Daily Devotional: December 5th

Nones

Hymn for Nones

Bacchus, Liberator, on Nones day,

In thy revelry, our spirits pray.

With the grape's nectar, and the dance's trance,

Thy joyous influence, in every glance.

On Nones, when the moon's glow is bright,

Bacchus, we honor in the soft moonlight.

In the vineyard's bounty, thy blessings flow,

Liberator of souls, in thy ecstatic glow.

Thy presence unbinds the chains of the soul,

In Nones' celebration, where passion unfolds.

Bacchus, on this day, with a festive cheer,

Liberate our hearts, draw us near.

As the month unfurls, in Bacchus' embrace,

In the sacred dance, we find our place.

Bacchus, Liberator, thy spirit we invoke,

In the revelry of life, in each Nones stroke.

Daily Meditation

"Conceive, therefore, that God says:—“You, who have chosen righteousness, what complaint can you make of me? I have encompassed other men with unreal good things, and have deceived their inane minds as it were by a long and misleading dream: I have bedecked them with gold, silver, and ivory, but within them there is no good thing. Those men whom you regard as fortunate, if you could see, not their outward show, but their hidden life, are really unhappy, mean, and base, ornamented on the outside like the walls of their houses: that good fortune of theirs is not sound and genuine: it is only a veneer, and that a thin one. As long, therefore, as they can stand upright and display themselves as they choose, they shine and impose upon one; when something occurs to shake and unmask them, we see how deep and real a rottenness was hidden by that factitious magnificence. To you I have given sure and lasting good things, which become greater and better the more one turns them over and views them on every side: I have granted to you to scorn danger, to disdain passion. You do not shine outwardly, all your good qualities are turned inwards; even so does the world neglect what lies without it, and rejoices in the contemplation of itself. I have placed every good thing within your own breasts: it is your good fortune not to need any good fortune.”

—Seneca

On Providence, Book VI

Whatever wealth we gather in material things is no wealth at all. Only temporary luxuries. What's worse is that luxury is a curse that adorns a man in fine things only to conceal the rottenness of soul. Sit as a judge over your soul and learn from the souls of good men but view luxury and fortune with suspicion.

Monthly Ascesis: Repentance

"Repentance is the beginning of philosophy"

—Hierocles

“Repentance is often seen as a particularly Christian idea, but philosophers were quite fond of reminding people to repent. Pythagoras, in particular, suggests two ways that we can begin to repent and take a better inventory of who we are. The word ‘repent’ is related to the Latin word for regret. The idea is that we should look over our actions and judge them if they are unworthy. However, the Greek word for repentance is metanoia, which means the transformation of the mind. Platonic repentance is about creating an inner change that leads us back to a life of holiness in harmony with the divine.

Pythagoras says we should “do nothing shameful, neither in the presence of others nor privately; Thus, above all things, sit as a judge over [ourself].” This suggests we should watch our actions, and when we do something wrong or shameful, we should repent, that is, regret that action. If we never do this or shun it as a practice, we effectively say we have no reason to regret our actions. However, regretting an action is recognizing an area where we fell short of our ideals. If we never regret or repent, we make any spiritual or ethical growth impossible. This is why Hierocles, commenting on Pythagoras, says, “repentance is the beginning of philosophy.””

Excerpt from Ascesis: The Handbook of Platonic Practice

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