MASONIC EDUCATION: JOHN STEINBECK – EAST OF EDEN

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MASONIC EDUCATION

At our October 2019 Regular Meeting, our Masonic Education Officer presented a paper on John Steinbeck and themes in his 1952 novel, East Of Eden

John Steinbeck (1902-1968)
John Steinbeck (1902-1968)

John Steinbeck’s novel East Of Eden is centered around Genesis, Chapter 4.

Here are some online sources for the full Torah text of Genesis, Chapter 4:

    Here is the Torah text of Genesis, Chapter 4:
  1.    Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, and she said, “I have acquired a man with the Lord.”
    2.    And she continued to bear his brother Abel, and Abel was a shepherd of flocks, and Cain was a tiller of the soil.
    3.    Now it came to pass at the end of days, that Cain brought of the fruit of the soil an offering to the Lord.
    4.    And Abel he too brought of the firstborn of his flocks and of their fattest, and the Lord turned to Abel and to his offering.
    5.    But to Cain and to his offering He did not turn, and it annoyed Cain exceedingly, and his countenance fell.
    6.    And the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you annoyed, and why has your countenance fallen?
    7.    Is it not so that if you improve, it will be forgiven you? If you do not improve, however, at the entrance, sin is lying, and to you is its longing, but you can rule over it.”
    8.    And Cain spoke to Abel his brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him.
    9.     And the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
    10.    And He said, “What have you done? Hark! Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the earth.
    11 And now, you are cursed even more than the ground, which opened its mouth to take your brother’s blood from your hand.
    12.   When you till the soil, it will not continue to give its strength to you; you shall be a wanderer and an exile in the land.”
    13.   And Cain said to the Lord, “Is my iniquity too great to bear?
    14.   Behold You have driven me today off the face of the earth, and I shall be hidden from before You, and I will be a wanderer and an exile in the land, and it will be that whoever finds me will kill me.”
    15.  And the Lord said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be wrought upon him sevenfold,” and the Lord placed a mark on Cain that no one who find him slay him.
    16.  And Cain went forth from before the Lord, and he dwelt in the land of the wanderers, to the east of Eden.Note that the title of John Steinbeck’s novel, East Of Eden, comes from Genesis, Chapter 4, Verse 16.

    John Steinbeck’s novel focuses particularly on Genesis, Chapter 4, Verse 7 but, before going into that, it is worth noting the implications of Genesis, Chapter 4, Verses 8 and 9:

    8. And Cain spoke to Abel his brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him.

    9. And the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

    Cain obviously knew he had killed his brother Abel. So Cain’s denial, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” is clearly a lie. The fact that Cain lies about Abel’s murder implies that he knew what he had done was wrong, which in turn implies the existence of human conscience.After all, at this point in the Bible, God had not said that murder was wrong.

    So Torah scholars interpret this as meaning that, even without a Divine revelation that murder is wrong, human beings have a conscience which is able to determine the difference between right and wrong. This means that free will exists and people can choose to act in a moral manner. Freemasonry emphasizes the exercise of free will.

    But the key verse for John Steinbeck is Verse 7:

    7. Is it not so that if you improve, it will be forgiven you? If you do not improve, however, at the entrance, sin is lying, and to you is its longing, but you can rule over it.”

    The first sentence is also translated by other Torah scholars as, “Surely, if you do right, there is uplift….”  In other words, doing good (i.e. right) is uplifting….

    The second sentence is also translated in the Torah as, “If you do not do right, sin crouches at the door….”

    This is about living a moral life. Habitually doing good (acting morally) leads to living a moral life and vice versa…i.e. Sin is waiting to take control of behaviour.

    This idea of habitual moral behaviour also appears in Aristotle’s Nichomachian Ethics:

    “We have become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts… It makes no small difference, then, whether we form habits of one kind or another from our very youth; it makes a very great difference, or rather all the difference….”

    Aristotle (384-322 BC)
    Aristotle (384-322 BC)

    ´Note the connection here to the Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude and Justice.

