How come time was not a Greek virtue? We think of the different virtues that the Greeks honored but time was not one of them. Aristotle and Plato both wrote about virtues and listed a number of key ones, but timeliness was not included. Whenever pictures of the Greek virtues are represented, it seems as though most of them are depicted as women. Faith, Hope, Justice etc. are all usually statues of women. How and why the Greeks did not think that timeliness was a virtue eludes me. Perhaps, time was not as important in the “old” days.
Well, today time and timeliness should be considered right up there with the great virtues. Only, in light of the need to provide some diversity, I think the Virtue of Time should be depicted as a man. I would design the Virtue of Time as a middle-aged man dressed in a business suit. He would be wearing a Rolex and carrying a Prada briefcase. He would be shown running with one arm raised and looking at his watch. On the bottom of the statue would be the words “Tempus Fugit.” Statues of Time could be placed in major banks, business institutions and all schools. Children would learn at an early age the virtue of being on time. How can we expect to run a modern society without the Virtue of Time?
Is time a virtue to you? Do you think it should be included among the great virtues of the world? If not, how do you justify its important to modern society? Do you think we are too obsessed with time? Are you too obsessed with time? Can you balance the virtue of timeliness with the other important virtues in your life?
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