Philosophy & The Warrior Poet: a response to Benjimester's hub

This is a cut-and-paste entry from a comment I made to Benjimester's hub, entitled, "What Does Ancient Philosophy Have to Say about Personality Type?" I posted it as a hub in the event that any should want to respond to my comment, to avoid flooding Benjimester's comments section. Also, I'd like to generate a little traffic, if I can. :) Thanks!

It is the warrior-poet alone who understands that the truest strength is not measured by one's capacity to dominate or oppress, but to strive for what is noble, and to defend it valiantly. It is in the very nature of any man both wise and courageous to first apprehend the true, the just, the beautiful, and the good, and then to strive after it and guard it at all costs - "...though I drown myself," to quote Thoreau. :)

In The Republic, Plato advocated a society of citizens educated and trained up in the four virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice. Young men were to be trained in physical fitness and combat arts in their youth, exercising their virtue of courage, until they were mature adults, at which time they should be taught in philosophy, mathematics, political science, and the like, at the academy, to hone excellence in wisdom - all the while learning to temper and balance their fierce bravery and lofty idealism, in order that they would never be prone to either extreme, neither living and ruling foolishly as brutes, nor as timid aristocrats in ivory towers. To suffer the great difficulty that is such a life of constant self-denial and self-improvement, sacrificing one's own perceived self-good for the good of the many, is what Plato called the virtue of justice. This great father of Socratic philosophy understood it, with Aristotle following closely after in his footsteps; it is something to be sought after and prized as uncommon, worthy of attaining - is it any wonder that men of such mettle are so few and far between today, or in any day of history? As you say, this fact is what many women you have heard lament, longing to find such a noble mate; they search, and often in vain, while many give up so soon along the way, convinced their ideal is mere myth or fairytale, so rare is such a man. Yet, the enduring stories throughout time remain the same: tales of wisdom and virtue, honor and valor, courage and steadfastness; these are what we revere and cherish, yet have so little patience and perseverance to achieve.. or so little hope.

Yes, the ancient philosophers had much to say on the subject - it is nothing new, and you are not alone.. it is simply a truth largely forgotten and ignored, because it is so very cumbersome to do what is good and right at the expense of one's own pleasure. Yet, while few volunteer, many laud those who step forward to do what all the others know they ought as well. The ideal and the desire still exist, if mostly unrecognizable now. To draw from Thoreau again, who said it best, "there are 999 patrons of virtue to one virtuous man." The virtuous man is the warrior-poet.