    The idea of habitual moral behaviour also appears in Enlightenment works such as Adam Smith’s The Wealth Of Nations, published in 1776:

    “To become known as an honest merchant, one has to be an honest merchant…..”

    Adam Smith (1723-1790), author of The Wealth Of Nations (1776) and The Theory Of Moral Sentiments (1759)
    Adam Smith (1723-1790), author of The Wealth Of Nations (1776) and The Theory Of Moral Sentiments (1759)

    But the key passage in the Torah translation of Genesis, Chapter 4, Verse 7 is:

    “Is it not so that if you improve, it will be forgiven you? If you do not improve, however, at the entrance, sin is lying, and to you is its longing, but you can rule over it.” [Italics added]

    That means that man CAN or MAY rule over sin through free will and, through free will, choose to live a good and moral life.

    ´In East Of Eden, John Steinbeck focuses on Genesis, Chapter 4, Verse 7 by having a character called Lee, a Chinese-American man who reads Genesis, Chapter 4 Verse 7 and becomes obsessed with its meaning.

    ´Lee consults the King James version of the Bible, which interprets Genesis, Chapter 4, verse 7 as:

    ´”If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. “ [italics added]

    ´This means man SHALL rule over, or conquer, sin.

    Note the key difference between the Torah (Man CAN or MAY conquer sin) and the King James Version (Man SHALL conquer sin).

    ´Lee then looks up Genesis, Chapter 4, Verse 7 in the American Standard Bible, which translates it as:

    “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”  [italics added]

Lee takes this translation to mean that God is ordering man to MASTER, or conquer, sin.

Note the key differences in these translations and their resulting implications.

The Torah says “CAN or  MAY conquer sin”;

´The King James Version says “SHALL conquer sin”;

´The American Standard Bible says “MUST conquer sin”;

´Faced with these three different interpretations of the same verse, Lee goes to San Francisco, where he consults the wisest sages in the Chinese community about the real meaning of the verse.

´The sages are intrigued and they spend two years studying the problem. They hire rabbis to teach them Hebrew so they can translate the original Hebrew text for themselves.

The sages conclude that the Hebrew word “timshol” in the Hebrew text means, “you MAY”, thus the passage means man MAY conquer sin, not SHALL or WILL conquer sin. This has significant implications for the idea of free will.

John Steinbeck explains the significance of this, through Lee, as follows:

´“What makes a man [i.e. what distinguishes man from animals]…A cat has no choice; a bee must make honey…[Man has a choice, and] these sixteen verses [of Genesis, Chapter 4] are a history of humankind in any age or culture or race…”

John Steinbeck concludes the novel East Of Eden with the word “timshol”, “you MAY”.

Here are some sources for further reference:

Some biographical documentaries on John Steinbeck;


John Steinbeck quotes:

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Masonic Education – The Four Cardinal Virtues

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Masonic Education
The Four Cardinal Virtues

Although the Four Cardinal Virtues – Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude and Justice – figure prominently in the Entered Apprentice Lecture, the lecture itself does not go into any detail about their significance or give much explanation of their importance. This post is intended to provide some additional information about the Four Cardinal Virtues. [note: this post is based on a presentation at our December 2018 Regular Meeting by our St. John’s Lodge No. 21 Education Officer]

The Four Cardinal Virtues are deeply rooted in Western philosophy. A stained glass representation appears below.

The Four Cardinal Virtues depicted in stained glass.
The Four Cardinal Virtues depicted in stained glass.

The figure below shows the Four Cardinal Virtues as they are presented on stained glass windows in Freemasons Hall, London.

