The Unbearable Likeness of Being
Bearly Moderate, I Would Say!
Sophia: Gentlemen, I have invited you to discuss endurance, desire, and the exercise of power. Robert, you observed, “What cannot be cured must be endured.” Yet Spinoza reminds us, “Men govern nothing with more difficulty than their tongues, and can moderate their desires more than their words.” Mao, of course, emphasized force: “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” How do we reconcile endurance, speech, and authority?
Burton: Sophia, human suffering is inevitable. Some ailments, some flaws, cannot be corrected, only borne. Endurance becomes an art: a discipline of acceptance, a way to navigate what cannot be changed.
What cannot be cured must be endured.
— Robert Burton (1577-1640)
Spinoza: And yet, the mind complicates matters. We often fail to moderate our speech, our expressions of desire, while we can, with effort, restrain our appetites. The tongue is the untamed instrument; words can inflame or soothe, ignite conflict or reconcile.
Mao: Words are insufficient without force. Authority, ultimately, is grounded in power. Speech may influence, but it cannot replace the decisive act. The barrel of a gun ensures compliance where persuasion fails.
Sophia: But if we rely only on force, do we not neglect the subtler powers of endurance and discourse? Can moderation of speech and patience of spirit temper the brute realities of power?
Men govern nothing with more difficulty than their tongues, and can moderate their desires more than their words.
— Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)
Burton: Certainly, Sophia. Endurance tempers ambition and tempers the heart. One who endures suffering gains perspective, even if the external world remains harsh.
Spinoza: And mastery of language channels power without immediate recourse to violence. Words, wisely moderated, can shape societies subtly, sometimes more permanently than force.
Mao: Perhaps. Yet history shows that those who control weapons often control outcomes. Endurance and moderation are virtues for the mind, but power requires decisiveness.
Sophia: Then the lesson is dual: bear what must be endured, temper speech and desire, but recognize the realities of power. Wisdom navigates all three — endurance, language, and authority — like a skilled acrobat balancing on the Möbius strip of human affairs.
Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.
— Mao Zedong (1893-1976)
Burton: To endure is to live fully, even amid turbulence.
Spinoza: To speak wisely is to shape worlds without breaking them.
Mao: And to wield power decisively is to bend circumstance toward one’s vision.
Sophia: Indeed. Bearly moderate, I would say — neither wholly passive, nor blindly forceful, but balanced by patience, insight, and discernment.
They sit together under a dim sun, aware that human moderation is rare, endurance is essential, and the exercise of power is unavoidable — each a thread in the intricate fabric of wisdom.
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