On Diligence
The Opus Ingredient and Forgotten Antidote to Sloth
[Greetings, friends, from Austin! As I was working through the edits on my third book (out at the end of the year), I came to the Section on what I’m calling the Principles of Persistence and decided to do a little bit of (additional) word study on the origins and meaning of Persistence. It wasn’t immediately apparent which of the main Virtues Persistence was traditionally associated with, so I wanted to do a bit of digging. (As a refresher, Prudence, Courage, Temperance, and Justice are the Cardinal Virtues1 of the secular ancients, with Hope, Faith, and Love being the traditional Theological Virtues.2)
This led me to the Seven Capital Virtues (specifically, Diligence).3 The complete list of the Seven Capital Virtues is: chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility. Unlike the Theological Virtues (which were the Cardinal Virtues plus the Theological Virtues), the Seven Capital Virtues are those set opposite the Seven Deadly Sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride).
Writing in the 5th century, the Roman Christian poet, Aurelius Prudentius Clemens (or Prudentius) was the first to set out the allegory of life as a battle between the Seven Deadly Sins (as identified by Tertullian) and his conception of their opposite Virtues (which were eventually revised and recognized as the Seven Capital Virtues listed above by Pope Gregory I in 590).4
I had not long wandered down this hall of inquiry when a new light began to glow in familar room of my inner castle. Ever since reading in high school about the wisdom of Solomon in The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, the verse in Proverbs that says a diligent man shall stand before kings has long held a special place in my heart (and motivated me immensely during my days in law school). But I’d always associated diligence with its dictionary definition: “a persistent and hard-working effort in doing something”; I’d never understood it as also being the antithesis of Sloth. Then again, I had no idea what Sloth meant back then either (see On Sloth for context on why Sloth is more than mere laziness).
If Sloth is the besetting sin of our age, then Diligence—the Virtue set opposite it—is the antidote our age needs. So without further adieu…
It is to the Virtue of Diligence, what it is, and how it crowns us that we devote the rest of today’s essay.]
Whatever you are, be a good one.5
The Virtue of Diligence (Diligentia)
What happens when you start trying to understand the ancient meaning and roots of the word diligence is that there are a lot more resources and commentaries on its medieval opposite—the Vice of Sloth (Acedia)—than the Virtue. In many ways, this is no different than people’s interest in Dante’s Inferno far outpacing their interest in his Purgatorio or Paradiso.
When we hear the word diligent, most of us think of the modern dictionary definition: hard-working or persistent; careful in work. The Hebrew phrase hā-rū-sîm which is sometimes translated as “of the diligent” in Proverbs highlights the hard-working aspect of diligence… as in “the hand of the diligent makes rich,”6 “the hand of the diligent will rule…,”7 and “the soul of the diligent is made fat.”8 But to stop there and say we know what diligence means is a mistake. Because hard work pointed at ignoble things, is not Diligence; it is its opposite—Sloth.
As a word in the English lexicon, diligence is derived from the Latin verb diligere, which means “to value or esteem highly” or “to love.” Here we see a definition in sync with an understanding of Diligence as Sloth’s opposite. If Sloth is indifference toward the True, Good, and Beautiful; Diligence is the love or highly valuing of those Excellent things that Sloth neglects or forgets.
We get still more insight into the multi-dimensional meaning of the word diligence from another Hebrew word that sometimes gets translated as diligent in Proverbs: mā-hîr, which can also be translated as skilled, ready, or prompt… as in “see a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings.”9
Taking all of this context together, we can come up with a definition of Diligence—the Capital Virtue—that looks something like the following:
Diligence is: (1) proper attention and preparation, (2) executed in a timely, efficient, and effective manner, (3) done consistently over a long period of time. Diligence is an active energy and “zeal in well-doing”10 that does not stop when it grows tired. It is the carrying out of one's responsibilities with care and attention as a way of showing love or devotion to a craft or a cause. It is the key ingredient of any great opus, consisting of an insight, action, and endurance that produces all good works.
