Jonathon

Jonathon

June 03, 2026

We recently have become virtually acquainted with Jonathan, a tortoise of some size. He lives in the Seychelle Islands on a plantation. He is one hundred and ninety four years old, according to tortoise experts. This means, that Jonathan could have attended Queen Victoria’s Coronation in 1838, had he been invited. He could have placed with elegance one broad web toed flipper into the hands of Wellington, in the receiving line. But Jonathan was not invited to the Coronation. The reason was that Jonathan… is not interesting.

In his defence, we acknowledge that Jonathan could be the Poster Tortoise for the Wellness Movement which presently sweeps the United States and Canada. He smokes no cigarettes. He drinks no gin. He eats no red meat – only raw vegetables. He has achieved a certain Zen equanimity. But, he is just … boring.

Jonathan, and the Wellness Movement with which he slowly travels, have mistaken a long life … for a good life. What then makes a good life? More than one thing.

First, there have to be time limits to a good life, else there would be no reason to get out of bed in the morning. Like Oblomov, in the Goncharov novel of the same title, if tomorrow were forever we should all grow to resemble large tree sloths, as does Oblomov in his dressing gown once he finally arises.

Second, a good life must be lived in accordance with the six cardinal virtues of western civilization:

• Courage

• Generativity

• Authenticity

• Responsibility

• Phylotimia (love of duty)

• Agape (love of others apart from money, sex, and power)

We shall say more of these later.

But for an interesting life there must be something else; some bright light of choice and chance which rose across our pathway, separating out all that came before from all that followed after. This moment rose up in front of us, and then it passed away. It was different for each of us, but for each of us … it came. And what we did in the brief glow of that light, has made all the difference.

Jonathan had this Marshall McLuhan moment as well; but what it was, and what he did with it, he does not tell..