Cowardice is not always considered the worst vice. Fear is not a sin, but cowardice is a vice

DEBT THEORY

Cowardice is habitually condemned by society

Many have heard M. Bulgakov's phrase that cowardice is the most terrible vice.What is right. However, it is very bad when, under the pressure of such maxims, a conscientious person puts an end to himself after a cowardly act.

Still - he already has cats scratching his soul, and in addition, society invisibly repeats to him: "You have reached the most terrible vice!"

But pay attention - after all, Bulgakov hardly condemned anyone. Rather, he simply stated a fact that was obvious to him. And I will allow myself to add the famous phrase:

Cowardice is the most terrible of vices if you don't fight it.

It is not cowardice itself that is immoral, but the unwillingness to resist it.

I will repeat myself - for thousands of years, leaders of all stripes have cultivated cowardice in people by the most cruel means. It has eaten into our soul, it has literally become a part of it! This is why, when we are threatened, we instinctively seek to obey.

In these conditions, one cannot blame a person who succumbed to cowardice. It would be more correct to honor the one who was able to overcome it!

There is a vivid episode in the Gospel when the Apostle Peter denied Christ. Just before that, he ardently convinced the teacher that he would never leave him. To which he will receive an answer: “... Truly I tell you that on this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. ”And so it happened - under the threat of being captured, Peter denied Christ three times - and immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter, issedvon, weep bitterly ...

So what - do we now consider Peter to be a scoundrel and a traitor? No. Overcoming his fear, he then became the successor of the work of his teacher - and at the end of his life he too was martyred.

And now I will cite an excerpt from the book by E. M. Remarque "On western front no change ", which describes the shelling:

“Next to us lies a frightened recruit to death ...

He covered his face with his hands. His helmet rolled to the side.

I pull it up and I'm going to put it on his head.

He looks up, pushes his helmet away and, like a child,

climbs his head under my arm, clinging tightly to my

breasts. His narrow shoulders flinch ...

Gradually he comes to his senses. Suddenly he turns red like poppies,

embarrassment is written on his face. He gently touches his hand to

pants and looks at me plaintively. I immediately understand what the matter is:

he has cannon disease. I try to console him:

- There is nothing to be ashamed of; yet not the same as you happened

put in pants when they first came under fire. Go behind the bush

take off your underpants, and that's it ...

There is not a drop of censure and condemnation in this episode. Not only gods, but also people are wise, understanding the nature of cowardice and not making a judgment out of it. Cowardice is not bad in itself, but only when you refuse to fight it. In this case, you can safely equate cowardice and laziness of the soul ...

Okay - but what can you do if you commit a shameful cowardly act?

Paradoxically, the first thing is to cheer up a little. Thousands and thousands of people are absolutely not ashamed of their cowardice - their weak consciousness is arranged in such a way that it instantly displaces all unpleasant memories from their memory.

You are not like that. You have a kind of vigilant watchman in your soul who does not allow you to relax. And this, on the one hand, is good. But on the other hand, you may soon just overstrain from endless reproaches of conscience. Especially if you still lack the strength to follow her voice ...

I suggest you take on board debt theory ... If at some point in your life you did not have the courage to act according to your conscience, write down this action as a liability. Be sure that fate, seeing the intention to get even with the debts of the past, will certainly provide an opportunity to do this.

One of the brightest episodes in my life - when I did not intercede for the woman who was robbed on the bus. When we, tightly squeezed in the cabin, drove up to the bus stop, she became agitated and shouted: “Driver, do not open the door! My wallet was stolen! I know who stole - this one! " And she pointed to the bully next to me, grinning and looking away. And I stood at the very door and could well say: “I am ready to show my pockets. Do the same, or give your wallet. " Moreover, I was so tightly squeezed against the door that, if I wanted to, I could make it so that it would not open.

But ... The bus pulled up to the stop, the driver, turning his face aside, opened the door, the bogey immediately jumped out into the street - and he was like that ...

I was extremely ashamed to remember this episode until I said to myself: “Just tormenting my soul will not help the cause. They will only wear me down. Therefore, I am recording this episode on my own. As soon as I witness a similar situation again, I will be ready to intervene in it ... "

Almost every one of us allowed the cowardly in life, shameful acts... It is commendable to worry about this - but only if the experiences lead to a specific positive result.

Cowardice comes only from lack of ... desire

R. Descartes

THEORY OF SMALL CASES

Fear has big eyes

What does this saying mean? Yes very simple thought- we tend to exaggerate the scale of the unknown. As Shakespeare said: "The real horrors are not as frightening as the horrors of the imagination."

