Relation+to+Edgar+Huntly

**Relation to Edgar Huntly**

//Edgar Huntly Or Memoirs of a Sleepwalker// is a novel written by Charles Brockden Brown. It is a commentary on the human condition as well as a political statement on nation building. It examines the difficulty of controlling the sensual, passionate, irrational animalistic aspects of human nature. This need for control is the main purpose of Cicero's "On Duties" which discusses virtues and duties needed to control these passions in order to become enlightened and live virtuously.

Cicero's virtues in the context of //Edgar Huntly// present themselves by showing how incapable individuals are with handling the responsibility of adhering to these virtues. Cicero and Brown both believe man is inherently evil and in need of strong values, guidelines, and control to keep its their beast side at bay. Brown presents these virtues and duties in a real world experiment format in his novel to show what would really happen when they were tested among the harsh American wilderness. In //Edgar Huntly//, Edgar Huntly goes through the novel following Cicero's guidelines and virtues, yet he does not become perfect, rather just the opposite. Brown's novel shows that even though it may seem ideal to be a person or citizen capable of strictly following all of the duties mentioned, it is impossible. Brown believes that instead of attempting to completely discard the lofty irrational side of man, such as Cicero suggested, "One should also be free from all disturbing emotions, not only from desire and fear, but equally from solicitude, and sensuality, and anger, that there may be serenity of mindand that freedom fron care which brings with it both evenness of temper and dignity of character."(Cicero, On Duties) one must embrace and control it. Edgar Huntly only becomes enlightened and free by the end of the novel when he fully realizes and understands true human nature.

Brown is able to create a real world experiment to put Cicero's virtues to the test and to see how man would live up or fail to live up to them. This would in turn explain his philosophy on government because if man could not survive and upkeep these virtues alone he would have to have a strong government to control his inner beast rather than just ethics and virtues. The first and most important virtue according to Cicero is WISDOM, "Perception and skillful treatment of the truth...wisdom and prudence, proceed the investigation and discovery of truth."(Cicero, On Duties), without it man has no capability or desire to pursue anything or to follow virtues. Wisdom is imperative in //Edgar Huntly// because it is the driving force which commands everyone in the novel. Just as Cicero believed, it drives people to discover truth, which is what Edgar Huntly finally finds in the end of the novel, "What light has burst upon my ignorance of myself and of mankind! How sudden and enormous the transition from uncertainty to knowledge!"(6). While Edgar Huntly is transformed into a better human being by pursuit of this knowledge Clithero realizes his beastly nature and is destroyed by it, "Clithero is a madman whose liberty is dangerous, and who requires to be fettered and imprisoned as the most atrocious criminal." (Brown, 283) This is an example of how Cicero's wisdom virtue is valid and important while the rest of his virtues are presented as invalid and not enough to be sufficient to control man alone.

The first virtue to be presented as incorrect is that which defines Cicero's idea of JUSTICE. Cicero believes in justice and the respect of human beings and of their rights but also supports the idea of just revenge. Brown seems to disagree with this idea as the quest for vengeance only leads to their beastly nature, he asserts that this lust for revenge is more beastly than virtuous. Brown also shows the example of Cicero's idea of just murder for self-defense to be false: although Clithero may have been just and virtuous in the eyes of Cicero, when he kills his fellow man he is cut off from humanity and becomes beastly and mad someone Edgar Huntly describes as, "...the most atrocious criminal."(Brown, 283). Brown does not believe that murder, even when in self-defense is justified- it is still a crime against nature and in fact is in violation of another of Cicero's virtues, that of kindness and one's duty to his fellow man by the union of brotherhood. Brown shows that when this virtue appears in his experiment it would have grave results and thus should not be used to strengthen government and control people with that principle virtue.

