Tip-Off #148 - Great
“When matters of great moment are inquired into by [men] of little ability, they usually make them [men] of great ability” - St. Augustine, "Answers to Skeptics."
When a quote is notably quotable and widely applicable but without a source other than a famous name, I think of the renowned C.S. Lewis. Long before the internet, he wrote, "I didn't say half the things people claim I said, especially online."
Augustine might have managed a stern smile. As noted above, he called the question of greatness “a matter of the utmost importance, worthy of diligent discussion." He was on a would-be philosophical retreat that turned out to involve a motley assortment of friends and relatives, none particularly eager to "inquire into matters of great moment.” In this setting, Augustine’s reflections read more like an attempt at conversation than formal philosophy. His informal observations still centered on a distinctive view of greatness that contrasts sharply with modern Western ideals.
While Augustine emphasized the importance of divine grace, the Enlightenment shifted the focus toward self-reliance and personal potential. This shift provoked deeper reflection on greatness as revealed rather than self-made, something received before it is achieved. Augustine raises several important points. While his thoughts on sex and original sin are notable, they represent only a fraction of his legacy in Western thought.
Growth—whether in art, literature, or science—stems from discovery rather than mere creation. It is as if we are discovered by what we study. Great composers embody a familiar principle: to become a proficient musician, listen to great music. Similarly, great writers immerse themselves in remarkable writing, and exceptional scientists do not invent new ideas out of thin air; instead, they allow themselves to be discovered by the phenomena they study, as though nature itself is begging to be found out, eager to reveal its secrets. “It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day." (Einstein)
Guercino studied Caravaggio and was taken by his use of shadow and color. (chiaroscuro) Excellence is like that—it calls us, not the other way around. Jesus said to his disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” Augustine held onto St. Paul's words: “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as though it were not a gift? ... Let those who boast, boast in the Lord.” You here means you and me. We either exist “in” God or nowhere at all.
Whether interpreted through faith or personal growth, excellence responds to the greatness encountered. Our own creativity is not the cause of great things but the consequence of being drawn to them. The inherent greatness of those things themselves inspires growth in a greatness that matches theirs. We are not sui generis (self-made), nor is anything we do.
Waiting to be inspired isn’t about passively sitting there, hoping for the Muse to land on our shoulder; it can be a rehearsal for readiness—like the wise maidens in Jesus' parable, waiting late into the night not knowing when the Master would return, making sure their lamps remained lit and full of oil. The foolish maidens ran out of oil; when the Master returned, they were left in the dark, shut out of the feast.
“Great moments” can be tragic. While Augustine spoke of excellence and grace, others involved death and destruction. Despite witnessing the fall of Rome firsthand, Augustine's understanding of greatness appears to some as emotionally detached, seemingly ignoring life’s tragedies—a misconception his Confessions dispel. Despite a radically different worldview, Franz Kafka comes to mind: “Our art is one of bedazzlement by truth.” The “light it casts” may be dark—whether in the agony of a “contorted face” (Kafka), personal grief, or the death of an empire.
Our art commonly casts light instead on how clever we are—not that "great moments" elevate those with little ability, but that those claiming a lot of ability consider themselves the great moment. Like the mythological Atlas, we carry not just the earth but the heavens on our shoulders—or become like Sisyphus, forever pushing a boulder up a hill only to have it roll down again.
“Try, try, try again,” they say—“but then quit. No point in being a damned fool about it.” We may quit being a damned fool about excellence—resembling the man who one night gave up looking for his car keys. He had been searching where it was easier to see, under the streetlight. The key was where he didn't look—off to the side, in the dark.
We can't force what waits to be found—sometimes it wants to be. Trust that.
"Atlas Holding Up the Celestial Globe" by Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, 1591-1666), whose nickname refers to his eye condition (guercino meaning "cross-eyed"). A pivotal Baroque figure, “Guercino’s masterful chiaroscuro and emotionally charged, dramatic style, influenced by Caravaggio, had a lasting impact on Italian and European art."
Notes and reading
[*] Augustine - "When matters of great moment..." - The full citation is in "The Happy Life; Answer to Skeptics; Divine Providence and the Problem of Evil; Soliloquies" (The Fathers of the Church - A New Translation, Vol. 5, Denis J. Kavanagh, O.S.A.), ebook 2010, 112.
Augustine of Hippo: A Biography (new edition with an epilogue) - Peter Brown (2000). Magisterial. Brown is Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton. Also, Augustine: Conversions to Confessions - Robin Lane Fox (2015). Fox is an English classicist and ancient historian at Oxford, UK. - And, "Answer to Skeptics" in The Fathers of the Church, op. cit.
Is Discovery Inevitable or Serendipitous? - “Some discoveries have their own spontaneous force and are more likely to emerge, but their realization still depends on the knowledge of the individual scientist or group of scientists, and contingency plays an important role as well.” - Telmo Pievani, Nautilus Magazine (September 24, 2024). Telmo is a widely acclaimed expert in biodiversity.
Discovered by what we study - Consider literary scholar Harold Bloom and his modern classic The Anxiety of Influence and, from a different angle, Rene Girard’s mimetic theory on the imitative nature of desire (Violence and the Sacred). - On music, closer to home, right here on Substack, consider “Possessed by Music,” actually called The Musical Platypus by Robert Hart. Don’t miss the archives.
Jesus - John 15:16; parable of the maidens Matthew 25:1-13.
St. Paul - 1 Corinthians 1:31, 4:7. [NRSV]
Albert Einstein - Ideas and Opinions (1995). The definitive collection of Albert Einstein's popular writings, assembled under his supervision. - In his gentle but unequivocal manner, Einstein would have challenged Richard Dawkins’ emphasis on demystifying nature, asserting instead that awe inspires scientific inquiry rather than being dispelled by it.
"Our art is one of being bedazzled by truth..." - The Aphorisms of Franz Kafka - Edited, Introduced, and with commentaries by Reiner Stach and Shelley Frisch, translator (2022), #63, 128.
About 2 + 2 = 5: https://williamgreen.substack.com/about - revised