"Sacrifice" is another word liable to misunderstanding. It is generally held to be noble and loving in proportion as its sacrificial nature... is consciously felt by the person who is sacrificing himself. The direct contrary is the truth. To feel sacrifice consciously as self-sacrifice argues a failure in love. When a job is undertaken from necessity, or from a grim sense of disagreeable duty, the worker is self-consciously aware of the toils and pains he undergoes, and will say: "I have made such and such sacrifices for this." But when the job is a labour of love, the sacrifices will present themselves to the worker-strange as it may seem-in the guise of enjoyment. Moralists, looking on at this, will always judge that the former kind of sacrifice is more admirable than the latter, because the moralist, whatever he may pretend, has far more respect for pride than for love.
Dorothy Sayers, The Mind of the Maker, Chapter 9
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Happy New Year ESI - I trust you are safely back in the States and sufficiently cold!
Yes, Happy New Year, and hope the cold is not that bad, though I must admit I'm looking forward to both Spring and sunshine. We get little of that here this part of Winter.
Love the quote. I'm reminded of Kant who as I understand it seen virtue only in pain. As opposed to Joseph, whose service of 14 years for Rachel seemed like only a few days out of his love for her. I wonder if the joy set before Jesus was strictly something that was beyond and not part of this life. But it certainly was painful to go through what he did for our salvation, we have no idea really. But he delighted to do God's will and his food and drink was to do so. (Yet I remember Jesus grew tired at times, and not just physically. Like when he expressed wonder at just how long he would have to put up with his disciples).
I have to confess, I was not all about love yesterday, when I had a job foisted on me out of no where, and it was much bigger than what I understood and more to it, and cold, and with a person going on and on who is big into theology- I believe a true Christian or at least I hope, but is not orthodox. Listening to him, shivering, and not the same body I had even ten years ago. Life not always easy to negotiate or understand. What does love look like always, and how do we live that out? Not always as easy as meets the eye, maybe.
Kant saw virtue in the ought, I should say, whether pain was present or not. What we OUGHT to do and with EFFORT or a sense of self-sacrifice. But my understanding of Kant is that it goes along with the moralist that Dorothy Sayers is referring to.
Jacob, not Joseph. Oh well, I'm still worn out from helping my friend yesterday, and it's early, and I'm still on vacation..... (:
would we not find this quote true, even if we were to substitute for "sacrifice," patience or kindness, etc.
yesterday someone remarked of my wife and i, that we had remarkable patience for our 1 yr old, yet we don't feel this "patience." it seems that the patience is something that a person on the outside sees rather than something I experience on the inside.
Happy New Year to all and thanks for the comments.
And, I'm glad to be home!
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