Catholic Candle note: Below is part 8 of the article concerning the best type of education – which is a Catholic Liberal Education. Do not confuse this education with many university programs called “liberal arts” but which are full of fluff, falsehood, and aimless so-called “cultural enrichment” courses and “humanities”.

A liberal education also does not refer to liberalism, nor is a true liberal education an indoctrination into that error of liberalism or political correctness. In fact, a true Catholic Liberal Education is the best antidote to the errors of liberalism.

As context for this eighth article, let us recall what we saw in the earlier seven articles:

Previously, in part 1 of this article,¹ we examined the problems we see in modern education:

• Modern colleges do not improve the quality of their students’ minds (and their thinking ability) much or at all.

  
  

• Most “education” is merely job training, fluff courses, and/or leftist indoctrination.

  
  

• The students are taught to sound like someone in their field but they do more memorizing and little thinking.

  
  

• Grade “inflation” and degree “inflation” is rampant. Grades and academic degrees do not mean much anymore.

In part 2 of this article,² we examined, in general, what education is. We considered the human soul and the perfection of its highest faculty (i.e., power) – which is the intellect – and which is immaterial (i.e., incorporeal). We saw that our intellects are perfected through knowing eternal, unchangeable truths and their causes.

In part 3 of this article,³ after having seen what true education is, we examined the question who should perfect his intellect.

In part 4 of this article,⁴ having seen that modern universities do not provide a true education, we consider whether there is ever any reason for men or women to attend them.

In part 5 of this article,⁵ having seen that women and girls should pursue a True Catholic Liberal Education – just as men and boys should, too – we then considered what the best environment is in which women and girls should do this.

In part 6 of this article, we addressed the objection that, having seen the great value of a True Catholic Liberal Education, we should be afraid that the great blessing of this education would be a danger to our souls because it might make us proud.⁶

In part 7 of this article, we considered more fully the difference between the education which is appropriate for a free man as contrasted to the education which is appropriate for a slave.⁷

Below, in part eight, we consider further how the truth perfects our minds. This shows us that we must really know the truth, not merely hold true opinions.

The Blessing of a True, Catholic Liberal Education

Part 8

Making the Truth “Our Own”

Let us consider another aspect of a Catholic Liberal Education, viz., how we must make the truth really “our own” in order for it to perfect our intellects. We must know a truth and not merely hold human opinion, even if that opinion were true. This is because the good of the intellect is knowing the truth, not merely memorizing true opinions.⁸

Let us consider an example from the science of geometry. In order for us to have knowledge of the Pythagorean Theorem⁹ we must know this truth and see that it arises from careful reasoning grounded in first principles and that we also know these first principles to be true. In other words, we must see this truth (with our minds) and see that it arises out of those first undeniable principles of geometry.

When we mention “first principles”, we refer to principles such as the common notion that when equals are added to equals, the sums are equal. We must begin a science by examining the first principles and see that they are certain and must be true. To have real knowledge, e.g., of a geometrical theorem, we must see how that theorem arises from the principles of the science through a chain of careful syllogistic¹⁰ reasoning.

When we are proving a theorem, if this proof is not built on the solid foundation of first principles, then we would only hold the opinion that this theorem is true. So, for example, when two of the Catholic Candle Team members took high school geometry classes, they acquired only human faith that the Pythagorean Theorem was universally true, because those classes did not give proof from the first principles of geometry but only provided some examples of this theorem and then raced on to apply this theorem to a long set of problems (which were graded by the teachers to confirm that the student got the correct answer and that he knew how to apply the formula to the numbers set out in the problems assigned to the class).

When we memorize a correct opinion (without really proving the statement) then we memorize that statement without having real knowledge. We would merely believe this statement (e.g., a theorem) as an opinion. Again, we must remember that it is knowledge, not opinion, which is the perfection of (and the good of), the intellect.

When we hold mere human opinion about a truth of geometry, this would be similar to our holding the true opinion that there is a city called “Athens” in a country called “Greece”. In other words, we are believing this on human authority and do not have knowledge of this fact.

The focus of this analogy is not whether Athens exists (or, in contrast, whether we are deceived when we are told that it exists). The focus is that we do not know that Athens exists but only believe it as an opinion we have been told. Such opinions do not perfect our intellects, which are perfected by knowing universal truth, not by memorizing opinions or statements made on human authority. (What is revealed infallibly by God and the Catholic Church, does not have this same weakness as mere human opinion – but we will discuss this later.)

Going back to the geometric example above: when we start with the firm principles of Euclidean geometry, we build an edifice of one thing proved from the geometric principles (that we previously came to know) and after we prove that first theorem, we use it along with the principles of geometry to prove a second theorem, then a third, and so on, to prove more and more theorems, all of which have this same firm foundation of the principles that we know (with certitude) to be true. From there, we continue building the geometrical edifice of our knowledge, all grounded firmly on the sureness of the first principles that we know with certainty because we examined them carefully at the beginning of our study and understood that they must be true.

Above, we saw the importance of knowing truth and making the truth “our own” by grounding this truth in the first principles that we already know. In other words, we know a conclusion when we see that it must be true because we see that the conclusion comes through an undeniable chain of syllogistic reasoning, from principles that we know are certain.

Let us take an example. We could learn the conclusion of the Pythagorean Theorem, viz., that the area of the square erected on the hypotenuse of a right triangle (which is opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the two squares erected on the two legs (the other two sides) of that triangle.