Perhaps this proposed definition is best understood as the chief attribute of a good gardener or a good shepherd. A good gardener is Diligent in tending to his garden11—first tilling soil and planting seeds, then watering plants, removing weeds, and warding off predators until what was planted is in full bloom—and his garden flourishes as a result. The garden of the Slothful, by contrast, withers.
I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.12
As with the excellent gardener, so too with the good shepherd, who must be Diligent with their sheep—leading them on long journeys through pastures, corraling the ones that strayed constantly, keeping watch over the flock by night, and fighting off predators when they came.
Maybe Solomon even had his father, David, in mind when writing in Proverbs that the mā-hîr (the “diligent” or skilled/ready/prompt) shall stand before kings, just as his skilled shepherd father had stood before Saul, ready and prepared to take on Goliath in part because of his long obedience in the pasture. Maybe his memory recalled how Joseph, sold into slavery but steadfast in his faith, was eventually brought before Pharaoh for his gift of prophecy and ability to interpret dreams.13 Or maybe he even had himself, standing before Queen Sheba after devoting his life to wisdom, in mind.14
Standing Before Kings
Whoever he (or his scribes) had in mind, their examples embody what it meant to be Diligent and illustrate the immovable truth that a man Diligent in his business shall stand before kings. Why is this true of the Diligent? Why does it elevate us to the throne? Because Diligence distinguishes... it sets us apart from the masses who default to the path of least resistance and care more about the rewards than the work.
While others fight to be noticed, the diligent are sought out by people in positions of authority or prominence… Their achievements become bright stars that give off so much light that they draw the attention of all around them.15
There’s a story about Benjamin Franklin I love that further illustrates the eternal prophecy of Proverbs 22:29. It comes from Good Stories for Great Birthdays by Frances Jenkins Olcott (1922), the relevant portions of which are excerpted (at length) below:
Benjamin Franklin, when a boy, used to work in his father’s shop at the Sign of the Blue Ball. His father was a tallow chandler, and made soap and candles.
The boy got up early, cut wicks for candles, filled moulds with tallow, ran errands, and tended shop…
[A]t home his father [instilled]: “Seest thou a man diligent in his calling, he shall stand before Kings; he shall not stand before mean men.”
[In his teenage years], [b]ecause he liked books, he was apprenticed to his brother James, who had set up a printing press in Boston. To James’s house he went, taking with him his collection of precious volumes.
There he worked hard by day, and read and studied at night. Recollecting his father’s favourite proverb, “Seest thou a man diligent in his calling, he shall stand before Kings,” Franklin saved his money, and worked early and late.
When James began to issue a newspaper, Franklin helped him print it, and delivered copies to customers. He wrote articles [under the name Silence Dogood] and slipped them under the printing-house door, and James published them, without knowing who was their author. Later Franklin wrote clever, audacious, and humorous articles on the questions of the day, which were widely read and much talked about.
So things continued until he was seventeen years old, when … [Franklin] took passage on a sloop bound for New York.
Arriving at New York, he found no employment there, and went on to Philadelphia.
Early in the morning of an October day, young Benjamin Franklin, seventeen years old and seeking his fortune, reached Philadelphia. He was tired and hungry, and had only a dollar of his little fund left.
…
Young Benjamin Franklin found work in a printer’s shop… In a few years, he owned his own printing press… He became a well-known printer. He issued an influential newspaper, and published “Poor Richard’s Almanack.” He was industrious, studious, thrifty, and prosperous. In time, he became the most famous and learned citizen of Pennsylvania, and a great American Patriot.
When the American Colonies rose against the exactions of England, Benjamin Franklin was called upon to serve his Country as a diplomat in France and England.
‘My father,’ wrote Franklin, ‘having among his instructions to me when a boy frequently repeated a proverb of Solomon,’ ‘Seest thou a man diligent in his calling, he shall stand before Kings; he shall not stand before mean men,’ ‘I from thence considered industry as a means of obtaining wealth and distinction, which encouraged me, though I did not think that I should ever literally stand before Kings, which, however, has since happened, for I have stood before five, and even had the honour of sitting down with one, the King of Denmark, to dinner.’16
Diligence of this type is rare because it is contrary to human nature. It requires constant and consistent effort when little or no progress is visible. It is a long path to abundance increasingly untraveled in an on-demand age of instant gratification, where we grow used to getting more, faster, and with less effort.
