Vainglory Essay - 1210 Words

The vice that I have chosen to examine further and relate to my everyday life is that of vainglory. The broad definition of vainglory is â€Å"excessive and disordered desire for recognition and approval from others† (DeYoung 60). This is basically an action that strives to bring praise upon oneself, possible at the expense of another person’s well-being. While striving for glory is not always a sinful act, when the drive to receive glory no longer focuses on the acquisition of charity, but instead for personal gain, or becomes excessive in nature, you cross the line from being a glorious person to a vainglorious person. While spending my week focusing on the vice of vainglory, I identified two insights that explained why it is so prevalent in†¦show more content†¦In contrast to the tree ways that vainglory can manifest itself, there are three ways that make vainglory acceptable, for an action that is vainglorious that does not fall under these three categories , is indeed a vice. Therefore, vainglory can be ordained in three ways: when desiring such glory is desiring to give glory to God, when the goal of obtaining glory is to help your neighbor, and when receiving praise is to help assure that you are on the right track to obtaining your highest level of goodness. In simpler terms, vainglory seeks to corrupt the good because it seeks to remove glory from the good, and place all that excessive glory on things that do not last, things that are not true, or things that take us off our own paths to greater goodness. It is also important to mention the daughter sins of vainglory, which someone people may be more familiar with. These daughter sins are composed of any action in which we try to appear superior to others either through means of our intellect, resisting advice, not submitting to authority, or simply through boasting. During my week focusing on the vice of vainglory, I discovered just how prevalent it is in our society. Not only is vainglory fueled by the media that consumes an ample amount of our daily lives, I also believe that it is fueled by the competitive nature that is academia. Competition is not necessarilyShow MoreRelatedFrancis Bacon15624 Words   |  63 Pagessaleable morality. He is a moralist-cum-worldly wise man. Bacon appears as a moralist in his essays, for he preaches high moral principles and lays down valuable guidelines for human conduct. Some of his essays show him as a true lover and preacher of high ethical codes and conducts. For instance, in â€Å"Of Envy†, he puts: â€Å"A man that hath no virtue in himself, ever envieth virtue in others.† Then, in his essay â€Å"Of Goodness and Goodness of Nature† he says: â€Å"But in charity there is no excess; neitherRead MoreChaucer s Squire : An Exploration Of Character Modalities1473 Words   |  6 Pageschivalric tradition, and the natural and pastoral realm of a meadow. By using this particular image, Chaucer forces his reader to decide if this word means this character is vain, humble, constructed, organic or some combination of these things. In this essay, both avenues of interpretation will be explored, in an attempt to parse out the meaning of this association and its various approaches. In thinking of the word meadow, there is a notion of peacefulness and untouched territory. When connecting thisRead MoreSt. Thomas Aquinas s An Unjust Law1433 Words   |  6 Pagesrealization that these are two inconsistent claims. Yet Aquinas believes that these inconstancies can be reconciled. In Aquinas’ view an unjust law is not a law but yet is also able to be issued as law and imposed as law. Throughout the course of this essay, I will first define what Aquinas means by incorporating the claim that â€Å"an unjust law is no law at all†. This will include defining important terms that will correspond with evaluating Aquinas’ claim. I will then map out his main arguments that supportRead MoreFrankenstein by Mary Shelley: A Critical Analysis2039 Words   |  8 PagesWhen the Monster learns the abominable way in which he was created he feels rage and professes everlasting war against [ ¦] him who had formed me (Shelley, 1992, p. 146). The Monster recognizes that he is merely the representation of Victors vainglory (2006, p. 87): A new species would bless me as its creator and source (1992, p. 48), declares Victor. This is when Shelleys theme rings clear: the world cannot be content when fathers and sons (i.e. parents and their children) are not in communion