If we memorize that true conclusion, then we have a correct opinion but it cannot really be said that we know that truth because our intellect does not see that truth as necessary¹¹ and see that it arises from the undeniable first principles that are the basis of the science of geometry. Instead, if we merely memorized or merely trusted someone (including a book) we would only hold the Pythagorean Theorem based on the human authority of that book or person.

Thus, our minds are not perfected by this human opinion because the good of the intellect is knowing the truth, not merely memorizing true opinions. God wills men to know the unchanging truth because He wills men to perfect the talents that He has given them, especially their highest faculty, i.e., their intellect. By unchanging truth, we mean truth which is always true, e.g.,

• The whole is greater than its own part; and

  
  

• 4 + 4 = 8.

The truths of our Holy Catholic Faith are unchangeable truths and are especially perfecting for our intellects. Two quick examples of this are:

• God has no body; and

  
  

• The Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed into heaven body and soul.

(As we said above, what is revealed infallibly by God and the Catholic Church, does not suffer the weakness of being based on mere human opinion – but we will discuss this later.)

Unchangeable truths, most of all the Holy Catholic Faith, perfect our intellects. In other words, such truths make our intellects good. Here is how St. Thomas explains this principle:

[W]hen we judge of things … there is the question of the good of the person who judges [viz., the good of his intellect], if he judges truly, and of his evil [viz., of his intellect] if he judges falsely, because “the true is the good of the intellect, and the false is its evil”, as stated in [Aristotle’s] Ethics, bk.6, ch.2. Wherefore, everyone should strive to make his judgment accord with things as they are.

Summa, IIa IIae, Q.60, a.4, ad 2 (emphasis and bracketed words added).

In this quote above, when St. Thomas says “everyone should strive to make his judgment accord with things as they are”, this means everyone should seek the truth, since truth is the mind’s conformity with reality.¹²

But the truth that is the good of the intellect is unchangeable truth, such as the Pythagorean Theorem or knowing that God has no body. It does not perfect a man’s intellect to know things that could be different and are changeable, such as the names of the streets of our town and other contingent facts.

It might be useful to know the streets of one’s own town so that he knows how to get to the grocery store (or otherwise has a practical need for this information). But such knowledge of particular, contingent facts, even though true, do not perfect a man’s intellect. Here is one way St. Thomas teaches this:

Neither does it pertain to the intellect’s perfection to know the truth of contingent, singular facts in themselves.

Summa, IIa IIae, Q.60, a.4, ad 1-2 (emphasis added).

So, one crucial error of thought is to confuse those things which are eternal truths, with those things that are changeable, particular truths. The Modernists make this error and it is one way for us to see that, even as a matter of reason, the heresy of Modernism is plainly false and impossible. Here is how Pope St. Pius X explained that modernists profess that all truth changes:

[T]hey have reached that pitch of folly at which they pervert the eternal concept of truth …. [They say] dogma [i.e., high truths of our Faith] is not only able, but ought to evolve and to be changed. … Thus far, Venerable Brethren, We have considered the Modernist as a philosopher.¹³

Thus, we see that it is important to perfect our intellect by knowing the unchangeable truth as coming from a careful chain of reasoning from first principles that are certain and known. These truths – which perfect our intellect – are universal and unchanging, not particular truths which could be otherwise or could change.

There are No “Shortcuts”

Truth acquired in this way is the perfection of our intellects. There are no “shortcuts”, even for those who are sons of a learned man. The son cannot perfect his intellect by simply memorizing the truth that his learned father previously proved for himself through careful syllogistic reasoning “down to” the solid foundation of first principles. This is because, however wise and learned his father is, the perfection of that son’s own intellect involves the son himself doing that same intellectual work that his father did.¹⁴

Similarly, there are no “shortcuts” for those who live in a society blessed with many generations of learned men. Each man (and woman) must perfect his (her) own intellect and not simply take on human authority (human faith) the truths which others before him had proved. Persons in each new generation must repeat the labor of their ancestors because each person has his own intellect to perfect.

This is like the fact that our parents (or many generations of our forebearers) might have been virtuous, e.g., patient, just, and temperate, but we cannot simply “take up where they left off”. Instead, we must make the same sort of efforts that they did, to acquire virtue like they did. For example, we must acquire the virtue of patience by repeated acts of fighting impatience ourselves and making our own repeated acts of patience.

So, in this way we see that the rectification and perfection of the moral character of each man requires the same work as it required of his forebearers. Similarly, the rectification and perfection of a person’s intellect requires the same work that it did for the wise and learned men who came before him. Again, there are no “shortcuts” to achieve this perfection of mind which is the knowledge of eternal truth.

As a Means of Pursuing the Truth, Lectures are Inferior to Well-Prepared, Well-Organized Discussions

In this enterprise of making the truth “one’s own”, we see that lectures of wise professors are of less value than we might at first believe. This is because the truth becomes “one’s own” through an internal or external debate, struggle, and/or discussion. There must be a “back and forth” through which the student sees the solution to the “objections” that he made to the (true) statement that he is considering.

Different students will have different objections. Let us take an example: Regarding a particular statement under discussion, one student will ask himself how can the statement be true because of an apparently-contrary verse of Sacred Scripture. Another student will think he sees indisputable observations in nature which contradict the truth of the statement under discussion. In fact, a particular objection on which a student focuses can seem so central that this objection impedes all progress on solving other objections and completing his analysis of the matter.

A lecture from any professor – however wise he is – cannot anticipate all objections and solve them all without the student’s input. The truth cannot be made the student’s “own” without the student’s “own” input. The student must have a role in the mental discussion.

