Fighting the Current

screw perfection.

I had to write a paper for Latin tonight -- all about the Ancient Greek standards of perfection. We were essentially told what to write for it. Except for the last paragraph, which had to be all about what my ideas of perfection are. I like how it turned out. I'll post it below. Keep in mind that my Latin teacher is a nun....

I do not agree with the Greco-Roman standards of perfection. I don't believe there is such a thing as utter perfection in humans. If one person could be considered "perfect" in every area of life, then he or she would not be human. Humanity is based on imperfections. Even the most celebrated individuals are imperfect, though "imperfect" could have many different meanings. Very few have even come close to perfection. I think that the person who came the closest to perfection was Mother Teresa. She devoted her life to others and never asked for anything in return. She probably would not have been very high on the Greek ladder of perfection though. She was not powerful in the sense that she ruled a nation, but she was powerful in other ways. She did not have the qualities that the Greeks associated with physical perfection either, especially towards the end of her life, when she was a frail old woman. She devoutly believed in God (which would have been a blasphemous belief to the Greeks). But she was very successful at what she set out to do. The Greeks had their own ideas about perfection, as every person and every culture do. I do not think there really is such a thing as human perfection. It is an ideal rather than a reality. Everyone has their strengths, but they also have their weaknesses. In other words, I think that human perfection is, in essence, imperfection.


I think I heard a quotation once that goes along with that line of thinking. I can't remember what any of it was though.