“Alone of all, the human race lifts up its head on high, and stands in easy balance with the body upright… Thy glance is upward, and thou dost carry high thy head, and so thy gaze is skyward…”
Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy
Philosophers and theologians, biologists and other scientists have all observed it from time immemorial. Human persons stand out from the other animals. Literally.
The human body incarnates the human difference. Of course it does. This fits with what we consistently discover in the natural world. Anything but random, and anything but rooted simply in the demands of survival (though for that too they are well fitted!), the bodies of living things—if we carefully consider them—exemplify beauty, meaning, and deeper purpose.
The song of the lark or the cardinal is a masterpiece, as is the body capable of performing it. Each living thing has its place, and each (though some more remarkably than others) exemplifies a kind of plenitude, a sort of excrescence of being. In spring we might think of the redbud or the iris, the wild turkey or the swan.
And then there is man! Standing in easy balance with body upright and head on high; one of the creatures, but standing out among them.
The biological reality is that the human body’s structure is a stunning combination of factors—skeletal, muscular, etc.—all of which concur to enable us to do something absolutely unique: to stand upright with grace and ease. And so we move through the world with head on high, and able to gaze heavenward, if we but choose to do so.
Boethius suggests that this amazing and prominent feature of our biological reality should act as a lesson for us. We are different—not in a way that alienates or separates, but in a way that gives right order, and thus real unity among creatures, as well as direction and meaning to life. To all of us.
To step up to our place as the upright animal that gazes skyward, even as we move and live among terrestrial things, is to begin to discover the gift of being who we are.
Boethius (477-524 AD), Roman senator and philosopher, his Consolation of Philosophy is a seminal work that brought ancient thinking to the medieval world.
Join the Community.
Become a LifeCraft Member and gain access to our online courses and exclusive content. It's FREE of charge. Period.
If you join as a contributing member, you will help make this content available to an increasing audience and enable me to spend more time in this work. I thank you in advance.
Join the LifeCraft community today and get access to:
- Man of the Household (Course)
- Woman of the Household (Course)
- Concepts Made Clear (Mini-course)
- Dinner at Home (Mini-course)
Facing Discouragement: A Greek Insight
Discouragement, or at least its temptation, regularly accompanies intentional living. Even if we do not formulate it explicitly we find ourselves feeling “why do the good things I want have to be so difficult?” It is a consolation to know this is not unique to our...
Toxic Fatherhood?
There are important analogies between a father in a family and a ruler in a nation. This is perhaps especially clear in the consequences of their failure. Aquinas writes that “royal dignity is rendered hateful to many people on account of the wickedness of tyrants.”...
Master of His Time
“He had no ‘time of his own’ (except in his bed-cell), and yet he was becoming master of his time; he began to know just what he could do with it.” J.R.R. Tolkien, Leaf by Niggle Many of the greatest traps of our day appear in the guise of simple math. One of them...
Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.
One of your best. May it lift many eyes, many hearts, as it lifted mine. Again you show how much can be said in a few well-chosen words.
Thank you Newton!
Yes, thank you for writing this and for all your efforts in general. This is such a worthy and heart-warming initiative. I just wish I had more time to read/watch all your posts. But I am glad to know they are there when the Holy Spirit clears the clutter away and provides the time/space when I need it most.
Thank you very much, Andrea, for your kind words!
Filed under Homo erectus.