On Why Adversity Doth Best Discover Virtue
I have been doing a lot of thinking lately in regard to the past year: of the Australian wildfires exacerbated by climate change, of COVID-19, of civil unrest, of a divided nation. There have been many jokes on the internet circulating such as how the minute the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, we will witness the first instance of 13/1/2020, a perpetual continuation of 2020. Or how we should not manipulate the metal obelisks that have been mysteriously appearing across the world, as “literally nothing good can come from them during 2020.” But instead of coping through these online statements of comedic relief (I must admit I do find them very funny), I am reminded of a quote I have come to cherish while reading the philosopher and stateman Lord Francis Bacon’s essays which, while written more than 400 years prior, never have held truer than today. It reads, “Prosperity is not without many fears and disasters; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes” (Lord Bacon’s Essays Vol. III).
The quote in its original context involved Lord Bacon’s observation on the representation of the complex figure of Job in the Book of Job of the Bible. He finds it perplexing that throughout the many accounts held within the Bible, there is more labor in discussing the hardships of Job than the felicities of Solomon. Lord Bacon is not alone in his puzzlement of Job, a man who experiences unparalleled tribulations and suffering despite being faithful and honest. Why would such a good man face some of the most wicked punishments? While this post is not an explication of Job, it is important to understand this story as it informs us as to why Bacon finally admits that “adversity doth best discover virtue.”
“Prosperity is not without many fears and disasters; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes.”
Like Lord Bacon posits, adversity breeds comforts, hopes and virtues. Yet while this may be true, I believe we too often in our modern world choose to dwell on the hardships of the current situation but neglect the felicities of what currently is or what is to come. Or, when we do, we merely choose to “look for the silver linings.” But I would argue that we must look further than just these silver linings. There exists a multitude of good that occurred during this seemingly Jobian year. We as a society have learned the art of pivoting and were able to shift most of the workforce and education system online to continue to get work done. We have learned to cherish our relationships more, and recognized the necessity to protect their fragility, through the challenges strictly online communication bears. We have learned to stand up in times of injustice and recognized the importance of what it truly means to be a participant in democracy. We have seen a testament to science through the invention of medications and a vaccine in record time that will undoubtedly save thousands of lives in the near future. And yes, we have learned to laugh and cope together through “2020 will never end” online jokes.
The point I strive to make, and what I hope you take away from this year, is that it is so easy to only look at the difficulty of our trials – and understandably so; the scars of 2020 will rear its head in our minds for many years or even decades to come. Our continued prosperity will be challenged as it has now and will be sometime again, yielding more fears and disasters. Yet we must not forget the good in this world as demonstrated by our ability to repeatedly overcome throughout this year. And when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, 2020 and the planet completes yet another revolution around the sun, as it has for thousands of millennia without incident, I thoroughly believe that we all will come out of 2020 stronger and wiser as fulfilled prophecy of Lord Bacon. So, this Christmas and New Year’s, hold your immediate family close, reach out digitally to your friends from afar and cherish the seldom recognized comforts, hopes and virtue that 2020 has brought to us all.