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We're back to Elder Paul H. Dunn's talk, "Know Thyself, Control Thyself, Give Thyself" from the April 1972 General Conference - so many references in this one.
Many are very short, but the breadcrumb trail to literature and culture is still there to follow.
The Quote
"...Cicero said, "Control thyself"...
Two little words to search on in the haystack of history - can we find it?
We can sure try.
Marcus Tullius Cicero was one of the great Roman orators, and a lot of his letters and other works still exist today.
But where did he give the quote above, if he did?
Since he wrote in Latin and not English, the exact quote doesn't exist, but there are at least a few places where he wrote something similar.
For example, in his book The Tusculan Disputations, in Book 2, he compares what nature has given to all living creatures, and what it's for:
"And thus,
if we proceed from the first rude, unfinished natures
to the most superior and perfect ones,
we shall inevitably come at last to the nature of the Gods.
For, in the first place,
we observe that those vegetables which are produced out of the earth
are supported by nature,
and she gives them no further supply than is sufficient to preserve them
by nourishing them and making them grow.
To beasts she has given sense and motion,
and a faculty which directs them to what is wholesome,
and prompts them to shun what is noxious to them.
On man she has conferred a greater portion of her favor;
inasmuch as she has added reason,
by which he is enabled to command his passions,
to moderate some, and to subdue others."
He speaks more of temperance, or self-control, as a cardinal virtue (the four greatest being wisdom, fortitude, justice, and temperance) in his book De Officiis or "On Duties", which I happily found in both Latin and English - sorry, geeking out a little bit.
My favorite quote of his from this book that defines these four, and in the rest of the book he goes into much greater detail:
"...all that is morally right
rises from some one of four sources:
it is concerned either
(1) with the full perception and intelligent development of the true [wisdom]; or
(2) with the conservation of organized society, with rendering to every man his due, and with the faithful discharge of obligations assumed [justice];
or (3) with the greatness and strength of a noble and invincible spirit [fortitude];
or (4) with the orderliness and moderation of everything that is said and done, wherein consist temperance and self-control."
This last source I found, called De Legibus, or "On the Laws", contains a quote that begs us to consider what self-control could do in the public sphere:
But what can be nobler than the government of the State by virtue?
For then the man who rules others is not himself a slave to any passion,
but has already acquired for himself all those qualities
to which he is training and summoning his fellows.
Such a man imposes no laws upon the people that he does not obey himself,
but puts his own life before his fellow-citizens as their law.
If a single individual of this character
could order all things properly in a State,
there would be no need of more than one ruler..."
If only, right?
Maybe it's impossible for a person to control themselves to that extent...but maybe it isn't.
Those of us who are Christian don't believe self-control is impossible. In fact, we follow such a Leader already. And though perfection might take longer than we live, we'll still live in the next life to try, right?
Self-control is perfectly personified in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Not gonna say I'm perfect, but I'm always trying.
How about you? What do you do to gain more self-control over time?
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