It is a tremendous help in a student’s education for him to articulate what he believes that he sees as the truth in the matter. This not only helps others analyze whether he is correct or not, but also helps the student himself come to know whether or not he truly knows, and whether he could reason the matter all the way back to indisputably true first principles.

Although the student can have the help of others, he himself must play a central role in analyzing a statement and see how it is based on (or, alternatively, how it contradicts) foundational principles of which he is certain. By contrast, a professorial lecture telling the students what conclusions to memorize, does not make “one’s own” the truths at issue.

By Contrast, Shortcuts are Possible (and Common) in Mechanical and Technical Matters

In contrast with a Liberal Education or with the acquisition of moral virtue, there are other, different sorts of matters where “shortcuts” are possible and even common. For example, in transportation, a person does not need to go back to learn to use the first inventions of that sort. He can simply learn how to drive the current model of automobile. He does not need to start with the ox cart (or whatever other early conveyance).

Similarly, we do not need to learn how to use an abacus or a slide rule before we are able to use a calculator. So, we see that there can be shortcuts in technical skills, machinery, etc. but not in wisdom, virtue, and real knowledge.

Although Human Opinion Does Not Perfect the Mind, the Catholic Faith Does Perfect It

Above, we said:

What is revealed infallibly by God and the Catholic Church, does not have this same weakness as mere human opinion.

Let us consider that statement now.

The Catholic Faith – Taken on God’s Authority – is Not Deficient as is an Opinion Based on Mere Human Authority.

The problem with taking something as true based on human faith – i.e., belief in a merely human authority, is that this authority could be wrong for two reasons:

1. The human authority might be mistaken (because it is part of the human condition that people make mistakes); or

   
   

2. The human authority could intentionally deceive us as a means of attempting to achieve an apparently-good end (or even some end which is truly good in itself).¹⁵

Because a man can be wrong for those two reasons, we describe as an “opinion” what a man asserts as true without having proof. Opinions, as such, can be true but they do not perfect our intellects (as genuine knowledge does) to the extent that we do not know (i.e., see) the opinion statement as resting upon the firm foundation of most-sure first principles.

For, as we saw earlier, eternal truth (which is what does perfect our intellect) must be known all of the way to the foundational principles of the science. The term “science” here means philosophy, theology and any other body of knowledge whose object is eternal truth.

We Must Now Make the Distinction between Primary Sciences and Subordinate Sciences

Some sciences are subordinate to other sciences and such subordinate sciences take their principles from that higher science. For example, the science of optics, which investigates the bending of light (through lenses, etc.), is subordinate to the science of geometry, which proves the principles which are needed for and are used in the science of optics. This is because light, as studied by the science of optics follows the truths (i.e., the proofs) of geometry concerning angles, parallel lines, etc.

Although the subordinate science of optics takes its principles from the very firm foundation of Euclid’s geometry, nonetheless, the person who studies optics has a very imperfect grasp of his own science (optics) unless he is also a master of geometry. If he were only to take the principles of his science (viz., optics) back to his reliance upon geometrical conclusions which he himself has not mastered, then his grasp of optics is imperfectly grounded. Thus, a student of optics should first be a master of geometry so that his understanding of optics can be rooted in those most-certain first principles which he himself sees are the basis and foundation of geometry.

Now let us look at Divine Revelation. We know that the truth of what is revealed by God is the most certain of all knowledge. It is more certain than our own human knowledge because God is all-knowing and (in the words of the Act of Faith) God “can neither deceive nor be deceived”.

But Divine Revelation is a sacred science (body of knowledge) which is a subordinate science in the same way that optics is a subordinate science. Whereas:

• Optics relies for its principles on the truths shown in geometry and not proved in the science of optics itself,

  
  

• So Divine Revelation is a sacred science which is subordinate to the Science pertaining to God (and things closely related to God) as these truths are known with absolute certainty by the Mind of God and the minds of the blessed in heaven.

These truths (known in heaven) are revealed to us and are received by us as Divine Revelation (like the science of optics receives its principles from the science of geometry).

Does this Mean that the Catholic Faith (as a Subordinate Science) is Deficient?

So, the question arises: if a man knows the subordinate science of Sacred Doctrine (revealed in the Catholic Faith), but cannot (in this life) know the primary, celestial Science known by God and the Blessed in heaven, does the man’s mind lack perfection in a way similar to the man who knows a different subordinate science (e.g., optics) but does not also know the underlying primary science (e.g., geometry) from which the subordinate science takes its principles?

The answer is “no”. Whereas with other subordinate sciences (such as optics), a man’s failure to know the underlying primary science causes his knowledge of the subordinate science to rest on the human faith (human authority) of those who know geometry, and in this way, his grasp of the subordinate science does not rest on a firm foundation which perfects the mind.

By contrast, the principles of the science of Sacred Doctrine are the infallible truths of the Holy Catholic Faith. Those principles are even surer than the firm first principles of any other sciences. So, we know the science of Sacred Doctrine with great certitude because its principles are so surely known through the Catholic Faith.

Of course, it is true that our minds would completely delight in seeing the truths which are seen by the blessed in heaven. But meanwhile, while in this life, our minds can know the science of Sacred Doctrine resting on the surest principles.

So on the one hand, Divine Revelation should be highly esteemed because: 1) it is most-sure; and also 2) because these truths of Divine Revelation are of the highest matters (and our minds are perfected most by knowing the highest truths).

But on the other hand, Divine Revelation (sacred doctrine) has the disadvantage of being a subordinate science to the science of God and of the blessed. Thus, just like the student of optics should know geometry in order to perfect his mind with the science of optics, likewise the student of Divine Revelation (sacred doctrine) should (ideally) know the higher science which is the knowledge of God and the blessed in heaven in the Beatific Vision. But man cannot attain this higher theological science on earth because it is only available to those in heaven.

