Thursday, August 13, 2020

day no. 15,270: not a man of blood, but a mind of battle

My son, Atticus, wrote a short biography of Ulysses S. Grant for me and Paige last Christmas and this line stood out to me when reading it the day after, 12/26/19.

"Grant was not a man of blood but he had a mind of battle." - Atticus Van Voorst in Ulysses S. Grant

The chivalrous man is not one driven by bloodlust. He doesn't need blood in order to feel purpose, but he doesn't skip around blood in order to chase around a higher purpose. He thinks about battle and engages in the ones in front of him. He doesn't orchestrate friction in order to have something to fight about, he dwells upon strategies that allow his purposes to prevail without causing any more bloodshed than necessary. He understands that bloodshed is often necessary and does not recoil from it, but neither does he pursue it without forethought.

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