The Training of Boys to be Men

[WHEELER 10]

Put a girl on an island and she will come close to becoming a woman. The girl can attain a substantial amount of womanhood without training. Womanhood for girls comes naturally.

It is different for a boy. A boy must be taught to be a man. Manhood doesnt come naturally to a boy. Any boy doesnt know what it means to be a man. Everything must be learned. This process is called Paideia. One of the subjects of Paideia is the training of a boy to be a man. This particular theme is called Virtue.

 

What is Virtue? This word comes from the Latin. Well, what are the first three letters of the word? VIR. vir. Vir is the Latin term for man. So then Virtus means to be a man. Vir in the word virtue is the Latin word for man. The Latin word virtus is the derivative of the Greek word arete from which all of Greek culture and padeia (education) was centered on.

 

St. Peter uses this very word of arete as next to importance to faith in his letter 2 Peter 1:5-7:

For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with arete and arete with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control (temperance) and self-control with steadfastness, etc. As you can see, virtue comes before knowledge (academics).

 

St. Paul uses the word arete in Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence (arete), if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

 

What are the virtues? The four basic ones are enumerated in the book of Wisdom 8:7,

And if a man loves righteousness, her labours are virtues (arete in the Septuagint which is the Greek Old Testament): for she teaches temperance (self-control), and prudence (wisdom), righteousness (dike)and manliness (fortitude and/or boldness).

 

The Greek word used here for manliness is andrian. Andre in Greek is Man.

 

The virtues are:

 

Manliness (Fortitude, Courage, Boldness)

Prudence (could also mean commonsense, and shrewdness)

Righteousness (doing things the right way, in accordance with fact, reason, or truth)

Temperance (self-control)

Steadfastness (Titus 2:1)

Gravitas (Latin word meaning seriousness)(Titus 2:7)

Integrity (Titus 2:7)

Obedience

Cleanliness

Reverent

and others

 

Scouting was developed by Baden-Powell for the express purpose of training boys to be men. His Scout law is an incorporation of virtues:

A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.

 

Arete when used by the Ancient Greeks was used to apply to anything; the excellence of a horse or the excellence of a bull to be breed, or the excellence of a man. Arete when applied is not gender neutral word. The word Arete changes in meaning to what it is attached to. Everything has its peculiar excellence or arete. The Arete of a man is different than the Arete of a woman. St. Paul elaborates the arete of a woman in Titus 2:4-5:

and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be sensible, chaste, domestic, kind, and submissive to their husbands, that the word of God may not be discredited.

The arete of a woman is not to be a man. The excellence of women is to increase in the virtue of feminity; it is not to be masculinized.

 

Western Culture is based and has its foundation in Hellenism. So, does Christianity. It is the Hellenic-Christian Culture. The whole focal point of Ancient Greek padeia (education) is the inculcation of arete in boys so that they could become men. The whole point of the Hellenic padeia was to make civilized men.

 

The importance of all this is explicated in 4 Maccabees. (The book of Wisdom and 4 Maccabees (and the New Testament) was written in Greek and under Greek cultural presence.) Though 4 Maccabees is not in Catholic canon, it is scripture for an Orthodox Church in the Middle East. It is an integral book of the Septuagint the basis of the canon of the Roman Catholic Bible. It does have some authority, some weight.

4 Mcc 1:1-6 As I am going to demonstrate a most philosophical proposition, namely, that religious reasoning is absolute master of the passions, I would willingly advise you to give the utmost heed to philosophy. For reason is necessary to every one as a step to science: and more especially does it embrace the praise of prudence, the highest virtue (the Greek word here is arete).

If, then, reasoning appears to hold the mastery over the passions which stand in the way of temperance, such as gluttony and lust, it surely also and manifestly has the rule over the affections which are contrary to righteousness, such as malice; and of those which are hindrances to manliness, as wrath, and pain, and fear. How, then, is it, perhaps some may say, that reasoning, if it rule the affections, is not also master of forgetfulness and ignorance? They attempt a ridiculous argument. For reasoning does not rule over its own affections, but over such as are contrary to righteousness, and manliness, and temperance, and prudence; and yet over these, so as to withstand, without destroying them.