But returning to the issue of the Catholic Faith and the authority on which it rests: we see that our Catholic Faith, which is infallibly revealed by God, does not have this same weakness as mere human opinion because God’s revelation cannot err.

So we should strive with all of our might to get to heaven and spend Eternity enjoying the Beatific Vision which is the higher science that is the Truth known by God and the blessed and on which our Faith rests!

Let us use these considerations to help us to yearn for Eternal Truth, especially the Eternal Revelation of the Highest Truths in the Beatific Vision!

Along with St. Paul, this should be our mind-set:

Forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians, 3:13-14.

Summary of Part Eight of this Article

Truth is the good of the mind and is its perfection. We must strive to perfect our minds with the highest truths, known through a series of careful syllogisms all the way “down” to the first certain principles of the science.

There are no “shortcuts” in perfecting our minds, just as there are no shortcuts in acquiring the moral virtues.

The high and infallible truths of our Catholic Faith perfect our minds, unlike matters taken on human faith.

Having in mind the importance of knowing the unchanging Truth, let us live the life of truth which is a big help to us to enable us to live the (spiritual) life of Him Who Is the Truth.

The Question Arises:, What Studies (Sciences) More-Specifically Belong in a Catholic Liberal Education?

It is time to consider more specifically: What studies belong in a true Catholic Liberal Education? This canon of study has long been set out and perennially followed in Western Civilization by those seeking to perfect their highest faculty (their mind). In the next part of this article, we will begin examining that canon of study and the reasons for it.

To Be Continued …

Catholic Candle note: Below is part 7 of the article concerning the best type of education – which is a Catholic Liberal Education. Do not confuse this education with many university programs called “liberal arts” but which are full of fluff, falsehood, and aimless so-called “cultural enrichment” courses and “humanities”.

A liberal education also does not refer to liberalism, nor is a true liberal education an indoctrination into that error of liberalism or political correctness. In fact, a true Catholic Liberal Education is the best antidote to the errors of liberalism.

As context for this seventh article, let us recall what we saw in the earlier six articles:

Previously, in part 1 of this article,¹ we examined the problems we see in modern education:

• Modern colleges do not improve the quality of their students’ minds (and their thinking ability) much or at all.

  
  

• Most “education” is merely job training, fluff courses, and/or leftist indoctrination.

  
  

• The students are taught to sound like someone in their field but they do more memorizing and little thinking.

  
  

• Grade “inflation” and degree “inflation” is rampant. Grades and academic degrees do not mean much anymore.

In part 2 of this article,² we examined, in general, what education is. We considered the human soul and the perfection of its highest faculty (power) – the intellect – which is immaterial. We saw that our intellects are perfected through knowing eternal, unchangeable truths and their causes.

In part 3 of this article,³ after having seen what true education is, we examined the question who should perfect his intellect.

In part 4 of this article,⁴ having seen that modern universities do not provide a true education, we consider whether there is ever any reason for men or women to attend them.

In part 5 of this article,⁵ having seen that women and girls should pursue a True Catholic Liberal Education – just as men and boys should, too – we then considered what the best environment is in which women and girls should do this.

In part 6 of this article, we addressed the objection that, having seen the great value of a True Catholic Liberal Education, we should be afraid that the great blessing of this education would be a danger to our souls because it might make us proud.⁶

Below, in part 7, we consider more fully the difference between the education which is appropriate for a free man as contrasted to the education which is appropriate for a slave.

The Blessing of a True, Catholic Liberal Education

Part 7

How is it that a true Catholic Liberal Education elevates and perfects a man? To see this better, let us contrast a liberal education – a free man’s education – with the work and the education of a slave. First, let’s start with a slave’s work.

What is a Slave’s Work?

The central idea of slavery is that a slave is someone else’s property⁷ – just like a hammer or a car is someone’s property. A man uses a hammer, a car, or any other property for his own benefit. Likewise, he uses a slave for his own benefit. He does not use any of his property for the benefit of that property, except as a means of benefitting himself. So, a man might polish his shoes to protect them or he might buy new tires for his car. But he does this so that these shoes or the car might last longer and benefit him longer. Likewise, a slave’s work is for the purpose of benefiting the master, not the slave himself.

A slave would most often benefit his master by works of the body, such as cooking meals, cleaning the gutters of a house, repairing a faucet, digging a hole, weeding a garden, etc. It is certainly possible for a slave to enjoy such activities but that is not the point. That does not change the fact that those jobs are servile, i.e., they are jobs proper to a slave. Instead, the fundamental characteristic of a slave’s work is that it is for the benefit of his master rather than to benefit himself.

The slave does receive something in return – food, clothing, shelter, etc. – otherwise he would die. But his work is for the benefit of others, not himself. Thus, in our society, a man generally works a job which is slavish, in exchange for the money he needs to provide for his family.

A man could enjoy his work, e.g., composing sonatas for sale. But for most men, their work is slavish regardless of whether they enjoy the work. This is true regardless of whether the work he does is “professional” or not. So, the work of an engineer, an architect, a software engineer, and a lawyer are servile, as are the work of a truck driver, a plumber, a house painter, and a grocery store clerk.

The fact that a man’s job is servile does not make it sinful or something to despise. A man’s work – which is slavish in itself – can (and should) be elevated by the high purpose of this work, which is to do his duty before God (which is hopefully his motive) and to provide for the material needs of his family, whom he loves.

