‘Into the bin with it!’ is how we deal with the remnants of our on-line deliveries. Our bins are full as a result. Once it was different. Our grandmothers saved brown paper and string. They would be useful later; they were emblems of of a society that valued frugality. A frugal society treasured clothes, furniture, hand-written documents with the same veneration.
Virtue was seen in the context of a society in which resources were scarce. Another view of virtue succeeded that in 1939. Virtue assumed a military hue. Courage, aggression and ruthlessness moved up the scale. Then came another perspective. Virtue became a matter of the bottom line. Economic worth became dominant. Beckoning us from beyond the banking system is virtue in a green dress. Frugality is perhaps seen as part of the new wardrobe.
These shifts demonstrate that our understanding of virtue is changeable. The feudal system fostered loyalty, to one’s lord, to one’s country, to one’s king. The good subject buried his individuality in tribal devotion. What was good for – I was going to say General Motors – the king and his kingdom defined virtue.
When a parcel meant a package of brown paper and string, a thrifty housewife expected to be able to untie the knots and smooth out the paper to be used again. This became second nature. It meant paying homage to a virtue called frugality.
Society as well as individuals benefited. There was no lavish expenditure on packaging. Apples and other fruit and veg found their way to customers without any assistance from plastic containers.
If frugality was a virtue, then wastage of food was a vice. Indeed, any kind of wastage was something to be ashamed of. No bogof enticements seduced shoppers. Toffee-apples were lures.
Scrimping and saving was the rule of the day. ‘Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.’ Copper coins were valued; so were tanners, florins and half-crowns. Threepenny bits in the Christmas pudding were prized.
Opponents of thrift called the thrifty man, stingy and niggardly. Is this the best we can do when we try to see virtue for what it is? No. There is another understanding of virtue. It rises above brown paper and threepenny bits. It has a long history. It accepts the characteristics of a well-considered life – wisdom, justice, temperance and fortitude – plus new ingredients from the Gospel: faith, hope and charity. It calls them cardinal virtues. There is nothing new in this formula but a society that values novelty in its admirable qualities cannot have everything. The Sermon on the Mount ends if you remember with a parable about building on the rock. Like Stonehenge, some worthwhile things endure.
CAPITAL OF THE WOLDS
Known as the capital of the Wolds, Driffield was described in a 2019 survey as one of the best places to live in northern England. Leading the ministry team of the Driffield and the Wolds churches is Stuart Grant.
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