Another one of Cicero's principle virtues to be presented in Brown's experiment is that of KINDNESS. Brown both supports and does not support this virtue: he presents the two characters of Edgar Huntly and Clithero as bond by their union as "brothers" and fellow human beings and shows the kindness of Edgar Huntly as he believes and asserts that Clithero was a just victim. However, Brown makes it clear that his belief in the virtue of kindness has a set limit, Edgar Huntly only sympathizes with Clithero for brief moments and once he becomes fully cognizant of the severity of his crimes he no longer sympathizes with him- he sees him as a threat to their society and seeks to bring him to justice. Brown therefore believes that there should be civil kindness to one's fellow man but there should at no time be a grotesque leniency, especially in government.

Cicero's virtue of TEMPERANCE is presented in //Edgar Huntly// by showing how man must return to nature and his roots in an attempt to deal with his dangerous innate nature. Cicero believe that this virtue is essentially, "...modesty,...temperance, discretion, serenity of soul, and moderation of all things...are assigned to us by nature." (Cicero, On Duties). Brown like Cicero believes that the virtue of temperance is tied with nature and should be respected because nature is pure while man is evil.

=Cicero's Virtues =

Widsom
//"Perception and skillful treatment of the truth...wisdom and prudence, proceed the investigation and discovery of truth."(Cicero, On Duties)//

//"What light has burst upon my ignorance of myself and of mankind! How sudden and enormous the transition from uncertainty to knowledge!"(6)//

//"I cannot forget that my unfortunate termerity has created this evil. Yet who could foresee this consequence of my intelligence? I imagined, that Clithero was merely a victim of erroneous gratitude, a slave of the errors of his education, and the prejudices of his rank, that his understanding was deluded by phantoms in the mask of virtue and duty, and not as you have strenuously maintained, utterly subverted." (281)//


 * Edgar Huntly's quest for wisdom begins with his relentless quest to discover Waldegrave's murderer and does not end until he discovers his true human nature.


 * Why do you think Clithero was unable to handle this kind of knowledge and the personal responsibilty of human nature? He went through a similar transformation that Edgar Huntly went through but he was destroyed by it, why did he fail?**

Justice
//"[Justice] constitutes the bond of human society and of a virtual community of life...the first demand of justice is, that no one do harm to another, unless provoked by injury...[and] that one use common possession as common, private."(Cicero, On Duties)//

//"Had not Indians, I asked, been lately seen in this neighbourhood? Were they not suspected of hostile designs? Had they not already committed some mischief? Some passenger, perhaps, had been attacked; or fire had been set to some house? On which side of the river had their steps been observed, or any devastation been committed?"//

//"I was somewhat comforted in thinking that thus much of necessary vengeance had been executed."(201)//


 * Edgar Huntly seeks to and comforts himself with justice for the death of his friend who was killed by Indians and Clithero is just when he kills out of self-defense.


 * Is Clithero's murder of Wiatte justifiable? Were his actions, in fact, //virtuous//? Why or why not?**


 * Was Edgar Huntly justified in killing the Indians he //knew// had killed his friend, attacked others, and captured the white woman? Why or why not?**

Kindness
//"...Beneficence and liberality,...demands circumspection...care must be taken lest our kindness be of disadvantage to those whom we seem to benefit."(Cicero, On Duties)//

//"His intents were noble and compassionate. But this is of no avail to free him from imputation of guilt." (88)//

//"That the execution should be assigned to him, who abounding in abhorrence, and in the act of self-defend, was the slayer of the menacer!" (88)//


 * Edgar Huntly shows kindness towards Clithero after he tells him his crimes- he has a duty to him through the union of brotherhood.

Temperance
//"...modesty,...temperance, discretion, serenity of soul, and moderation of all things...are assigned to us by nature." (Cicero, On Duties)//

//"Perhaps this wisdom was attested by the large share of excellence which he really possessed; and, that his character was not unblemished, proved only, that no exertions could preserve him from the vices that are inherent in wealth and rank, and which flow from the spectacle of universal depravity." (230)//


 * Brown shows us how important temperance is by showing Edgar Huntly's return to nature to more humble roots and that rank and inner nature pollute man and that minimalistic nature is more ideal.

Edgar Huntly, Or Memoirs of a Sleepwalker full text