Lent 2013, XIII

XIII. What does the infinite worth of the human person have to do with detachment? Well, it’s a matter of priority. If wisdom is, (as I define it) the virtue of choosing that which is most valuable, then a proper understanding of people is a necessary part of wisdom. Put it quite simply, a person is more valuable than a thing. Since a person’s worth is infinite, and the worth of a thing is finite, it is logical to assume that even the smallest person is worth more than even the greatest thing. In fact, one person is worth more than all of the things. Imagine all of the things that you would like to have. Suppose I was given the chance to receive a billion of the things that we call dollars, if only I was willing to insult someone on the street that I didn’t know. Let’s say all I had to do was walk up to a prostitute and call her a whore. That would still not be worth it. She is worth more than all the dollars that ever were or ever will be, so I would be selling her dignity far too cheaply.