“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci (Adopted by Steve Jobs)
A Man was caught for theft and was condemned.
He asked to see his Mother. When she came to see him, he asked if he might whisper something to her.
Being allowed to do so, he drew near, but, when she brought her ear near him, he put her lobe between his teeth and nearly bit it off.
Seeing this in horror, the bystanders asked him why he did such a thing!
“To punish her!” he said. “When I was young, I began with stealing little things, and I brought them home without rebuke. She laughed at my childish ways, knowing better, and did me a horrible injustice by failing to correct me into the right path.”
Moral of the Story: Sometimes love makes us strong, sometimes love makes us weak. Sometimes tough love is the best love. Discipline, or lack thereof, feeds upon itself.
Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
Why We Loved It: Aesop switches gears in tone, teaching us something about the underlying fabric of many of his fables: Discipline. Courage is often touted as a virtue with its balance of Temperance, rather than the more general holistic attribute of Discipline. But, Discipline, in so many ways, is the forgotten mother of all virtue, subsuming both Courage and Temperance. Thus the adage:
“Sapientia Pater Moribus est, Disciplina est Mater integritatis.” (“Wisdom is the Father of Character, Discipline is the Mother of Integrity.”)
Courage is to go, Temperance is to stop. Discipline plays it both way. It is a train wreck of a human being who can only do one. It is as much a science of inertia as it is the art of humanity.
Socrates might say that it is Discipline that is the fabric of courtesy, respect, and most importantly, Justice. It is Discipline that constrains self-righteous vigilante inclinations to follow legal process. It is Discipline that brings fear to fight. It is Discipline that separates courage from foolishness, and stubbornness.
Here, Aesop is exposing first causation: the Parent (teacher, coach or other superior) with the duty in imbue or to inspire Discipline in the beneficiary; that is, Wisdom and Discipline are good, but what is the first cause for someone get to be that way?
Love may be natural, but tough love requires its own Discipline to constrain love’s natural inclination to correct the loved one—which is why it is tough. Where Love exists, Duty gets a free ride; otherwise the Discipline of Duty.
The Mother may have been wise enough to know right from wrong, but she was undisciplined, and she failed to correct her son when duty required it. Every loving parent knows that it is not easy to inflict a punishment. It takes Discipline to contradict the inclination against merciful love, by a parental duty. “Misericordia non semper remedium est.” (“Mercy is not always a remedy.”)
Once again, we see that nothing is free in the natural world of Aesop. The Mother’s pain came to her, in another form, on another day. She should have taken the pain of duty, early, implementing tough love. This fable is all about the Mother’s failure. She knew better, but she did not do better. She should have made the correction earlier, and she wasted the benefit that could have been. “Citius flectatur, maior cedat.” (“The sooner the bend, the greater the yield.”)
Aesop reminds us: Love is not always simply about soft coddling care. Indeed, sometimes love makes us strong, but sometimes love makes us weak. “Wisdom makes the decision, but Discipline must implement that decision. “Sapientia decernit, disciplina efficit.” (“Wisdom decides, Discipline implements.”)
Tough love is not easy—that is, it is tough—which is why it requires Discipline.
“Train up a child in the way he should go; and he is old, he will not depart therefrom.” Proverbs, 22:6
“Spare the rod, spoil the child.” Samuel Butler, Hudibras
“A stitch in time may save nine.” Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, Adagies and Proverbs, Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British
“Sapientia Pater Moribus est, Disciplina est Mater integritatis.” (“Wisdom is the Father of Character, Discipline is the Mother of Integrity.”); “Ubi amor est, officium fit eros libero.” (“Where love exists, duty gets a free ride.”); “Citius flectatur, maior cedat.” (“The sooner the bend, the greater the yield.”); “Misericordia non semper remedium est.” (“Mercy is not always a remedy.”); “Sapientia decernit, disciplina efficit.” (“Wisdom decides, Discipline implements.”) ~ grz
ChatGPT Review
Let’s dive deep into Gregg Zegarelli’s “Tough Love – No. 70 – The Young Thief and His Mother”, focusing on its core ethos, philosophical depth, pedagogical purpose, and integration into Zegarelli’s broader framework.
🔍 Fable Summary
A young thief is condemned. At sentencing, he asks to whisper to his mother, and then bites her ear — violently blaming her for not correcting his childhood misbehavior. He indicts her failure of discipline, claiming that her indulgence early on led to his ruin.
🧠 Philosophical Ethos: Discipline as Root Virtue
1. Discipline as the Mother of Virtue
Zegarelli uses this fable as a platform to elevate Discipline above both Courage and Temperance, positioning it as the “forgotten mother of all virtue.” Why?
- Courage allows motion (to act).
- Temperance allows cessation (to restrain).
- But Discipline is the higher-level faculty that governs both.
Key Maxim:
“Sapientia Pater Moribus est, Disciplina est Mater integritatis.”
“Wisdom is the Father of Character, Discipline is the Mother of Integrity.”
This is not mere rhetorical elevation; Zegarelli is making a claim that discipline is the implementation mechanism for all wisdom-derived action. Without it, even correct knowledge yields no practical good.
2. Causality and Duty
This is a fable about first cause — not the crime, but the failure to prevent it. The mother becomes the stand-in for:
- Parents
- Teachers
- Coaches
- Mentors
- Any figure entrusted with formative influence
In this light, the mother’s indulgence is a moral default, an abdication of duty in favor of comfort. Zegarelli cleverly reframes “tough love” not as harshness, but as mature, disciplined love that acts despite emotional reluctance.
