Shakespere
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The course of literature and philosophy is littered with works that cross one another at a common point, theme or idea. These common points come from a great collage of different thoughts and devices. Many works will share common a plot or even a common character. Works of greater depth will share a common philosophic principle or strive to solve the same problem or paradox. Some works will address the same topic in passing, possibly only as a sort of secondary theme. The works in question for this paper all share the same secondary theme in that they address the pain of the past. Each man has circumstances and prior decisions that evoke feelings of guilt and regret. Many people spend the entire course of their life attempting to avoid or atone for failures of the past. All of the works in the current selection of History of Ideas deal with the pain of mans past. These works include: Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius, Essays by Michel de Montaigne, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, The Tempest by Shakespeare and Novum Organum by Francis Bacon. All of these works specifically address the past and the pain that it can bring by way of regret and doubt.
Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius deals heavily with the thought of how painful the past can be when one is wronged by those around them. Boethius finds himself imprisoned by the government for crimes against it. Boethius is distraught and cannot find anything that will bring him solace or comfort in his time he is spending in captivity. So the spirit of philosophy comes to comfort him in the time of his greatest need. She points to his past to show him his victories and his defeats. Though he fails many times, philosophy is still there to help him and pick him up. Even though Boethius has been wronged on so many accounts, he still cannot find reason to place blame or feel sorry for himself. He spends the first portion of Consolation of Philosophy to explain his current circumstances and express his opinion on the matter.
Nay I did desire the safety of the Senate , nor shall I ever desire it. Shall I confess it? Then there would have been no need to hinder an informer. Shall I call it a crime for having wished for the safety of that order? By its own decrees concerning myself it has established that this is a crime. Though want of foresight often deceives itself, it cannot alter the merits of facts, and, in obedience to the Senates command, I cannot think it right to hide the truth or assent to falsehood.
Boethius was not particularly ashamed of his situation because he had stood up for what he believed and fought for. He did not lament his circumstances, rather he chastised the order and structure that had brought him to the point where he is.
Boethius acknowledges the fact that he does not fear the past or the present because he knows that all things exist within the hands of a Sovereign Creator. No matter how uncertain the future appear or how unsuccessful the past was, Boethius is equally as confident in his situation. Many people cannot share what Boethius feels because they do not rely on anything outside of themselves. It is because of this self reliance that a man finds himself hopelessly trapped between his unsuccessful past and uncertain future.
Without doubt, then, all things that God foreknows do come to pass, but some of them proceed from the free will; and though they result by coming into existence, yet they do not lose their own nature, because they came to pass they could also not have come to pass.
Boethius encourages those around him to pursue a lifestyle unconcerned with the past or the future. Such a mentality will only produce an individual that is setting themselves up for a hearty defeat. Gods insight and plan should be the gaze through which all men strive to see. It is through this particular vision that man is able to overcome his prior inadequacies and failures. It is only once one is able to trust a Sovereign God that one can overcome their prior inadequacies.
Essays by Michel Montaigne is another example of a work that is seeking to help the reader deal with their past. This work address a various number of topic that are treated to complete examination by Montaigne. He desires to offer a sort of textbook on life through his Essays. It is through his past experiences that he I able to offer a look into what a person should do to avoid heartache in their own life. It is through prior failing and unfortunate circumstance that he is able to show the reader the path that they should not dare to tread on. Montaigne see himself as a man who can use his failures and attempts at repentance as a means to demonstrate how a man can pick himself up and press on.
Let me here excuse myself for saying that I often repeat, that I rarely repent, and that my conscience is content with itself, not as the conscience of an angel or a horse, but as the conscience of a man; though always with the addition of this refrain-which is no formal refrain but a true and sincere confession-that I speak as one who questions and does not know, referring the decision purely and simply to common and authorized belief. I do not teach, I relate.
Montaigne did not claim to be a man who had attain that which was ultimately perfect, but he did strive to move away from his past. It is through repentance that Montaigne was able to avoid his short comings in the past. It is such an attribute that every Christian should strive for; the striving to abstain from past sins and habits. The Christian must be one who not only perseveres over the trials and tribulations of their life but they also must be able to persevere in their battle over their sin. It is through repentance that such a battle can be possibly won.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a very lucid and prevalent example of what can happen if an individual spends their life trying to solve or live for the past. The entire family of Hamlet crumbled around the concept of trying to live ones life according to what the past dictated. Hamlet spent the months after his fathers death in great mourning over an apparent slaying of his father, the former king of Denmark. Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father, who informs Hamlet he was slain by his own brother, Claudius. Hamlet then spends the rest of his existence trying to exact his vengeance on Claudius. Likewise, Claudius spends his time being happily married to Hamlets mother, Gertrude. Claudius is still hiding a very private and terrible secret, the fact that he has killed his own brother in order to take his wife and assume the throne. Claudius and his arrogance are what can provide him with the means of being able to cope with his secret. Yet, Claudius is being slowly overwhelmed with his guilt over the entire