The author states the following regarding on who is a "Man of Supreme Worth"
You should know that if a man were sufficiently intelligent but not a man of worth, his intelligence would be wholly turned to evil. And if a man were of worth and had not enough wisdom, he would still be of merit, but not of such value and of such merit as the wise men of natural good sense who are true men of worth. And as for having a reputation for prowess without being a man of worth or wise, do not expect in the end any great perfection in such prowess.
I chose this quote as the author defines the opposite characteristics of what is not a Man of Supreme Worth. What would be the reason? Let us consider this.
1. An intelligent man who does not have any moral worth is susceptible to being corrupt and will use his/her knowledge to advance carnal or immoral desires.
2. A moral individual who does not have any wisdom would be considered smart but not wise. Reason? It is because the individual is gullible to be mislead to do a wrong action or could be misguided in his/her heart.
3. A fighting individual who does not have any inner moral foundation or wisdom will not attain the highest perfection of his/her martial abilities.
As one can see the Man of Supreme Worth will be the opposite of these traits. So we can read the quote as the following:
A Man of Supreme Worth is one who is intelligent yet has worth from within. A Man of Supreme Worth is one who is wise in word and deed. A Man of Supreme Worth is one whose prowess is guided by his inner wisdom and has attained the highest levels of prowess.
What does all this mean for the Modern Warrior? It means a great deal.
The Modern Warrior can be called an individual of Supreme Worth because of the following traits:
1. Wisdom
2. Inner Worth (Morality)
3. Prowess
But why these three? The reason is this: Prowess represents action, action that is guided by intelligence (Wisdom) and rooted by Inner Worth shows more of the Warrior than words or what other people will say in slander or confusion. Actions are the physical manifestations of inner, premeditated thoughts. Thus when one commits to an attack or a strong counter defense, that action shows more of the thought of the person engaged in the fight or confrontation than what people will assume or say with their words.
It can be said at this point that the Individual of Supreme Worth is the ideal that Modern Warriors can strive towards and even achieve. My reason for saying this is that in a time and culture where mediocrity and moral apathy are the norm, we need to rise above these vices and be the example for all people to follow.
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