United Grand Lodge of England stained glass window depicting Temperance, one of the Four Cardinal Virtues (Courtesy of United Grand Lodge of England)
United Grand Lodge of England stained glass window depicting Temperance, one of the Four Cardinal Virtues (Courtesy of United Grand Lodge of England)
United Grand Lodge of England stained glass window depicting Fortitude, one of the Four Cardinal Virtues (Courtesy of United Grand Lodge of England)
United Grand Lodge of England stained glass window depicting Fortitude, one of the Four Cardinal Virtues (Courtesy of United Grand Lodge of England)
United Grand Lodge of England stained glass window depicting Justice, one of the Four Cardinal Virtues (Courtesy of United Grand Lodge of England)
United Grand Lodge of England stained glass window depicting Justice, one of the Four Cardinal Virtues (Courtesy of United Grand Lodge of England)

Plato’s Republic (Circa 380 BC)

The Four Cardinal Virtues originate specifically in Books 4, 6, and 7 of Plato’s Republic (circa 380 BC)

In Plato’s Republic, the four cardinal virtues are wisdom, temperance, courage and justice. These reflect the nature of the soul, which has three parts:

1. Reason: Our reason thinks; when it does this well, it has wisdom.
2. Appetite: Our appetite desires; when it does this well, it has temperance (self-control, soberness). Think of this as “passions”.
3. Spirit: Our “high spirit” shows emotions (fear, anger, respect, etc.); when it does this well, it has courage.

For Plato, Justice consists of the proper interplay of the three parts of the soul. In the just person, reason controls the “high spirit” — and both control the appetite (passions).

Plato then applies this to society as a whole:

Society mirrors the individual soul. And the virtues of society mirror the virtues of the individual soul.

Plato divides society into three groups.
1. The aristocrats are the educated; they should be wise [Prudence].
2. The workers (merchants, commoners) do the work; they should be temperate (have self-control) [Temperance].
3. The soldiers (guardians) protect the city; they should be courageous (brave) [Fortitude].

For Plato, Justice in society is the proper conformity of the three groups to their social roles. Each group has its own place, according to its natural abilities. The aristocrats are to rule wisely, and the other groups are to obey and to do their own tasks. This will promote the happiness of the city and of its members.

The Four Cardinal Virtues were adopted by the Roman and Greek Stoics, circa 200 BC.

Stoic Philosophers on the Four Cardinal Virtues

Stoic philosophers (including Marcus Aurelius, Cicero, Seneca, Arius Didymus) recognized Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude and Justice as the four primary or Cardinal Virtues.

As an example, here is a short extract from Cicero (106 BC – 46 BC), On Duties

“….there is not a shadow of a doubt that man has the power to be the greatest agent of both benefit and harm towards his fellow men. Consequently it must be regarded as a vitally important quality to be able to win over human hearts and attach them to one’s own cause…..But to gain the goodwill of our fellow human beings, to convert them to a state of ready activeness to further our own interests, is a task worthy of the wisdom and excellence of a superman…. [note: for Cicero this means behaving with Justice]

This brings me back to moral goodness. It may be held to fall into three subdivisions.

The first is the ability to distinguish the truth from falsity, and to understand the relationships between one phenomenon and another and the causes and consequences of each [note: Prudence]

The second category is the ability to restrain the passions and to make the appetites amenable to reason [note: Temperance]

Third…is the capacity to behave considerately and understandingly in our associations with other people. [note: for Cicero this was Fortitude]…..”

Note the similarity to Plato’s three parts of the soul, tempered by Justice, or the interplay of the three parts of the soul.

For the Stoics, all other virtues were grouped – or hinged – around, or under, the Four Cardinal Virtues. The word “Cardinal” comes from the Latin “cardo” meaning “hinge” and “cardinalis” or “acting as a hinge”, hence the name Cardinal Virtues.

Book of Wisdom – circa 200 BC

The Four Cardinal Virtues appear in Jewish writings about 200 BC in the Book of Wisdom. Although the Book of Wisdom is attributed to King Solomon, the earliest known written references to it date from about 200 BC in Alexandria.

Bible – Book of Wisdom – circa 200 BC

“For [Wisdom] teaches temperance and prudence, justice and fortitude, and nothing in life is more useful for men than these” (Book of Wisdom 8:7).