The main tool for overcoming cowardice is practice. Afraid of the dark - go into the dark. Be afraid of gopniks - reprimand them for obscenities in a public place.

But, of course, do it wisely. If you go into darkness, then into one where there are no swamps and sharp branches. After all, your task is to return alive, healthy and with the experience of defeating cowardice.

If you make a remark to a gopnik, then in a place where others can help you in case of anything. Yes, and a gopnik for the first time should choose a sicker one - in case of a possible fight.

Starting with small steps, you will gradually feel more confidently for the ground under your feet. And soon you realize that you can make remarks even to a drunken company in a train compartment - and instead of a fight, meet embarrassed glances ...

In general, it was said long ago that you cannot defeat fear without going through the path that frightens you. Moreover, the more often you find yourself in extreme situations, the faster your body adapts to it. It's all about practice!

Human fears only what he does not know, knowledge conquers all fear.

V. G. Belinsky

HOW SCARY THE DAMN?

Often we do not dare to act only because we have been indoctrinated with the idea of ​​the terrible consequences of the act ...

Man is a lazy creature. Having found a more or less comfortable corner in life, we prefer not to protrude so as not to lose, even if the illusion of well-being. Habit is scary.

Wife tolerates a drunken husband, because he thinks that it will be harder alone.

Employee tolerates the boor-boss, because he is not sure that

find an equally high-paying job

People tolerates power, because it assumes that in the event

disobedience that will apply the most severe measures to him

So - pay attention: “thinks”, “not sure”, “assumes” ... In general, we live according to the principle of the immortal phrase: “No matter what happens!”. It is difficult for us even to decide on an experiment - but what will happen if I do ...

So, let's do it all the same - while in a safe, laboratory environment. Take a pen, a piece of paper, and write the name of the situation at the top. Now write down the minuses and pluses as a result of changing it in two columns below.

Work calmly and slowly. Weigh all options carefully. And it may well turn out that the prospect of being fired from work is no longer so scary. Or what a dip on public speaking does not threaten a catastrophe at all. Etc.

Fights are a separate issue. To be honest, many of us give in to them. Therefore, take and first carefully look at the video recordings of the fights, which, unfortunately, are offered in large volumes by the Internet today. Then summarize: what is typical for fighting? How do they go? What result will I expect if I get involved in a fight?

After that, you should carefully study expert advice on how to behave in a fight. After that, it's not a bad idea to take a self-defense course without weapons - fortunately, there are now a lot of them. And now you will find how your confidence has increased - to the point that you have mastered the icy skill of putting out a fight before it starts.

Our fears are half baseless, half simply shameful.

K. Bowie

BE AFRAID - DO NOT DO, DO - DO NOT BE AFRAID

In conclusion, I want to say one more time about this.

Only those who feel the strength in themselves should dare to take a bold act. This does not mean that you can engage in a fight with hooligans only after learning kickboxing. But in this case, it is not important physical training, but fortitude.

History has repeatedly provided examples of how bogies and brutes retreated from a weaker enemy just because he was not going to surrender. Desperate, purposeful resistance can sometimes work wonders. But only internally mature people are capable of such resistance.

So don't rush the time. If you've set a course for courage, that's good. Work tirelessly and consistently towards your goal. Prepare for failure. Think of them as training and conditioning. Get up off your knees - and go forward again.

And at one of the moments there will come a calm inner feeling that you are already do not be afraid.

Do not be afraid of gopniks.

Do not be afraid to argue with your superiors.

Do not be afraid to openly express your position on the forum.

Don't be afraid to live.

