Iter Cordis, Mentis, ac Spiritus

Matt Grieco

   Iter cordis, mentis, ac spiritus, Latin for, “the journey of the heart, mind, and soul,” is a phrase that can be used interchangeably with conversatio, which means “way of life.” But what constitutes a good conversatio? What, or rather who determines whether one exemplifies a good way of life or not? The answer happens to be quite simple: You. In order for one to discover oneself, that person must not search externally through the approval of others, but instead internally through the moral judgement of one’s heart, mind, and soul to reflect upon one’s way of life. By means of self-preservation, the everlasting pursuit of virtuousness, and the discovery of one’s ultimate purpose in life, one can rest assured in their successful fulfillment of a good way of life. These three fundamental principles have gradually conceptualized throughout Conversatio, placing themselves not only at the forefront of this shared learning experience, but also at the forefront of what our God-given existence is all about. However, the true challenge lies not in merely understanding such an ideology, but in having the discipline to consistently put these truths into action. 

   The first and foremost of these three principles relates to the heart and self-preservation. In a world with billions of people, both good and bad, humanity often finds itself surrounded by society and influenced by the rhetoric of the people closest to oneself. In this manner, if one does not proceed cautiously about the world, one can easily lose who they are as an individual, and find themselves following others aimlessly and heartlessly. Even if the entire globe seems to think one way, while you think to the contrary, it remains vitally important to not submit oneself into following blindly. A prime example of this in our history is from an excerpt of “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death,” Patrick Henry’s arguably most influential piece of rhetoric: 

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.” (Henry, 1) 

This quote showcases Henry not budging from his beliefs, regardless of the many who do not agree with him. In this moment, Henry exemplifies the undertaking of not compromising his morals for the sake of being a mere follower. Instead, he not only stands out as a leader amongst the crowd but also successfully convinces the colonists at this convention to following him into battle, a battle that would inevitably free this country we now call home: The United States of America. Where many fall short and simply give in to compromising themselves to the collective majority, Henry did not. Although many tend to lose parts of themselves with the lack of intellectus in favor of ratio-styled society, hope still remains for one’s preservation of individuality. By taking the time to reflect not only on what beats true in one’s heart, but also what reverberates within one’s mind, plays a key role in living the good life. 

   Speaking of one’s mind, as coinciding with the aforementioned pur suit of virtuousness, comes the second fundamental concept in a good conversatio. To have a good heart is admirable, but to also have a good mind gets one even closer to a good way of life. By upholding proper morals and values, one can live virtuously and free of the temporal goods and pleasures that enshroud and plague society from a good conversatio. One instance of this is recorded in “The Sayings of the Desert Fathers” when Abba Anthony states, ‘Whoever hammers a lump of iron, first decides what he is going to make of it, a scythe, a sword, or an axe. Even so we ought to make up our minds what kind of virtue we want to forge or we labour in vain.’ (Anthony The Great, 5) These words emphasizes the critical necessity for one to have an unobscured conscience in order to properly build up oneself, and others, in the name of virtuousness. In other words, one must discover who they are and how one can best convey inspirational beauty and inquisitive art to others, such that society may be moved to take up said virtues as their own too. To best influence the world though, one must first become the best version of themself. 

   In a matter of conclusiveness, this leads to the third and final fundamental in living the good life: the journey of one’s soul to discovering one’s ultimate purpose in life. Seemingly the most insurmountable of the three, the majority of humanity does not know their life purpose yet. Most people do not even realize what their ultimate purpose in life is until they have already unknowingly spent a large portion of their lives fulfilling that purpose. No matter if one is at their highest high or their lowest low, there need not be any worry: for God has a plan for each and every one of us, a path specially designed for every single one of us to follow, leading us out of the dark, metaphorical cave we were all born in, and into the light of fulfillment, happiness, and serenity. This idea is beautifully implemented in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” when Socrates states: 

Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already; and that just as the eye was unable to turn from darkness to light without the whole body, so too the instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul be turned from the world of becoming into that of being, and learn by degrees to endure the sight of being, and of the brightest and best of being, or in other words, of the good. (Socrates, 5)

In communicating this to Glaucon, Socrates also signifies that by taking the time and effort in fulfilling the first two principles of self-preservation and the pursuit of virtuousness, the third principle of discovering one’s life purpose will inevitably become apparent to all who relentlessly chase after a good conversatio. Just as the introduction of light shines out all the darkness, so does searching of the soul uncover one’s purpose here on Earth. 

   In the end, whether one chooses to uphold these three principles that fulfill one’s journey of heart, mind, and soul is ultimately up to the individual. People are presented with boundless opportunities each and every day to either make the most of their lives, or to not. Our destiny as conscious, sentient beings rests in our hands and our hands alone, for only we can discover what is truly fulfilling in our lives. We can only hope that through the perseverance of the generations to come, that we may pass on our life lessons and experiences to others, such that the people of the future may reach even greater notions of conversatio than ever thought possible by the people of the past. What we choose to rhetorically convey as a collective will profoundly affect the lives of not just our own, but of everyone our influence is able to reach. And that in essence, professes the divine imperative of why we all should strive to live the good life.

Matt Grieco is a sophomore Physics major in the honors program. He is currently one of the students selected into the Ambassador’s program of Saint Anselm’s New England Institute of Politics (NIHOP). His work in humanitas was selected from among the many “Good Life” papers that were submitted to the journal this year.