[Note: although the Book of Wisdom is presented as having been written by King Solomon, it is thought to have been written in Alexandria, by a Jewish author, circa 200 BC. At that time, Alexandria was ruled by the Ptolemy dynasty, which was of Greek (Hellenistic) origin.]

St. Paul

The Four Cardinal Virtues come into Christian thought with St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine wrote of the Cardinal Virtues in De moribus ecclesiastica. 1,25,46:PL 32,1330-1331. [388 AD]

“To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one’s heart, with all one’s soul and with all one’s efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and uncorrupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude). It obeys only [God] (and this is justice), and is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence)….”

St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) ranked the four Cardinal Virtues in what he considered their priority or precedence.

St. Thomas Aquinas ranked prudence as the first cardinal virtue because it is concerned with the intellect. Aristotle defined prudence as recta ratio agibilium, “right reason applied to practice.” It is the virtue that allows us to judge correctly what is right and what is wrong in any given situation. When we mistake the evil for the good, we are not exercising prudence—in fact, we are showing our lack of it.

In St. Thomas Aquinas‘ view, it is so easy to fall into error, so Prudence requires us to seek the counsel of others, particularly those we know to be sound judges of morality. Disregarding the advice or warnings of others whose judgment does not coincide with ours is a sign of imprudence.

Justice, according to Saint Thomas Aquinas, is the second cardinal virtue, because it is concerned with the will. As Fr. John A. Hardon notes in his Modern Catholic Dictionary, it is “the constant and permanent determination to give everyone his or her rightful due.” We say that “justice is blind,” because it should not matter what we think of a particular person. If we owe him a debt, we must repay exactly what we owe.

Justice, wrote Saint Thomas Aquinas, is also connected to the idea of rights. While the term “justice” in a negative sense (“He got what he deserved”), justice in its proper sense is positive. Injustice occurs when we as individuals or by law deprive someone of that which he is owed. In St. Thomas’ view, legal rights can never outweigh natural rights, a concept which is enshrined in, among other places, the US Declaration of Independence.

The third cardinal virtue, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, is Fortitude. While this virtue is commonly called courage, it is different from what much of what we think of as courage today. Fortitude allows us to overcome fear and to remain steady in our will in the face of obstacles, but it is always reasoned and reasonable; the person exercising fortitude does not seek danger for danger’s sake. Prudence and justice are the virtues through which we decide what needs to be done; fortitude gives us the strength to do it.

Temperance, Saint Thomas declared, is the fourth and final cardinal virtue. While fortitude is concerned with the restraint of fear so that we can act, temperance is the restraint of our desires or passions. Food, drink, and sex are all necessary for our survival, individually and as a species; yet a disordered desire for any of these goods can have disastrous consequences, physical and moral.

Temperance is the virtue that attempts to keep us from excess, and, as such, requires the balancing of legitimate goods against our inordinate desire for them. Our legitimate use of such goods may be different at different times; temperance is the “golden mean” that helps us determine how far we can act on our desires.

Also see https://www.thoughtco.com/the-cardinal-virtues-542142

Some Articles For Additional Research

Some Videos for Additional Research

Here are some videos for research and information purposes. Note that, although some of them are from particular religious viewpoints, we have included these videos here for research purposes only and their inclusion here should not be viewed in any way as a promotion of any particular religious or theological viewpoint:

Here is a video on Plato’s view of the Four Cardinal Virtues in Book 4 of The Republic (note: audio isn’t great):

Here is a video on the Stoic philosophers’ view of the Four Cardinal Virtues

Cicero, On Duties and General Issues Concerning Duty

Here is a short video on the Four Cardinal Virtues from a Roman Catholic perspective:

Here is a short video on the Three Theological Virtues from a Roman Catholic perspective:

Here is a video on the 4 Cardinal Virtues from an Islamic perspective:

Faith, Hope and Charity / Faith, Hope and Love a.k.a. The Theological Virtues

Are Connected to the Four Cardinal Virtues

Here are two videos on the Theological Virtues from a Roman Catholic perspective:

Here is a video on The Ladder of Ascent, based on Jacob’s Ladder:

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