The virtues of the soul are many: peace, serenity, goodness, wisdom, love, intelligence, knowledge, bliss — to name a few.
The vices of the body are innumerable: anxiety, loathing, pride, hate, lust, ignorance, misery — to name but some.
Power seems to bridge between body and soul, but it cannot be crossed twice. The ascension to what is good can take place but once in a lifetime of a soul or a state, or community of souls. After this ascension has taken place, power leads only downhill to oblivion. The tragedy of power is that it has the potential for goodness, but only when it is subjected to an external end. The love of power, a mere means to an end, as an end for its own sake is the road not to redemption, but damnation.
It is a dangerous game to play, to embalm oneself in the oil with which to light the fire of power. To walk on water or fly without wings — these are but some of the forbidden fruits of pride in one’s frail body.
And yet, the body cannot be rejected. It must be accepted. Only then will the vices of practical materialism be replaced with the virtues of pure idealism. To maximally satisfy the soul, we must minimally satisfy the body, in a way that ensures no further desires are created by this minimal satisfaction of basic necessities, such as food, water, and shelter. Luxuries are to be kept to a bare, but sustainable, minimum. The road to philosophic idealism is paved by historical materialism. Thus, true power is the reward of the soul’s cautious respect for the body, and the body’s deference to the wisdom and judgement of the soul on all matters of sage decision-making. It is up to the soul to make the right decisions, for the good of all.
Shall we begin?
Edmund Wilson 