Preamble:
Once up on a time quite far away my past, I studied theatre in a fine British establishment. I was nigh nineteen those days and, during one term, given to portray Shylock's servant's role of 'Launcelot Gobbo' in Shakespeare's the Merchant of Venice.
Contemplating whether to follow his conscience or betray it for certain gains, the speech is rendered to himself. I have posted it here, since I feel it applicable to my today's conundrum with life on earth.
http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=merchantvenice&Act=2&Scene=2&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=566#566
=========================================================================Act II, Scene 2
Venice. A street.
[Enter LAUNCELOT]
- Launcelot Gobbo. Certainly my conscience will serve me to run from
this Jew my master. The fiend is at mine elbow and
tempts me saying to me 'Gobbo, Launcelot Gobbo, good
Launcelot,' or 'good Gobbo,' or good Launcelot
Gobbo, use your legs, take the start, run away. My 570
conscience says 'No; take heed,' honest Launcelot;
take heed, honest Gobbo, or, as aforesaid, 'honest
Launcelot Gobbo; do not run; scorn running with thy
heels.' Well, the most courageous fiend bids me
pack: 'Via!' says the fiend; 'away!' says the 575
fiend; 'for the heavens, rouse up a brave mind,'
says the fiend, 'and run.' Well, my conscience,
hanging about the neck of my heart, says very wisely
to me 'My honest friend Launcelot, being an honest
man's son,' or rather an honest woman's son; for, 580
indeed, my father did something smack, something
grow to, he had a kind of taste; well, my conscience
says 'Launcelot, budge not.' 'Budge,' says the
fiend. 'Budge not,' says my conscience.
'Conscience,' say I, 'you counsel well;' ' Fiend,' 585
say I, 'you counsel well:' to be ruled by my
conscience, I should stay with the Jew my master,
who, God bless the mark, is a kind of devil; and, to
run away from the Jew, I should be ruled by the
fiend, who, saving your reverence, is the devil 590
himself. Certainly the Jew is the very devil
incarnal; and, in my conscience, my conscience is
but a kind of hard conscience, to offer to counsel
me to stay with the Jew. The fiend gives the more
friendly counsel: I will run, fiend; my heels are 595
at your command; I will run.
Torn between 2 'fiends', Launcelot decides to follow the Devil's counsel, since it presents itself as the lesser evil. He overcomes his conscience and decides to run from his master.
We are, as such, ultimately all responsible for our own conscience.*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
conscience |ˈkän(t)SHəns| nounan inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one's behavior: he had a guilty conscience about his desires | Ben was suffering a pang of conscience.
========================================================================
As I view our troubling species, I wonder now how inherent and wide-spread the essence, and value of conscience runs through humanity; whether any shortage could make a difference to our continued existence and general well-being.
Could a lack of conscience become a deterrent to our ultimate survival?
Do any other creatures have a conscience or a soul - whatever it is we mean by it?
I Googled: 'do other creatures than man have a conscience?' Here's a bit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://bahaiteachings.org/do-animals-have-a-soul-or-a-conscience
From 'BAHAITEACHINGS.ORG' (Universal House of Justice)
".....but we are special and unique among the animal kingdom. We are capable of making judgements about our own and other people’s behaviour, and have the capacity consciously to change the way we behave and society as whole."
========================================================================
Hugely intriguing to me, the reference: "Universal House of Justice." I have grown to have the greatest suspicion for the word 'Justice,' since I have experienced huge hypocrisy in its usage. There appears to be minimum adherence to it, especially from those we expect it of the most. Those who have a sworn allegiance to it.
So then, we are 'capable of,' having 'the conscious capacity' to behave as we see fit. No other earthly creature with that capacity eh? So at least we believe to date.
Next I ask: Is the person with a steadfast conscience an inherently more honourable, higher developed human? Superior to the thief, the lier, the opportunist? Or is he/she merely weaker, by being held back by it, as if suffering from some mental illness?
After all, is life not all about 'Survival of the Fittest'? If you allow your 'noble' conscience "hanging around the neck of my heart," to stop you from progressing, would you not be the greater fool?
More 'Pure' maybe, but essentially blatantly STUPID?
Aye! There's the rub!
My above reasoning may help me better understand our present global dilemma.
[Please readers, remember the above is a Shakespearian quotation....]
=======================================================================
No comments:
Post a Comment
Post a Comment