But not all physical work is slavish. For example, it is not slavish for a man to hike up a mountain for the fresh air and exercise. It is not slavish for him to go jogging and to do pushups to promote his own health. It is not slavish for a person to practice a musical instrument to perfect his talent and his mastery of the art of music.

Whereas most (but not all) physical labor is servile work, similarly most (but not all) intellectual work is not slavish, e.g., reading a novel, learning the catechism, writing a letter to a friend or composing a treatise on astronomy, sketching a sunset, and studying geometry are not servile. This is why those activities are not forbidden on days when servile work is forbidden. They are not the work of a slave but are undertaken to perfect the non-slave (the free man) engaging in the activity.

But some intellectual activities are servile. The practice of the professions, e.g., medicine, law, accounting, pharmacology, and architecture, are slavish pursuits even though they are primarily intellectual. Likewise, it is slavish to balance one’s checkbook or to prepare one’s income tax return. One sign that medicine and pharmacology are slavish pursuits is the fact that, in ancient times, rich Roman families would buy slaves who were physicians and pharmacists in order to provide for those families’ health. Likewise, a lawyer does not practice law principally for enjoyment or self-improvement but rather to benefit his client (who is his “master” for that task).

What is a Slave’s Education?

A slave’s education is that which trains him to be capable of performing slavish work well and to benefit his master more. So, the purpose of a slave’s education is to enable him to perform any of those jobs of a slave. A slave might be taught to practice medicine, to bind books, to give haircuts, to make sausage, to paint a house, or anything else that the master wants to accomplish.

Next, Let Us Consider the Reality that All of Us Are on Earth to Work.

Above, we have been considering how a true Catholic Liberal Education elevates and perfects a man. To see this better, we first looked at the work and the education of a slave so we can better understand a liberal education in contrast to this.

Now let us consider that fundamental truth that God puts everyone on earth to work. Then, after that, let us consider what work and education are appropriate for a free man.

God Put Man on Earth to Work.

God made us and He owns us. We see the way that the simplest catechism explains why we are on earth. The first Baltimore Catechism (used for the youngest children) teaches us:

Q. Why did God make you?

A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.

In his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius of Loyola teaches this same truth in his Principle and Foundation:

Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God Our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. All other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him fulfill the end for which he is created. From this it follows that man is to use these things to the extent that they will help him to attain his end. Likewise, he must rid himself of them insofar as they prevent him from attaining it.

Therefore, we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, insofar as it is left to the choice of our free will and is not forbidden. Acting accordingly, for our part, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, a long life to a short one, and so in all things we should desire and choose only those things which will best help us attain the end for which we are created.

So, anything we do which is not serving God is not part of the reason why we are on earth, but is idleness, and is a wasted part of our life. Our Lord warned us “that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment.” St. Matthew’s Gospel, 12:36.

Thus, even in our tenderest years, even in our oldest age, even when sick or an invalid, God owns us and we must work for Him every day, every moment, to the best of our ability given our condition of life.

Does this mean that we must never sleep or eat? No. God made us the type of creatures who need these things in order to maintain our strength and health so that we can serve Him. Thus, it is part of serving God when we take a reasonable rest and meals.

Does it mean that we can never do anything “fun” or social? No. God made us social creatures and made us to need a reasonable amount of recreation, so that, being refreshed, we can more vigorously serve Him. Thus, we are serving God when we take this reasonable recreation because we are acting according to the way that He created us to act.

But God’s ownership of us does mean that food, sleep, recreation, and everything else must be ordered to, and be a part of, knowing, loving, and serving Him. Any other life would be an unhappy failure and would anger God.

So we see that God wants us to engage in reasonable and wholesome recreation when it is time for that activity. Although, a life devoted to entertainment and “fun” is an evil life, by contrast, a life devoted to serving God – but which includes reasonable recreation – is a happy life well-spent.

So, we see that at all times of our life, we must work for God. We must serve Him. But what work should we do? Well, we should do the duties that God placed in our state in life. So, a man must be the selfless head of his family and work to support the wife and children that God gave to him. This work (in order to earn money) is usually slavish. That is, this work involves a man agreeing to serve an employer “like a slave” (in a way) doing his employer’s work, in exchange for the money needed to support his family. Four, of countless examples of such work, are being a truck driver, a mechanic, a lawyer, and an engineer. Of course, the father’s work, although slavish in itself, is good and pleases God because of its end (goal), i.e., it is ordered to him being the breadwinner for his family as a means of serving God.

Likewise, God intended a woman to have many homemaker duties, e.g., washing the dishes, vacuuming the house, etc. That homemaker work is good and pleases God because it is ordered to her being the heart and maker of the family home as a haven of beauty and goodness. She and her husband are (or should be) happy even in their slavish work, because they are doing this work out of love for God and for the good of the family they love.

But when this man and woman are no longer required to devote as much of their time to performing such slavish, practical work because their children are adults and pursuing their own vocations, or because they have saved enough money to provide for their own material needs, they must still work. God gives us additional years of life because he wants us to do additional work for Him, not merely so that we can live for our own amusement.

However, when the practical needs are taken care of, people can devote themselves to serving God by performing different work which is not slavish, which is better in itself and not merely good because of its end (viz., supplying the material needs of their family).

What kind of work is that? It is work that perfects the worker himself, e.g., prayer, works of charity, acts of virtue, and perfecting his mind.