Everything that Bulgakov experienced in his life, both happy and difficult, - all his main thoughts and discoveries, all his soul and all his talent he gave to the novel "The Master and Margarita". Bulgakov wrote The Master and Margarita as a historically and psychologically reliable book about his time and about people, and therefore the novel became a unique human document of that remarkable era. On the pages of the novel, Bulgakov presents many problems. Bulgakov puts forward the idea that everyone is rewarded according to their merits, what you believed in, you get it. In this connection he also touches upon the problem of human cowardice. The author considers cowardice to be the greatest sin in life. This is shown through the image of Pontius Pilate. Pilate was the procurator in Yershalaim. One of those whom he judged is Yeshua Ha-Notsrp. The author develops the theme of cowardice through eternal theme unjust judgment of Christ. Pontius Pilate lives according to his own laws: he knows that the world is divided into ruling-H nothing for which he must be executed.But for an acquittal, the opinion of the procurator was not enough. Intrinsic strength and courage. Such qualities possessed Yeshua, boldly and fearlessly expressing his point of view. Yeshua has his own philosophy of life: "... evil people not in the world, there are unhappy people. " Pilate was so unhappy. For Yeshua, the opinion of the crowd does not mean anything, he, even in such a dangerous situation for himself, seeks to help others. Pilate was immediately convinced of Ha-Notsrp's innocence. Moreover, Yeshua was able to relieve the strongest headache that tormented the procurator. But Pilate did not obey his "inner" voice, the voice of conscience, but followed the lead of the crowd. The procurator tried to save the stubborn "prophet" from imminent execution, but he resolutely did not want to give up his "truth." It turns out that the all-powerful ruler is also dependent on the opinion of others, the opinion of the crowd. For fear of denunciation, fear of ruining his own career, Pilate goes against his convictions, the voice of humanity and conscience. And Pontius Pilate shouts so that everyone can hear: "The criminal!" Yeshua is executed. Pilate is not afraid for his life - nothing threatens her - but for his career. And when he has to decide whether to risk his career or send to death a person who managed to conquer him with his mind, with the amazing power of his word, or something else unusual, he prefers the latter. Cowardice - that's main trouble Pontius Pilate. “Cowardice is undoubtedly one of the most terrible vices” - Pontius Pilate hears in a dream the words of Yeshua. "No, philosopher, I object to you: this is the most terrible vice!" - the author of the book unexpectedly intervenes and speaks in his full voice. Bulgakov condemns cowardice without mercy and condescension, because he knows that people who set evil as their goal are not so dangerous - there are, in fact, few such people - as those who seem to be ready to advance towards good, but are cowardly and cowardly. Fear makes good and personally brave people a blind instrument of evil will. The procurator realizes that he has committed a betrayal, and is trying to justify himself to himself, deceiving himself that his actions were correct and the only possible. Pontius Pilate was punished with immortality for his cowardice. It turns out that his immortality is a punishment. This is a punishment for the choices that a person makes in his life. Pilate made his choice. And the most big problem is that petty fears guided his actions. For two thousand years he sat on his stone chair on the mountains and for two thousand years he saw the same dream - you can't think of a worse torment, especially since this dream is his innermost dream. He claims that he did not finish something then, the fourteenth month of Nisan, and wants to go back to fix everything. Pilate's eternal existence cannot be called life, it is a painful condition that will never end. The author nevertheless gives Pilate the possibility of liberation. Life began when the Master folded his hands as a mouthpiece and shouted: "Free!" After much torment and suffering, Pilate is finally forgiven.

With the image of Pontius Pilate, the main moral questions novel, such as the problem of conscience and power, cowardice and mercy. Meeting Yeshua changes the life of the procurator forever. In the scene of interrogation, he is almost motionless, but the external staticity sets off even more. As in the novel by M.A. Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita" proved the statement: "cowardice is the worst vice"?

Roman M.A. Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita" amazes with its depth and comprehensiveness. Satirical chapters, in which Woland's retinue fools Moscow inhabitants, are mixed in the novel with lyric chapters dedicated to the Master and Margarita. The fantastic in the novel looks out from behind the everyday, evil spirits roam the streets of Moscow, the beautiful Margarita turns into a witch, and the administrator of the Variety becomes a vampire. The composition of The Master and Margarita is also unusual: the book consists of two novels: tragic fate The Master and four chapters from the Master's novel about Pontius Pilate.

The "Yershalaim" chapters represent the substantive and philosophical center of the novel. The novel about Pilate refers the reader to the text Holy Scripture, but at the same time Bulgakov creatively reinterprets the Gospel. There are important differences between his hero Yeshua Ha-Nozri and the evangelical Jesus: Yeshua has no followers, except for the former tax collector Matthew Levi, a man "with a goat's parchment" who writes down Ha-Nozri's speeches, but "writes it incorrectly." Yeshua, when interrogated by Pilate, denies that he entered the city on a donkey, and the crowd greeted him with shouts. The crowd most likely beat the wandering philosopher - he comes for interrogation with an already disfigured face. Moreover, Yeshua is not the main character of the Master's novel, although his preaching of love and truth is undoubtedly important for the philosophy of the novel. The protagonist of the "Yershalaim" chapters is the fifth procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate.

The main moral issues of the novel are associated with the image of Pontius Pilate, such as the problem of conscience and power, cowardice and mercy. The meeting with Yeshua changes the life of the procurator forever. In the interrogation scene, he is almost motionless, but the external staticity sets it off even more, the fear of public ridicule and the anger of the Roman emperor is stronger than fear in battle. Too late Pilate overcomes his fear. He dreams that he is walking next to the philosopher on the moonbeam, argues, and they "do not agree with each other in anything," which makes their dispute especially interesting. And when the philosopher tells Pilate that cowardice is one of the most terrible vices, the procurator objects to him: "This is the most terrible vice." In a dream, the procurator realizes that now he agrees to "ruin his career" for the sake of "an innocent mad dreamer and doctor."

