A Few Words on Love-Wisdom

Love, though a profound mystery, is often in any but the most personal sense a cultivation of moral investment. In time, of course, this translates into emotional and material exchange. One benefit that I have observed about truly loving people or characteristically loving tribes is that they conserve their moral resources through the use of traditional wisdom. When the Egyptians said that the seat of a man’s intelligence was his heart, they meant it. They grasped what few moderns do about the way in which one human energy- or information-resource can be transmuted into another. Standards of conduct and ethical alertness were high, and still are. Today, they are viewed by their neighbors as typically tolerant and peaceful, and not overly ambitious or unnecessarily critical.

One statement I remember as a child from a book on eugenics was that untidiness can kill love. The emphasis that Egyptian religion placed on personal cleanliness evidently had a direct influence on their enthusiasm for beautiful ritual and good character, but this scruple has been neglected in the ways of later nations. Obviously, however, humans who do careful work aren’t quick to encourage those who don’t to remain yoked with them. Since standards of awareness for polytheists are so often higher than for monotheists, we can see how the jealousy of the later philosophies grew toward the older, cleaner mental edifices. People of cultures that understand organic efficiency are wary when it comes to teaching their young about the prudence of trusting those various kinds of individuals that exploit the more naïve of their fellows. When I have sought guidance in understanding love and relationships from the Egyptians and their gods, they point to closeness between love and truth often overlooked, today. Additionally, they remind me of the priceless ness and fragility of love that requires those who cherish it always to remain able to modify their approach in order to ensure its survival. They understand well the miracle of affection that may come about through "chemistry", yet also the tender, careful, lasting considerations that allow love to endure its trials.

We sometimes know them as "psychic vampires" or people who "play games" and so forth, but a closer look reveals that what they so often do is to surreptitiously transfer or annul the moral, emotional, or material investments made in them by those less cunning. Now, hostility toward predators, parasites, and invaders is perfectly understandable, and the Egyptians were notably xenophobic in some regards. More extraordinarily, however, they did not exploit, abandon, or abuse their countrymen with anywhere near the vigor that we find apparent in most other societies.

The kind of trust that kinsmen in richer cultures share is certainly more beneficial than the shallow varieties that are propagated today. Most Egyptians I have known are kindly but shrewd when it comes to evaluating the merits of any pitch for cooperation. They seem inclined to share their insights only with those who have wit to both grasp and conserve the potent sensibilities to which they are privy. Sadly, perhaps, in regard of their courtesy, modesty, and discretion, the more I say of Egyptian love-wisdom, the less I will be told. Still, I expect that those who possess the talent to make real contributions to the advancement of man’s condition via its utilization should follow classical example. When I make arrangements to induct someone back into the religion of the Egyptian Gods, I explain that our system requires a higher level of mental hygiene than that to which one is normally accustomed. Let us, then, maintain more elevated and clear goals than those we find in the new mass-market world of over-advertised, under-performing goods, services, and ideals.