Vanity of Virtue
Index 
Acceptance
"Thyself and thy belongings Are not thine own so proper as to waste Thyself upon thy virtues, they on thee. Heaven doth with us as we with torches do, Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues Did not go forth of us, 'twere all alike As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touch'd But to fine issues, nor Nature never lends The smallest scruple of her excellence But, like a thrifty goddess, she determines Herself the glory of a creditor, Both thanks and use. Measure for Measure, Act I, Scene I, the Duke’s first words to Angelo as he gives him all the reins of power My weak yet arrogant attempt at paraphrase: You and your belongings are not really yours if you waste yourself by clinging to your virtues, (rather) they, the virtues, will be wasted on you. Heaven uses us as we use torches, not to provide light for the torches themselves (people) but light for the gods in heaven (so be not so arrogant, we are but a byproduct of heaven’s desires perhaps only for the gods’ amusement);(for) if we are not virtuous (which we all are, i.e not virtuous, at least sometimes), it’s as if we have no virtue Spirits (heaven, gods, nature) are not aware of only “fine” things (like virtue and government), compare Matthew 10:29, “and one of them (a sparrow) shall not fall on the ground without your Father”. What happens to sparrows that fall to the ground, young ones, unable to fly? they get eaten by a snake or fox. Does God internvene? No! The sparrow's death is food for the snake./ Nature (heaven, gods, spirits) only lends us her treasures, but extracts her due interest, both in thanks (for offering her treasures) and use (amusement?). (compare Barry Commoner’s “there is no free lunch”). I think in this passage the Duke speaks for Shakespeare in defining the vanity of virtue in the bigger scheme of things (see Ecclesiastes), a warning to Angelo and the audience that he, the Duke is sure Angelo will ignore. Shakespeare is probably as sure we the audience will ignore the warning about the vanity of virtue also. It is our ignorance that provides all the drama, tragedy, comedy, pathos, ethos, eros and thantos that Shakespeare so deeply understands and captures in his plays for our thanks and use. |