Calling cowardice "the most terrible vice," the procurator decides his fate. Pontius Pilate's punishment is immortality and "unheard of glory." And 2000 years later, people will still remember and repeat his name as the name of the person who condemned the "wandering philosopher" to execution. And the procurator himself has been sitting on a stone platform for about two thousand years and sleeping, and only on a full moon does he suffer from insomnia. His dog Banga shares the "eternity" punishment with him. As Woland will explain this to Margarita: "... whoever loves must share the fate of the one he loves."

According to the Master's novel, Pilate tries to atone for his guilt before Yeshua by ordering to kill Judas. But murder, even under the guise of just revenge, contradicts Yeshua's entire philosophy of life. Perhaps the thousand-year punishment of Pilate is connected not only with his betrayal in relation to Ha-Notsri, but also with the fact that he “did not listen to the end” of the philosopher, did not fully understand him.

In the finale of the novel, the Master lets his hero run along the moonbeam to Yeshua, who, according to Woland, read the novel.

How is the motive of cowardice transformed in the "Moscow" chapters of the novel? One can hardly blame the Master for cowardice, who burned his novel, renounced everything and voluntarily went to an asylum for the mentally ill. This is a tragedy of fatigue, unwillingness to live and create. “I have nowhere to escape,” the Master replies to Ivan, who suggested that it is easy to escape from the hospital, having, like the Master, a bunch of all hospital keys. Perhaps the Moscow writers can be accused of cowardice, because the literary situation in Moscow in the 1930s was such that a writer could only create things pleasing to the state, or not write at all. But this motive slips in the novel only as a hint, a guess of the Master. He confesses to Ivan that by critical articles in his address it was seen that "the authors of these articles do not say what they want to say, and that their rage is caused precisely by this."

Thus, the motive of cowardice is embodied mainly in the novel about Pontius Pilate. The fact that the Master's novel evokes associations with the biblical text gives the novel a universal human meaning, saturates it with cultural and historical associations. The novel's problematic expands endlessly, absorbing all human experience, forcing each reader to think about why cowardice turns out to be "the most terrible vice"

To the question Why is cowardice the worst vice? given by the author Flush the best answer is if we cowardly avoid a responsible decision and, without heeding the voice of conscience, choose easy way, which others call correct, although we ourselves feel its infidelity and thus, contrary to our conscience, we follow the path indicated by others, what do we do then? We drown out the divine voice within us; we choose the lower, not the higher, the lighter, but the more breast, we decide to give up our will, instead of purifying it; and even if the path we took at the direction of others was the best of the two, we will nevertheless damage our evolution without doing what we conscientiously considered more correct.
The most terrible death- this is spiritual, the instinct of self-preservation should not work here
This is all nonsense.
The reason for cowardice is that most people do it. And everyone is ready to find an excuse for their stupidity and gloating.
It is almost impossible to love faint-hearted people.
This is really horrible.

Answer from Clubfoot[guru]
Nope philosopher, I object to you. There is no vice more terrible than betrayal!

Answer from Fomart[guru]
cowardice is a product of darkness and everything connected with it
a sense of danger - a diametrically different feeling, namely instinct, AWARENESS of the difference

Answer from Glorify[guru]
Even the greatest heroes were cowardly, only psychos are not afraid. Panic is probably the worst thing.

Answer from Protonych[guru]
perhaps the answer to this question can be found in the Master's statements in M. Bulgakov's remake "The Master and E. P. Kruglyakov"
(download text)

Answer from User deleted[guru]
cowardice does not allow a person to grow, be strong, overcome obstacles, cowardice makes people do rash acts, for example: I will be accused of something, I will be caught on this, oh, I'm afraid they will know about me, but let me intimidate or kill this person, I I am afraid that I will be judged, or I am afraid to say "no" and I am used and therefore I am so unhappy, no, I would rather sit in a "hole" than stick out, they will eat me, but I am afraid of becoming strong, suddenly it will not work ....

Answer from Evgeny Sobolev[guru]
Cowardice is different. Sometimes a person knows what awaits him, but being afraid is a vice. But when he does not know what awaits him and is afraid - this is an instinct. And Ga Nozri meant that if you know your fate and are afraid (that is, you cannot accept), then this is a vice. He already knew that he was going to certain death and was not afraid. That is why he was calm. Agree, if he began to rush about in hysterics and ask for forgiveness, it would have lowered him to a level ... well, not much lower, but so he became a god.