 

4Mcc 1:15-16 Reasoning is, then, intellect accompanied by a life of rectitude, putting foremost the consideration of wisdom. And wisdom is a knowledge of divine and human things, and of their causes.

 

4Mcc 1:18-19 And the forms of wisdom (the Greek word sofia) are prudence, and righteousness, and manliness and temperance. The leading one of these is prudence; by whose means, indeed, it is that reasoning bears rule over the passions.

 

4Mcc 1:30 For reasoning is the leader of the virtues (the Greek word arete), but it is the sole ruler of the passions.

 

If we are Westerners, how can we educate without educating arete ?

And, as it is clear in 4 Mcc, how can the Christian religion be without arete? The Spiritual life depends on arete. How can Christian education not include arete? St. Peter makes it clear in his letter that faith must be supplemented by Arete.

IT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE, ACADEMICS.

 

 

Socialists teach and preach Unisexism. This is ungodly counsel. Unisexism is not Christian or godly or righteous. Socialists disdain virtue; look on how they attack the Boy Scouts. The very meaning of arete is contrary to unisexism. Unisexism is based on opinion that men and women are equal. To accomplish this task, one must masculinize women and effeminize men.

 

 

[El Cid 10]

I think that the 12 points of the Scout Law are closer to the 10 Commandments and that BP was smarter than I am. And as far as the man upstairs, well I would never question his laws!

[Eamonn 61]

Sorry I don't see your point.

I have never looked at Scouting as training boys to be men.

Even as a Scout Leader in Baden Powell's back yard we looked at Scouting as:

The mental, Physical and spiritual development of the young person to become a worthwhile member of Society.

Eamonn

[WHEELER 10]

I read a biography of Baden Powell. He was in the military and he saw a need that men have to be trained as soldiers. Boot camp does not make a soldier and the city people being conscripted into the British military were not ready for the campaigns or the military life.

 

Don't forget Baden-Powell grew up in Victorian England as an aristocrat and Victorian England's culture was based on the Classics especially the ancient Greeks. He was formed by this classical culture.

[OldGreyEagle 5]

Funny thing about perceptions, I didnt take Baden-Powell to have been an aristocrat(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

[Bob White 20]

I have some problems with wheelers post. Basically it has a rather major erroneous premise.

 

Wheeler writes.

"Scouting was developed by Baden-Powell for the express purpose of training boys to be men. His Scout law is an incorporation of virtues:

A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.

 

The problem? That isn't Baden Powells Law. That is Carter and Seton's law. It's the law adapted for the BSA. Baden-Powell's Law read as follows

 

1. A Scout's honour is to be trusted.

2. A Scout is Loyal to the King and to his officers, and to his country, and to his employers.

3. A Scout's duty is to be useful and to help others.

4. A Scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other Scout, no matter to what social class the other belongs.

5. A Scout is Courteous.

6. A Scout is a friend to animals.

7. A Scout obeys orders of his patrol leader or scout master without question.

8. A Scout smiles and whistles under all circumstances.

9. A Scout is thrifty.

 

He later added a 10th law of "A scout is clean in thought word and deed."

 

A Scout "smiles and whistles"? That doesn't sound very Gravitas to me.

 

We all have our own opinions of what being a man is all about. I'm sure that there are volumes of writings out there each with their own philosophy. If wheeler wants to share his personal view that's fine. But let's not go making pronouncments about what have personally determined was in the mind of a man from victorian England.

 

[Fat Old Guy 11]

" I didnt take Baden-Powell to have been an aristocrat"

 

Maybe not an aristocrat but he was a member of the gentry.

[ozemu 10]

men and women are equal

 

not the same; but equal

 

being not the same we have different paths to adulthood. I prefer the terms manhood and womanhood as it recognises the differences. (certainly I value the differences). But to me there is no ranking infered. Equal; but not the same.