This is why those seeking Diligence distinguish themselves and stand out on a path with few travelers. Diligence takes pride in doing the things that nobody wants to do. Diligence lives in the work that most people avoid. Because they know that’s where the magic is and where the transformation occurs. Diligence holds the whip and spurs and drives us on when we want to give up. It is a commitment to the work longer after the will to work has gone. It is a devotion to the quality, even if the odds are that nobody will notice. It is a love of the noble that works for an eternal audience.
In law school, I loved being the only one at the library on a Saturday morning. The entire place, a dark abandoned building except for the one or two lit-up library rooms. I knew it meant I was doing what others were avoiding. I don’t say this to elevate myself; I say it because I’m not an exceptionally gifted individual intellectually.17 The Diligence drilled in me at an early age by loving parents deserves the credit for my graduating law school second in my class, summa cum laude.
We must hold our souls at attention, and when something that needs tending to announces itself to us, we must be swift to act without hesitation or delay. We must be willing to do that over and over out of love for the craft or cause we’re working on or with. This might require finding new crafts and causes if the ones currently in your life are empty and hollow and incapable of putting you in the presence of the transcendent. Because Diligence does not work on empty things.
It will be hard, and hard for a long time… much longer than you want it be. All things worth having are. But it will also be worth it. Every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears spilled along the Noble Way waters the seeds of great fruit. That is the promise and prophecy of Proverbs 22:29. And I’m betting on it with my life.
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.18
—
P.S. Here’s the full story behind the quote that opens this essay:
The Boy, in his time, has been brought in contact with many famous men and women; but upon nothing in his whole experience does he look back now with greater satisfaction than upon his slight intercourse with the first great man he ever knew. Quite a little lad, he was staying at the Pulaski House in Savannah, in 1853—perhaps it was in 1855—when his father told him to observe particularly the old gentleman with the spectacles, who occupied a seat at their table in the public dining-room; for, he said, the time would come when The Boy would be very proud to say that he had breakfasted, and dined, and supped with Mr. Thackeray. He had no idea who, or what, Mr. Thackeray was; but his father considered him a great man, and that was enough for The Boy. He did pay particular attention to Mr. Thackeray, with his eyes and his ears; and one morning Mr. Thackeray paid a little attention to him, of which he is proud, indeed. Mr. Thackeray took The Boy between his knees, and asked his name, and what he intended to be when he grew up. He replied, “A farmer, sir.” Why, he cannot imagine, for he never had the slightest inclination towards a farmer’s life. And then Mr. Thackeray put his gentle hand upon The Boy’s little red head, and said: “Whatever you are, try to be a good one.”19
These come from Plato’s identification of the necessary character traits of a good man in the Republic.
These come from Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:13 when he writes “now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”
The first set out the Seven Capital Virtues is Prudentius in the 5th century.
Prudentius does this in a book called the Psychomachia or The Fight for Man’s Soul.
This quote is often (mis)attributed to Abraham Lincoln, but the most likely source is William Makepeace Thackeray, who is credited with the quote in a memoir by American essayist Laurence Hutton, who published his autobiography in four monthly issues of St. Nicholas magazine from December 1896 to March 1897, under the title “A Boy I Knew.”
Proverbs 10:4.
Proverbs 12:24.
Proverbs 13:4.
Proverbs 22:29.
Dante, Purgatory, line 105 (Anthony Esolen translation)
In the Lord of the Rings series, gardener is the occupation of Samwise Gamgee.
Proverbs 22:30-31.
Genesis 41.
1 Kings 10.
The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, Steven Scott, p. 16.
Good Stories for Great Birthdays, Frances Jenkins Olcott, p. 166-169.
I scored a 156 on my LSAT, which is 60-70th percentile and not high enough to gain admission into any top-tier law school.
Galatians 6:9.
A Boy I Knew and Four Dogs, Laurence Hutton, p. 56-57.
Inspiring. Thanks for sharing
Loved the P.S..