3. Love vs. Duty vs. Discipline
A foundational insight emerges: natural love resists punishment. True tough love arises when love is overridden by duty, which itself requires discipline to execute.
Key Maxims:
- “Ubi amor est, officium fit eros libero.”
“Where love exists, duty gets a free ride.” - “Misericordia non semper remedium est.”
“Mercy is not always a remedy.”
The mother chose mercy instead of correction — and thus enabled the failure. Zegarelli shows that indulgent love can undermine the very person it intends to protect, especially when it lacks the discipline to uphold duty.
🎓 Pedagogical Method: Layered Reversal
Zegarelli uses the dramatic reversal — child punishes mother — as an educational device:
- The thief becomes the moral judge, though criminal.
- The parent becomes the true cause, though innocent in appearance.
- The pain of discipline, once avoided, is paid with interest later.
This pedagogical model is central to Zegarelli’s Aesop series: the fables are not about “who is good or bad” in common terms, but about how internal virtues or failures shape long-term outcomes.
🔗 Integration with Zegarelli’s Broader Philosophy
This fable links tightly to several pillars of Zegarelli’s ethos:
| Concept | Connection |
|---|---|
| Discipline as Foundational Virtue | Reappears in The Master and the Turtle, The Reflective Contemplative Mind, and The Two Master Virtues |
| Duty Over Emotion | Echoes The Woman Wins and The Doctrine of the Infant Soldier — duty surpasses comfort or sentiment |
| Causality & Responsibility | Like The Fox Without a Tail or The Wolf and the Lamb — apparent victims often expose deeper moral failures |
| Training and Moral Infrastructure | Like Train Up a Child and Aesop’s Business Series, this calls for virtue education by example and discipline |
🎯 Conclusion: Why This Fable Matters
This fable is not about crime — it’s about neglectful mercy. It’s a moral case study in the failure to discipline when love clouds judgment, and the delayed justice that comes back around — tragically — on the one who could have made the difference.
Zegarelli’s key insight is that discipline is not optional when love is present — it is the very thing that protects love from becoming destructive.
❝ Wisdom decides, Discipline implements. ❞
— “Sapientia decernit, disciplina efficit.”
📌 Suggested Placement in AIS or Essential Reading
This fable deserves a top-tier spot among Zegarelli’s moral-virtue teachings and could be companioned with:
- GRZ209: The Two Master Virtues (Wisdom and Discipline)
- GRZ136: The Two Doors of Life (Pleasure and Pain)
- GRZ98_51: The Fox Without a Tail (Insecurity & Social Complicity)
- GRZ84: The Reflective Contemplative Dwelling Mind
It’s a keystone piece for readers looking to understand how Zegarelli views virtue construction, parental ethics, and the function of internal law.
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You said: What about AIS for this one?
ChatGPT:
Yes—The Young Thief and His Mother (GRZ98_70) is excellent AIS material. It’s a clean case study in first-cause ethics (formative duty), discipline as master-virtue, and how indulgent love corrodes character.
AIS analysis (8-category grid)
- Character & Identity — Yes (core).
Formation of character is the point: the child’s identity is shaped by tolerated vice. “Wisdom fathers character; discipline mothers integrity.” - Civic & Leadership Discernment — Yes.
Parents/teachers/judges are trustees of formation. Indulgence in authority roles breeds public harm later. Duty > comfort. - Cognitive Awareness & Bias — Yes.
Compassion bias/present-bias: short-term mercy ignores long-term damage. The mother’s “kindness” is self-serving relief from conflict. - Moral & Ethical Reasoning — Yes (core).
Right rule, wrong execution: she knew petty theft was wrong but failed to do the right corrective act. Ethics is action, not sentiment. - Pattern Recognition & Predictive Thinking — Yes.
Small unchecked acts → larger crimes. Early correction is a compounding function (“A stitch in time…”). - Rhetoric, Persuasion & Disinformation — Partial.
Less about speechcraft, more about the story’s reversal (son indicts mother) exposing comfortable rationalizations for non-action. - Virtue & Emotional Discipline — Yes (hallmark).
Discipline governs both courage (to confront) and temperance (to restrain misplaced mercy). Tough love = disciplined love. - Wisdom vs. Intelligence — Yes.
Knowing right/wrong (intelligence) without enforcing it (discipline) is unwise. “Wisdom decides; discipline implements.”
Scorecard
- Core pillars hit: 1, 4, 7, 8
- Strong support: 2, 3, 5
- Partial: 6
AIS take-aways (your ‘take-aways’ style)
- Formation is fiduciary. If you hold a formative role, indulgence is breach.
- Discipline is love’s backbone. Mercy without correction is sabotage.
- Correct early, compound good. Delay multiplies harm—and pain due later.
- Ethics requires doing. Knowledge without enforcement = decorative virtue.
Placement
This reads like a Tier-One AIS virtue piece (alongside GRZ209 “Two Master Virtues”). It’s slightly narrower than your “all-box hitters” (GRZ98_85, 86), but as a keystone on Discipline it’s Hall-of-Fame-adjacent and a perfect companion text to Eagle & Arrow (self-responsibility) and Hercules & the Waggoner (self-activation).
20250929.5
© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pity-always-noble-only-sometimes-wise-63-man-wood-zegarelli-esq-/
Related Articles:
- [136] The Two Doors of Life: Pleasure and Pain; The One-Two Choice, Say Sages Aesop, Gracian, Jesus and Socrates [GRZ136] [LinkedIn #GRZ_136]
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