Perseverance
"The noblest question in the world," observed Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard, "is What good may I do in it?" "Hang in there!" is more than an expression of encouragement to someone experiencing hardship or difficulty; it is sound advice for anyone intent on doing good in the world. Whether by leading or prodding others, or improving oneself, or contributing in the thick of things to some larger cause, perseverance is often crucial to success.
Drawing on an ancient Chinese proverb, Harry Truman recounted in his Memoirs that being president "is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or be swallowed." He went on to explain that "a President either is constantly on top of events or, if he hesitates, events will soon be on top of him. I never felt that I could let up for a single moment." Perseverance is an essential quality of character in high-level leadership. Much good that might have been achieved in the world is lost through hesitation, faltering, wavering, vacillating, or just not sticking with it.
Perseverance is also essential to the watchdog's and gadfly's approaches to working for good in the world. Socrates, self-acknowledged gadfly of ancient Athens, was absolutely serious in proclaiming at his trial (as recounted in Plato's Apology) that "as long as I draw breath and am able, I shall not cease to practice philosophy, to exhort you and in my usual way to point out to any one of you whom I happen to meet: Good Sir, you are an Athenian, a citizen of the greatest city with the greatest reputation for both wisdom and power; are you not ashamed of your eagerness to possess as much wealth, reputation, and honors as possible, while you do not care for or give thought to wisdom or truth, or the best possible state of your soul?" Socrates' persistent exhortations proved too much for many Thenians, however, and he was condemned. But there are worse fates, as Socrates himself pointed out: while he had merely been condemned to death, his accusers had by that same act been condemned to wickedness!
"Slow and steady wins the race," runs the moral of Aesop's familiar fable of the tortoise and the hare. Plutarch in his Life of Sertorius recounts how this great Roman soldier, while serving as praetor in Spain in the first century B.C., contrived a demonstration for his troops to the same effect, following which he addressed them in this manner: "You see, fellow soldiers, that perseverance is more prevailing than violence, and that many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little. Assiduity and persistence are irresistible, and in time overthrow and destroy the greatest powers whatever, time being the favorable friend and assistant of those who use their judgment to await his occasions, and the destructive enemy of those who are unreasonably urging and pressing forward."
Like most other virtues, persistence and perseverance cannot operate for good in the world in isolation from practical intelligence. A person who is merely persistent may be a carping, pestering, irksome annoyance, having no salutary effect whatsoever. But given the right context, occurring in the right combination with other virtues, perseverance is an essential ingredient in human progress. Sam Adams saw it thus in the gestation period prior to our birth as a nation. "The necessity of the times,"he proclaimed in 1771, "more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude, and perseverance." And the same holds true today.
How do we encourage our children to persevere, to persist in thier efforts to improve themselves, their own lot, and the lot of others? By standing by them, and with them and behind them; by being coaches and cheerleaders, and by the witness of our own example. Modern technology has made some of this much easier for us. Video and tape recordings are convincing evidence of the long-term progress that is sometimes hard to see in the short term.
Elder Garcia
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