Although of course, all persons must pray throughout their lives, people with more leisure can (and should) give themselves more fully to a life of prayer. This is work but is not slavish, i.e., suitable to assign to a slave to relieve the master of the duty involved. Notice, that if, hypothetically, a man had a slave, there are many things that the man would tell his slave to do to benefit that man himself (i.e., the master). That master could, for example, tell his slave to do all of the grocery shopping or cut all of the firewood needed to keep the house warm. In this way, the master might never have to go shopping or cut firewood and his time would thus be freed up for other work. But, by contrast, it would be wrong and ridiculous for the master to tell his slave to pray in the master’s place so that the master did not need to pray. This is a sign that prayer is worthwhile in itself and is a free man’s activity; the master himself must pray in order to receive the benefit of prayer.

Similarly, the master could possibly cause the slave to learn shoemaking or pharmacology so that the master and his family could get the benefit of those activities without needing to learn them or engage in those activities themselves. But there are other fields of knowledge, the study of which is high, valuable, and perfects the knower of that knowledge, e.g., the Catholic Faith and the high matters of philosophy. It would be wrong and ridiculous for a master to direct his slave to study the Catholic Faith or other high truth, so that the master himself would be “free” to be an ignorant Catholic or a stupid man.

Now Let Us Consider the Free Man

Seeing what a slave’s work and education are and seeing that everyone is on earth to work, let us now consider what a free man’s work is and then what a free man’s education is.

What is a Free Man’s Work?

Above, we saw that the central idea of a slave’s work is that this work is ordered to benefiting the master (i.e., someone else and not the worker himself). By contrast, the work of a free man is work which makes the man himself better. A man is truly free when he lives a disciplined life devoted to learning high truth, e.g., about God. As Our Lord teaches us, “the Truth will make you free”. St. John’s Gospel, 8:32. So we are made free by the Truth.

• A free man’s work is not the pursuit of the pleasures of the world. Freedom is not merely licentiousness. When someone devotes himself to a life of pleasure or wild parties, we don’t call him free but rather dissolute and bestial. In fact, the licentious man is really a slave to his passions and emotions, which bully his reason and his will and obstruct him from enjoying the freedom of abiding in the truth.

  
  

• A free man’s work is not to devote himself to material goods. Freedom is not merely devoting oneself to becoming a business mogul or what the world would call financial “success”. Beyond earning money to provide for necessary and modest⁸ material needs, it is perverse to devote one’s life to building a “corporate empire” or even to making his small business (e.g., a doughnut shop) a great success. After all, “what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” St. Mark’s Gospel, 8:36.

  
  

• A free man’s work is not to achieve the goals of the world. Freedom is not “chasing some dream” such as setting a world record in some sport or event. Freedom is not seeking worldly triumphs or exploits admired by the world.

Instead, a free man’s work is to serve God in the best way he can and to use the talents that God gave him – especially his highest talents – in the best way he can for the glory of God. A man should perfect his soul. This means that a man should especially:

• Perfect his mind with intellectual virtue about the highest truths; and

  
  

• Perfect his will with the moral virtues.

What is a Free Man’s Education?

As we saw, a slave’s education is training which enables him to perform slavish work well and to benefit his master more. So, the purpose of a slave’s education is to enable him to perform any of those jobs which are slavish.

By contrast, a free man’s education is to develop his mind related to work which is a free man’s work and is not slavish. (In this discussion, let us keep in mind that everyone, including a free man, is on earth to work.) A Catholic Liberal Education is most of all a free man’s education. Its aim is to develop the mind of the student, to cause him to possess the highest truths which are the greatest perfection of our mind, and to make his mind apt to be further perfected.

Let us look a little deeper into the nature of a true education – viz., a free man’s education. To do this, let us look a little more fully at Our Lord’s words quoted above. Notice that Our Lord uses “free” in this same sense in which it is used when referring to a liberal education. Here are His words in the Gospel:

Jesus said to those Jews, who believed him: If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

St. John’s Gospel, 8:31-32.

This is freedom in a spiritual sense of the word. This important freedom is the absence of interior enslavement through ignorance. This is the freedom to direct one’s self wisely on the clear, good path instead of the path of confusion and the darkness of ignorance.

This meaning of freedom is far more important than the meaning of freedom which is to avoid subjugation through enslavement by another man.

When a person is enslaved by another man, his principle of directing his actions is not within himself but is outside himself (in his master). Similarly, when a person is enslaved by ignorance he does not have within himself the principle of directing his actions because he does not know clearly what he should do.

St. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest Doctor of the Catholic Church, explains how ignorance removes from a man his power of directing himself to his proper end. St. Thomas starts with a prophesy of Isaiah, as quoted in St. Matthew’s Gospel:

The people that sat in darkness, hath seen great light: and to them that sat in the region of the shadow of death, light is sprung up.

St. Matthew’s Gospel, 4:16.

St. Thomas then quotes and adopts St. John Chrysostom’s explanation as follows:

But that you may learn that he [viz., Isaiah] speaks not of natural day and night, he calls the light, “a great light”, which is in other places called “the true light”; and he adds, “the shadow of death”, to explain what he means by darkness. The words “arose”, and “shined”, show, that they found it not of their own seeking, but God Himself appeared to them, they did not first run to the light; for men were in the greatest miseries before Christ’s coming; they did not walk but sat in darkness; which was a sign that they did not hope for deliverance; for as not knowing what way they should go, shut in by darkness they sat down, having now no power to stand. By darkness he means here, error and ungodliness.⁹

This is like a man who is lost in the wilderness, who does not know which way to travel to safety. If in each direction he could choose, it would be equally likely to make his rescue harder and more unlikely, he would sit down and wait, not go in any direction to try to find the way out of the wilderness. Similarly, the Doctors of the Church explain that, as fallen man was spiritually lost and hopeless, he “sits down”. In other words, when a person is in the darkness of ignorance and does not know the truth, it removes his “power to stand” since there is “no good way” for him to choose to go.