Answer from Girl with a maple branch[guru]
How we need excuses! How we need to be perfect! Well, at least in someone's eyes!

Answer from Volkhov[newbie]
Cowardice is the greatest betrayal before God, who endowed us from the beginning with all their greatness

Answer from Eternally human[guru]
1) Vice (SIN) # 1 is the hypocrisy of the first "persons" - the supreme furry clerics (ROC) and high-ranking shaved snouts ** of the tsarist secret police (FSB). ** To say - people just do not turn their tongues.
Pornography # 1 or the life story of Harlot # 1 (of the church) is nothing more than the Bible (Book of Dead Souls)
2) Based on the novel "Ma $ Ma" and the author of the question, one can easily build an idiot-logical chain:
Vice - Betrayal.
Betrayal is a product of Cowardice.
Cowardice is a product of Lack of spirituality.
Spiritlessness is the product of a brain poor in convolutions.
Poverty (mental) is not a vice ....: -)))
3) Everything is much simpler.
The cowardice of a little person, for example, a child or a person from common people, incomparably small and insignificant in comparison with cowardice the mighty of the world this.
4) Lord, demons! Do you not know what awaits you. However, you have a chance to reduce the "depth" of the abyss by several trillion years ...
😉
Signature: Eternal

Answer from Evetlana Karpova[guru]
The self-preservation instinct is a fear that can be overcome. Cowardice cannot be overcome. But I'm not sure that this is such a terrible vice. It is known that cowards live longer than daredevils.

Answer from Tajmahal[guru]
There are many such vices, pride is even worse. And yet .... weakness is a disease of the spirit. And from the patient what to ask?

Answer from T T[guru]
herd feeling.

Answer from Maya matveeva[newbie]
so cowardice breeds betrayal!

Answer from Ovid Bazhenov[guru]
What does the instinct of self-preservation and cowardice have to do with it?
The "self-preservation instinct" is an uncontrollable response to a threat to life.
Cowardice is the fear of possible negative consequences.
Why is cowardice the worst vice?
Dig into yourself, remember the most shameful actions, and cowardice will be behind them.

Answer from Alyona 185[newbie]
The words that cowardice is one of the most terrible vices belong to Yeshua Ha-Nozri, the hero of the Master's novel. They were addressed to Pontius Pilate due to the fact that the latter did not dare to risk his career and sent an innocent man to his death, just not to go against the crowd. Faint-hearted can be called all people who largely disagree with the actions of any leadership, the government in general, but will not speak about it publicly, only in their own narrow circle. These are those who do not agree, but will comply, are dissatisfied, but do not protest. And these are the majority. Cowardice is dangerous because it is very common and, in general, is not punishable. Concerning

Any person has many vices. The writers tried to reveal these vices through the prism of their heroes and their lives. Thanks to the example literary heroes, the reader could see himself from the outside and fight this negative feature character. And so, Bulgakov is no exception. He reveals the problem of cowardice in his famous novel The Master and Margarita. Just today we will turn to him famous work and in the essay on the work of The Master and Margarita, let us trace the problem of cowardice, which the writer considered the most terrible vice.

One of Bulgakov's main works is the novel The Master and Margarita, where moral issues, problem true love, good and evil, loyalty and betrayal. The author also touched upon the topic of vices, where cowardice is distinguished among all human negative characteristics. Everyone can be afraid and have fear of something, but it is cowardice that is destructive. It does not allow admitting mistakes, affects the personal I, making a person a simple individual, but not a person.

It is cowardice that is a terrible vice, and this problem clearly visible in the Master and Margarita on the example of characters. For example, the Master cannot be called a hero, he is not a fighter, he could not go all the way. By rejecting his manuscript, the Master showed his cowardice, he allowed himself to be broken. Unlike Yeshua, who displayed courage and spiritual strength, the Master turned out to be the opposite.

Cowardice is also shown by Pontius Pilate, who, having power, is a coward. He is afraid of losing his authority, he is simply crushed by the masses. I could not insist on the truth, I did not save the person whose guilt I doubted, I gave up moral principles for which he paid.

Cowardice is the worst vice

The writer calls the most terrible vice - cowardice and it is very difficult to disagree with him. Why? This is because it is this shameful quality of humanity that pushes people to crimes. It is she who controls the actions of traitors, cowardice is also guided by those who often flatter their leadership. It is the coward who goes to lie, and all because he is afraid. Afraid to admit guilt and afraid to tell the truth. And you need to be above your vices. As one philosopher put it, after courage, there is nothing more beautiful than admission of cowardice. I also completely agree with this statement.