' h u t is rather the accused, the pri soner, the crank, or the lone wol f, a lJandoncd and ridiculed ; above a l l , he proves himsel f t o he a m u te. Perhaps dou b t c\'cn penetra tes his own heart, so that fortitude i tsel f may be in question, leaving him to speculate whether he is reall } der Durn m e (the "d umb" one) in the end. T h u s fortit ude is, aLCord ing to its vcr) nalurc, 1 1 0 1 lhc vinuc of the stronger liut i mtcad that of the seemingly vanq u i shed . .-\ccor d i ngly, it can a l most lie said l h a t we a rc dea l i ng w i l h a fa lsehood in the preva i l i ng n o t i o 1 1 o l t he "hero, " ' w h i ch Yc i l s a n d pcr,·crt s t he essential quali lies of g c t l l l i l l e l o n i l l lde. 1 l should he remem bered t h a l i n the ncs of the a l l< i c l l h l i te de< i s i vc criterion !or l o r l i t udc < om i , t e d pr i l l L t l i h i l l s t ead­ fastness and not in allack i ng. 54

Josef Pieper

To he sure, the coin must be LUrned over again so that its reverse side is displayed. The reverse side is that this mortal steadfastness of the martyr has always been u nderstood as a victory and celebrated as such, not only from the Christian standpoint but also from that of Plato's Socrates. "\Ve conquer while we are being slain," wrote Tertullian. \Vl10 was ultimately the victor : the boasting· commandant of Auschwitz or the Pol ish Franciscan father ;\Jaximil ian Kolbe, who, in order to save a fellow man, went into the starvation bunker and perished miserably there? In spite of everything the martyr is truly a "hero," and so is every unim­ posing or unknown individual who risks his life for the sake of truth and good, whether in the pointedly dramatic act of martyrdom or in lifelong devotion-in acquiescence to the absolute will of �od at the cost of one's own worldly comfort. The great Santa Teresa of .\Yila writes in her auto­ biography that an imperfect human being needs greater fortitude to travel the path of perfection than to take martyrdom upon himself in a brief moment. Perhaps this statement, based upon life experience, renders a l ittle more plausible the term heroic virtue, which is the sign um of a hallowed l ife in the Christian tradition. VI From time immemorial, heroism has been looked upon as inseparable from honor and glory; the hero is, by the same token, always the cel­ ebrated, the one distinguished by universal acclaim. It is not customary to reduce this stature even if he seeks self-recognition and accomplishes his deeds for that reason. Strangely enough, the great teachers of Chris­ tianity have regarded the virtue of fortitude in much the same way, designating as one of its fundamental elements rnagnanim itas, which seeks high honor above all else and makes itself worthy of such. b this in keeping with the conception of that virtue, the highest act of which is supposed to be martyrdom before the triumphant force of evil? It is con­ sistent with that conception under one condition, namely, that one is capable of realizing the idea of gloria, which the ancients defined as clara cum Lau de n otitia and by which they meant the state of "becoming acknowledged publicly," the attainment of recognition through God h imself. This also means the infallibly true sanction by the Sovereign of the world who, in the presence of the whole of creation, at once declares and effectuates that it is "glorious" to be what one is. l fear that whoever, for whatever reason, is incapable of an cpting this dimension of reality-the life beyond death-will have to he on his guard against the danger of being fascinated by a pseudo-hero borne on the ac­ claim of the entire world. From the time of John at Patmos to that of Wladimir Solowjew, Christendom has held a certain idea about the end of the world. This idea implies that in the final age we must be prepared 55

The Hero and the Heroic Ideal

for a figure who, though the ultimate personifica tion of evil, will be a hero of a bewi tching splendor hitherto unknown to a l l of mankind : the Antichrist. His almost irresistible a l l ure and universal fame w i l l over­ shadow a l l other false heroes of history, while his global tyranny will force true forti tude imo the most merciless of trials. It will further render totally u nrecognizable this forti tude, the essence of all gen uine heroism­ the virtue of martyrs. *

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I cannot see why this conception of heroism, both the true and the false, should lose even an iota of viabi l i ty in the present age or in the future.

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