But when Our Lord taught the Jews that the truth would make them free, notice their carnal understanding of freedom in their reply:

They answered him: We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to any man: how sayest thou: you shall be free?

St. John’s Gospel, 8:31-34.

For the present discussion, we leave aside the lie that the Jews told here, viz., that they had never been enslaved, e.g., by the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and others.

But notice that the Jews make a reply which shows they focus on freedom in the carnal sense, not in the sense of being free through the possession of the truth and through not being a slave through error.

So, we see that a Catholic Liberal Education is the freedom of mind that makes us free in the way that Our Lord makes us free. This is fitting because the truth is liberating and Our Lord is the Truth Who came to free us from ignorance and interior slavery.

Finally, note that the freedom a person achieves through this Catholic Liberal Education is ordered to being a disciple of Our Lord.

Recap of the Article

God put us on this earth to work. We perform practical, slavish work when this work is our duty and is necessary. This work is not a disgrace and should not be despised because this work is ennobled by it being performed in the service of Christ the King.

But when our practical needs are taken care of, we must still work. But that work should be serving God by performing different work which is not slavish, which is better in itself and not merely good because of its end (viz., supplying the material needs of one’s family).

We should engage in higher work that is not slavish, e.g., prayer, works of charity, and perfecting our minds. We should pursue the Truth, which makes us free. We should serve God in the best way we can and to use the talents that God gave us – especially our highest talents – in the best way we can for the glory of God. We should perfect our souls. This means that we should especially:

• Perfect our minds with intellectual virtue about the highest truths; and

  
  

• Perfect our wills with the moral virtues.

Perfecting our highest faculties is the purpose of a Catholic Liberal Education. This education makes us free in a spiritual sense. This is why Our Lord came to earth: to make us free. This is the freedom to wisely direct one’s self on the clear, good path instead of the path of confusion and the darkness of ignorance.

Catholic Candle note: Below is part 6 of the article concerning the best type of education, which is a Catholic Liberal Education. Do not confuse this education with many university programs called “liberal arts” but which are full of fluff, falsehood, and aimless so-called “cultural enrichment” courses and “humanities”.

A liberal education also does not refer to liberalism, nor is a true liberal education an indoctrination into that error of liberalism or political correctness. In fact, a true Catholic Liberal Education is the best antidote to the errors of liberalism.

Previously, in part 1 of this article,¹ we examined the problems we see in modern education:

• Modern colleges do not improve the quality of their students’ minds (and their thinking ability) much or at all.

  
  

• Most “education” is merely job training, fluff courses, and/or leftist indoctrination.

  
  

• The students are taught to sound like someone in their field but they do more memorizing and little thinking.

  
  

• Grade “inflation” and degree “inflation” is rampant. Grades and academic degrees do not mean much anymore.

In part 2 of this article,² we examined, in general, what education is. We considered the human soul and the perfection of its highest faculty (power) – the intellect – which is immaterial. We saw that our intellects are perfected through knowing eternal, unchangeable truths and their causes.

In part 3 of this article,³ after having seen what true education is, we examined the question who should perfect his intellect.

In part 4 of this article,⁴ having seen that modern universities do not provide a true education, we consider whether there is ever any reason for men or women to attend them.

In part 5 of this article,⁵ having seen that women and girls should pursue a True Catholic Liberal Education – just as men and boys should, too – we then considered what the best environment is in which women and girls should do this.

At the end of part 5 of this series, we recognized that an objection could arise: having seen the great value of a True Catholic Liberal Education), should we be afraid that the great blessing of this education would be a danger to our souls because it might make us proud?

Below, in part 6, we consider this question.

The Blessing of a True, Catholic Liberal Education

Part 6

Objection: Because a Catholic Liberal Education is so Great, It Might Make Us Proud!

From the considerations we have made so far in the first five parts of this series (on the Value of a True Catholic Liberal Education), shouldn’t we be afraid that this great blessing might make us proud?

We are on earth to know, love, and serve God and by this means to save our soul. We know that pride is one of the biggest obstacles to salvation. So, if we receive a true Catholic Liberal Education and if this were to result in our damnation (by making us proud), then shouldn’t we avoid this education in order to save our souls?

Although a person could wrongly suppose that a Catholic Liberal Education can be harmful because it might make a person proud, in fact, a genuine Catholic Liberal Education is never, in itself, a cause of the sin of pride. Rather it is always, in itself, a motive for humility, for five reasons:

1. It is the occasion, in itself, of comparing ourselves to what is truly great and of seeing how “small” and unimportant we are in comparison to high truths;

   
   

2. A true Catholic Liberal Education takes more effort than mere job training or studying the creations of man, (e.g., computers). These greater efforts humble us because we are aware of the comparative weakness of our minds when studying the high truths of a real education, as contrasted to our false impression that our minds are much stronger, when studying subjects which take less effort to master;

   
   

3. The greatness, in itself, of a true Catholic Liberal Education is a great gift of God for which we should be very grateful to Him, and such gratitude fosters humility in us;

   
   

4. High universal truths are so wonderful that they “lift us out of ourselves” and make us see that we are relatively unimportant and so, seek to devote ourselves to spreading the truth to others; and

   
   

5. We see the greatest examples of humility in others who have a Catholic Liberal Education.

Let us look at each of these reasons.

1. This true education is the occasion, in itself, of comparing ourselves to what is truly great and of seeing how “small” we are.

