The thesis to be discussed proposes a paradoxical inversion of the common perception of danger. It is asserted that although men considered "tough" can be dangerous, the true and greater threat lies in the capabilities of "weak" men. The central premise suggests that weakness, far from being harmless, harbors a potential for evil that surpasses the manifest danger of strength. This potential, when it manifests, makes the weak man the agent par excellence of the revolutionary process, whose essence is disorder itself (Oliveira, 1998). This essay will analyze this claim through the lens of Thomistic philosophical psychology, defining strength in terms of virtue and weakness in terms of vice, to demonstrate how the disorder of the soul's faculties, characteristic of the weak man, constitutes a more profound and insidious danger to himself and to society.
💪Defining True Strength: The Virtue of FortitudeTo analyze the thesis, it is crucial first to establish an ontological definition of "strength" and "weakness." From a Thomistic viewpoint, a man's true strength lies not in physical aggression or domination, but in the perfection of his faculties through virtue. The very word "virtue" derives from the Latin vis, meaning power or force (Ripperger, 2013). Therefore, a "tough" or strong man, in the most authentic sense, is a virtuous man. He represents inner order, the hierarchy of the soul in which the intellect and will govern the sensibility, reflecting the hierarchical order of the universe desired by God (Oliveira, 1998).
The virtue that most closely approximates the popular concept of "toughness" is fortitude. Fortitude is the moral virtue that moderates the irascible appetite, ensuring firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good (Ripperger, 2013). The strong man, endowed with fortitude, does not act on blind impulse; his actions are governed by right reason (recta ratio). He does not fear death or bodily evils when it comes to defending a greater good, nor does he recklessly throw himself into danger. He possesses self-mastery; his passions of anger and audacity are subordinate to his will and intellect. His soul, therefore, is the antithesis of the revolutionary spirit.
The "danger" such a man represents is directed and ordered. He is dangerous to evil, to injustice, and to disorder. His actions, being based on principles and prudence, are predictable and consistent. He does not seek control over others to satisfy his disordered appetites but acts for the common good. His strength is a force that builds and protects Christian civilization, not one that destroys on a whim.
⛓️The Nature of Weakness: Vice and the Disorder of the Faculties
Conversely, "weakness" corresponds to vice, from the Latin vitium, meaning flaw or defect (Ripperger, 2013). Vice is a bad habit that disorders a faculty, making it deficient in its proper operation. The weak man, therefore, is the vicious man, whose faculties of the soul are in a state of disorder. This condition is analogous to the four wounds of original sin that afflict human nature: ignorance (in the intellect), malice (in the will), weakness (in the irascible appetite), and concupiscence (in the concupiscible appetite) (Ripperger, 2013). This disorder is the fertile ground where the driving passions of the Revolution germinate: pride and sensuality (Oliveira, 1998).
The weak man is not the master of his actions. On the contrary, he is a slave to his passions. It is the "lamentable tyranny of all the unbridled passions over a weak and bankrupt will and an obfuscated intelligence" (Oliveira, 1998, p. 21). His intellect is obscured by antecedent passion, which impedes right judgment and leads to rashness and thoughtlessness (Ripperger, 2013). His weakened will does not adhere firmly to the true good but easily yields to the apparent good presented by disordered appetites. His irascible and concupiscible appetites are not governed by reason but drag it along, making the man inconstant and focused on sensible pleasures as his ultimate end. This is the essence of weakness: a lack of inner order and self-mastery, a submission of the higher faculties (intellect and will) to the lower ones (sensitive appetites).
🌪️The Danger of Weakness: The Corruption of Judgment and the Tyranny of Passions
It is precisely in this disorder that the insidious danger of the weak man lies. While the danger of the strong (virtuous) man is controlled by reason and directed toward a good end, the danger of the weak man is unpredictable, irrational, and potentially limitless. He is the individual manifestation of the revolutionary process, which progresses through successive convulsions and disorders (Oliveira, 1998).
First, because he lacks the strength of virtue to achieve his ends through upright means, the weak man resorts to devious means. He is prone to cunning (astutia), deceit (dolus), and fraud (fraus), which are vices contrary to prudence (Ripperger, 2013). Just like the Revolution itself, which advances through "fraudulent metamorphoses" and hides behind masks to deceive its victims (Oliveira, 1998, p. 37), he manipulates, lies, and deceives because he lacks the fortitude to face reality head-on and the justice to act correctly. His behavior is driven not by principles but by a desperate quest to satisfy his appetites or to protect himself from perceived fears.
Second, the weak man is governed by fear, envy, and resentment. Lacking the fortitude to endure life's difficulties, he lives in fear. Lacking the charity to rejoice in the good of others, he is consumed by envy. Envy is the psychological face of egalitarian pride, which hates any and all superiority and, ultimately, hates the very hierarchical order of creation, thereby hating God (Oliveira, 1998). Unable to forgive injuries due to a lack of magnanimity, he nurtures resentment and seeks revenge. These disordered passions, when not moderated by virtue, become the source of acts of great cruelty. A man acting out of fear can be driven to extreme and irrational acts that a strong man would never consider. A man acting out of envy will seek to destroy the good in another, becoming a purely destructive force.
Third, the weak man seeks to control others because he cannot control himself. The lack of self-control generates a need to dominate the external environment and the people around him to mitigate his insecurity and ensure the satisfaction of his desires (Ripperger, 2013). This tyranny over others is a projection of his own inner slavery to the passions. It is the same paradox of the Revolution, which, born from a yearning for absolute freedom (liberalism), culminates in the most complete tyranny of the socialist state and, finally, in anarchy (Oliveira, 1998). He becomes dangerous not through an excess of strength, but through a lack of it, compensating for his inner weakness with external oppression.
✅Conclusion
The thesis that weak men are more dangerous than strong men finds full validation in Thomistic psychology and aligns perfectly with the analysis of the revolutionary process. Genuine strength is virtue, a power ordered by reason that enables a man to act rightly and to endure evil with firmness. Weakness is vice, a disorder that delivers man to the tyranny of his passions, corrupts his judgment, and impels him to acts of manipulation, cruelty, and control. The danger of the strong man is predictable and directed toward the good; the danger of the weak man is insidious, irrational, and destructive, for he is the fuel and the agent of the revolutionary disorder that aims to corrode society. Therefore, the formation of character through the acquisition of virtues is not merely a moral ideal but a fundamental psychological necessity for the health of the individual and the stability of society, protecting them from the chaos generated by weakness. It is, in essence, a counter-revolutionary task.
📚References
Oliveira, P. C. de. (1998). Revolução e Contra-Revolução (4th ed.). Artpress.
Ripperger, C. (2013). Introduction to the science of mental health. Sensus Traditionis Press.