19. TRY NOT TO DO THINGS TO OTHERS THAT YOU WOULD NOT LIKE THEM TO DO TO YOU.

     Among many peoples in many lands for many ages there have been versions of what is called "The Golden Rule"¹  The above is a wording of it that relates to harmful acts.

     Only a saint could go through life without ever harming another.  But only a criminal hurts those around him without a second thought.

     Completely aside from feelings of “guilt” or “shame” or “conscience,” all of which can be real enough and bad enough, it also happens to be true that the harm one does to others can recoil on oneself.

     Not all harmful acts are reversible: one can commit an act against another which cannot be waived aside or forgotten.  Murder is such an act.  One can work out how severe violation of almost any precept in this book could become an irreversible harmful act against another.

     The ruin of another’s life can wreck one’s own.  Society reacts—the prisons and the insane asylums are stuffed with people who harmed their fellows.  But there are other penalties: whether one is caught or not, committing harmful acts against others, particularly when hidden, can cause one to suffer severe changes in his attitudes toward others and himself, all of them unhappy ones.  The happiness and joy of life depart.

     This version of “The Golden Rule” is also useful as a test.  When one persuades someone to apply it, the person can attain a reality on what a harmful act is.  It answers for one what harm is.  The philosophic question concerning wrongdoing, the argument of what is wrong is answered at once on a personal basis: Would you not like that to happen to you?  No?  Then it must be a harmful action and, from society’s viewpoint, a wrong action.  It can awaken social consciousness.  It can then let one work out what one should do and what one should not do.

     In a time when some feel no restraint from doing harmful acts, the survival potential of the individual sinks to a very low ebb.

     If you can persuade people to apply this, you will have given them a precept by which they can evaluate their own lives and, for some, opened the door to let them rejoin the human race.

The way to happiness is
closed to those who do not restrain
themselves from committing
harmful acts.

Definition of Terms for This Lesson

analects: selections from the writings of an author and often used as a title, especially when published as a collection.

Aristotle: Greek philosopher, educator and scientist, considered the most scholarly and educated of the ancient Greek philosophers.

asylums: institutions for the care of people who are considered to be mentally ill.

Confucius: Chinese philosopher and teacher

conscience: ideas and feelings within a person that tell him what is right and what is wrong, urge him to do what is right and give him feelings of guilt when he intends or actually does what is wrong.

Isocrates: Greek author, educator and follower of Plato, known for his many great public speeches and lectures

low ebb: in a bad state or condition. Ebb tide is the outgoing or falling tide where the water reaches its lowest point.

opened the door: created an opportunity for; provide the means of getting or reaching something.

Plato: Greek philosopher noted for his works on law, mathematics, philosophic problems and natural science.

precept: a rule or statement establishing a principle or a course of action regarding conduct.

recoil on: have a bad reaction to one's action.

saint: someone who is a particularly good or holy person, or one who is extremely kind and patient in dealing with difficult people or situations.

Seneca: Roman philosopher, playwright and statesman, who was one of the most renowned writers of Latin literature.

¹“The Golden Rule”: although this is looked upon by Christians as Christian and is found in the New and Old Testaments, many other races and peoples spoke of it. It also appears in the Analects of Confucius (fifth and sixth centuries B.C.) who himself quoted from more ancient works. It is also found in “primitive” tribes. In one form or another it appears in the ancient works of Plato, Aristotle, Isocrates and Seneca. For thousands of years it has been held by Man as a standard of ethical conduct. The versions given in this book are newly worded however, as in earlier wordings it was thought to be too idealistic to be kept. It is possible to keep this version.

waived aside: put aside or dismissed from consideration or discussion.