 

WHEELER uses a very christian standpoint to interpret the laws and Scoutings aims. Not being cristian nor interested in the texts quoted enough to read them then I will not argue. I suggest though that as Scouting is worldwide and open to young people of all cread,class, religion etc that any discussion about its aims should be either independant of religion or should tap into more than one view of spirituality. Your personal interpretation of the aims as they apply to you should definately involve your spirituality. But a christian arguement on the universality of our aims is less than useful to the movement.

 

Historical revisionism is not particularly useful either. A knowledge of the history of things is useful but trying to interpret history to determine our current path is maybe pointless. Whether BP was a pennyless middle class kid who got himself knighted or not is irrelevent to our current aims. There are also arguements about his sexuality etc but I don't care. He started a great movement (yes I know about the US founders however their role is still unclear to me. again not important to what I am doing in 2004 so...).

 

I mildly disagree with Eammon. We do train boys to be men and girls to be women. Good women and men are good citizens - good adults. My opinion and I cannot fault his view except that our policy and rules used to include social development with religion, physical and mental development that Eammon mentioned. I hope he does not feel it a liberty on my part if I suggest that we are on the same path.

[Fat Old Guy 11]

"men and women are equal

 

not the same; but equal"

 

Alas, like Orwell's pigs, women think that they are more equal than others.

[scoutmom 10]

"Alas, like Orwell's pigs, women think that they are more equal than others. "

 

I don't know what women you know, FOG, but that statement does not apply to all women.

[WHEELER 10]

The title "Lord" Baden-Powell signifies that he was an aristocrat. He was also an officer in the British Military. Officers only came from the aristocracy.

 

Second, equality is a socialist term. Equality is a metaphysical term that can not be applied to nature. The verb that precedes 'equality' is 'make'. Nothing in nature is equal. Ever worked on a diary farm. Even the female cows line up in an hierarchical line. Ever heard of the "pecking order". Every farmer who has chickens knows this. The only time equality is used is when 'make' precedes it and it has fascist overtones to it.

[OldGreyEagle 5]

B-P was not born into royalty, he was "knighted" after starting the Boy Scout movement. He was one of 10 children of a professor at Oxford. His early childhood has never been described by anything I have seen as privileged or characterized by wealth, his father having died when he was three and himself home schooled early on.

 

When I listen to his speeches I can see the roots of today's scout ideals quite clearly. He advocated service to others, loyalty to one's country, and a "healthy" lifestyle which I take to be one that is physically active. He spends a lot of time talking about developing charactor which is oddly enough one of the BSA's aims. The three aims of scouting are Charactor, Citizenship and Physical Fitness, all virtually lifted from B-P himself.

 

You may also wish to check your facts on the English army, Indeed in the past Officers only came from the aristocracy, but that had been changed prior to B-P's military service, and B-P was one of the first "commoners" allowed to be an officier, in fact he placed second in the "admissions test" and that allowed him to quite literally "Pick his post" and thus he became part of the 13th Hussars

[WHEELER 10]

I stand corrected. Thank you. I have learned something also.

[Adrianvs 10]

Ozemu,

 

While Wheeler is working from a Christian perspective, most of the works that he is quoting from are pre-Christian. 4 Maccabees and the Book of Wisdom are Hebrew writings from the period before the birth of Christ (500-100 BC, I think). While the latter is part of the Catholic canon, the former is not canonical in any major religion and was offered as a piece of Hebrew thought informed by Greek tradition. The Jewish community rejected these Greek writings as inspired in a council around 100 AD, but I think they are still held in esteem. Of course, the Hebrew or Hellenistic traditions may mean nothing to you as well, but we must recognize that Wheeler is drawing from three major traditions.

 

 

Actually, the title of "Lord" signifies the Baroncy which Baden-Powell was given by the King in 1929. Before that, he was Sir Robert Baden-Powell, as he held the title of Baronet and several knighthoods. When he was given the title of Baron, he became Lord Robert Baden-Powell, as he was then a member of the peerage.

 

Baronets (as opposed to Barons) rank just above nearly all the orders of knights, but below all other aristocratic titles.

[ozemu 10]

adrianvs,

 

okay - thanks