'Age generally make men more tolerant; youth is always discontented'. Thus contends Hegel in his Lectures on the Philosophy of History. Well, I certainly differ from Hegel's generally wise oldies. I am definitely not growing more tolerant, in the sense of being more contented. Quite the opposite. The boy at heart in me, perhaps. The adolescent. But is that bad? The old today hardly mirror the virtues of Biblical patriarchs. The glorious discontent of youth may be preferable to the stodgy, safe maxims of today's old codgers. As to tolerance, what is it? And is it really a virtue?
Maybe Catholic writer Paul Claudel got closer to finding the answer when he said: 'La tolerance? Il y a des maisons pour la tolerance!' Quite sharp. 'Maison de tolerance' is the old French name for a brothel. So Claudel was saying that tolerance is a kind of prostitute. Like prostituting yourself to ideas that seem wise and acceptable but are actually pernicious. And of course getting quite well paid into the bargain...
Be that as it may, I am determined to stay discontented. Like Count Pococurante in Voltaire's Candide. But, unlike Voltaire's character, having some good reasons to be discontented. The chief reason being that I am a Christian.