In a Catholic Liberal Education, one spends his time with the greatest ideas and truths and with the greatest thinkers, e.g., St. Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, and Euclid. This “company” naturally causes a person to compare his mind to the greatest of truths and to compare himself with the greatest of minds and thereby to see his littleness compared to them.

Similarly, surrounding ourselves with exceedingly tall people, would remind us of our own short stature.

Of course, the attainment of great truths in a Catholic Liberal Education can be abused like any other great blessing and high Good. But we should perfect our intellects with the greatest truth and we should not choose mediocrity or lowness on the excuse that if we were to perfect our intellect (which is the highest talent that God gave to us), it would make us proud.

In his 1920 encyclical, Spiritus Paraclitus, which concerns the magnificent learning of St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church, Pope Benedict XV condemns the false and slothful idea that it is better not to be learned. He cites St. Jerome’s condemnation of the:

“self-righteous lack of education” noticeable in some clerics, who “think that to be without culture and to be holy are the same thing, and who dub themselves ‘disciples of the fisherman’; as though they were holy simply because ignorant!”⁶

Just as one should never say “don’t pray the rosary” using the excuse that it will afford occasions to compare one’s self to his godless neighbors and thereby make him proud, likewise we should not fail to seek the high truths that perfect our mind – using this same excuse as for not praying the rosary.

In fact, such a lazy excuse has no limit. A person could even say that we should not strive to sanctify our souls at all because this would be a source of pride. Rather, (this excuse continues) we should live a life of sin and great decadence because, by seeing how low we are – wallowing in sin – this will make us humble. This, of course, is putrid rationalization for laziness!

Of course, there are always people who commit more sins than we do, to which we could compare ourselves if we are looking to exalt ourselves. But instead, we should compare ourselves with the great saints and the great thinkers and humbly see our defects in contrast to them. Thus, it would be ludicrous to avoid perfecting our intellects or to seek to do nothing good so that there is no one who is more sinful or more ignorant than we are, using the rationalization that this will make it easier to be humble.

So to summarize, God wills that we perfect our faculties, especially our highest one. It is mere rationalization to suppose that acquiring humility would be easier if we avoid perfecting our intellects and avoid doing good so that there is no one more ignorant, lazy, and sinful than we are.

2. A true Catholic Liberal Education takes more effort than mere job training or studying the creations of man, (e.g., computers). These greater efforts humble us because we are aware of the comparative weakness of our minds when studying the high truths of a real education, as contrasted to our false impression that our minds are much stronger, when studying lower subjects which take less effort to master.

Just as when a man sets out to climb a very tall mountain, he is humbled by seeing his strength and ability less adequate as compared to when that man sets out to climb a small hill. Similarly, a man is humbled when studying the great truths because his own weakness is more obvious and he is less able to conceal his deficiencies than if he were studying lower subjects.

3. The treasure of a true Catholic Liberal Education is such a great gift of God that it inspires lifelong gratitude to God and this gratitude fosters humility.

A true Catholic Liberal Education is such a blessing which not only greatly perfects our minds but it tends to rectify the will too, thereby fostering true wisdom. This is because we see that the things of the body are unimportant in comparison. A love of the high truths inclines us toward spiritual things and to have contempt for the base things of the world. This is “because He [viz., God] is the guide of wisdom, and the director of the wise”.⁷

This true education shows us that the great truths are “worth more than kingdoms”. This reality is set forth in the Book of Wisdom:

I preferred her before kingdoms and thrones, and esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her. Neither did I compare unto her any precious stone: for all gold in comparison of her, is as a little sand, and silver in respect to her shall be counted as clay.⁸

For being blessed with this great gift of truth and wisdom, we see we owe God everything as the source of this great good. Understanding this inspires humility.

3. High Universal Truths are so Wonderful that They “Lift Us Out of Ourselves” and Make Us See that We Are Relatively Unimportant and the Truth is All-Important.

These high truths make us seek to be selfless missionaries of the truth, seeking to spread the truth, subordinate ourselves to the truth, and promote the truth to our neighbor.

We see that the petty concerns of the material world are trivial. Rather, it is a worthwhile life to help spread the truth for the good of our neighbor. Thus, the wise man in the Book of Wisdom declares the influence of the high things he had learned and how he subordinated himself to spreading the truth:

I have learned without guile, and communicate without envy, and her riches I hide not.⁹

These words which describe how high and wise truth affects the soul, are used by the Church to describe St. Thomas Aquinas’s own unselfish subordination of himself to the truth.¹⁰

3. We see the greatest examples of humility in others who have had a Catholic Liberal Education.

Another way that people come to believe that a true education makes a person proud, is by seeing some persons who have abused the gift of this true education that God gave to them.

But we should look at persons who did not abuse this gift God gave to them. For example, St. Thomas Aquinas was the greatest of all thinkers and philosophers and yet with the greatest humility.¹¹ As great as St. Thomas was/is, he did not measure himself and his knowledge by a comparison to the “average man” (much less, the lowest man) but he compared himself to the truth of God, especially the truth of the Divine Nature. That comparison is, in itself, an easy motive for humility and the remedy against pride. But a man who seeks to exalt himself will never lack a way to do this, just as a man who seeks to humble himself will never lack a reason to do so.

Just as any blessing of God can be abused by men who are inclined to be proud (motivated by the wounds of Original Sin which they suffer), a Catholic Liberal Education can be abused in that way too. But we should not “blame” the blessing from God but rather blame the abuse and the twisting of this blessing by man who is so prone to turn any of God’s gifts – especially the best ones – into reasons why he deserves God’s punishments.

To be continued …