“Search others for their virtues, thyself for thy vices”,
Benjamin Franklin. The subject of vices was brought to my attention recently
and it has become a topic I keep going back to in my mind. I was asked what my
vices were and I had trouble answering the question. At first I had to
contemplate the meaning of the word. I had a basic understanding of the concept
of a vice, but for some reason felt the need for a specific definition. It
being the 21st century, I merely decided to look it up online. At
first, I used a simple dictionary. I figured a plain answer would be best to
help me in my query. After reading the many, albeit similar, definitions of the
word I decided I needed a more in depth explanation. Thus, I turned to the often
distrusted Wikipedia. Personally, I love the site. I am aware that it is not
100% accurate all the time, but often I just need the gist of something and so
it is perfect. So I decided to investigate what Wikipedia had to say about
vice. It was actually extremely helpful. You see, the dictionary will tell you
the exact meaning of the word. Thus I learned that a vice is “an immoral or
evil habit or practice”. Wikipedia, however, explained the more loose ways in
which the word can be used. For example, a vice can often refer to a fault or
unhealthy/bad habit. These things may not necessarily be evil or immoral, but
simply a negative trait. Now, knowing the definition allows me to answer the
question of my own vices. You see, I think that nobody is perfect and therefore
must have at least one vice. If we were to look at the simple definition of the
word though, I would not be able to find anything that applies to me. I do not
do things that are immoral or evil. Truthfully, the thought never crosses my
mind. Using the more lenient definition makes it a little less difficult to
come up with one. I do not have many bad habits, and none that fall into the
general idea of a vice; I don’t smoke, I don’t do drugs, I rarely drink and
almost never get drunk (thus preventing it from being a habit), and I don’t
sleep around. I have no vices in that sense of the word. If I had to think of
one, the only thing I could come up with is that I can be lazy at times. Sloth
is one of the seven deadly sins so that should make it a vice.
On the other
hand, I tend to be a hard worker when I need to be and I certainly know how to
get things done. So the quandary now becomes whether my theory of vices is
wrong or whether I am unaware of my bad habits. Perhaps not everybody has to
have a vice. That is not to say they are perfect, but perhaps there are people
in the world who don’t have habits/practices bad enough to be considered a
vice. Maybe these people can fall into the category of having a weakness (mine
would be books; but again, is reading a bad enough habit to be called a vice?
Wouldn’t it qualify as more of a hobby?), but is a weakness really wicked
enough to be a vice? Could Wikipedia truly be wrong this time? Or could our own
acceptance of a less harsh definition of the term vice impact the behavior of
society? Either way, Cicero once said “It is a great thing to know our vices”.
So I encourage you to search yourself and try to discover your own vices;
whichever meaning you subscribe to.
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