The Little Tyrant (Shout to Clitophon)

Last updated on: November 8, 2020 at 7:06 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

The Little Tyrant (Shout to Clitophon) 2020-11-08T07:06:20-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Some tyrants are great and terrible, say Stalin, but other evil folk may just be the running dog Pulitzer Prize winner who empowered him.

Most of us do not have the talent to even reach this level of tyranny. We lack the talent for spinning our mind control to millions. There are smaller tyrants who are simply narcissi having a moment of power and when the grift is revealed, they disappear. Frank Baum, of Oz fame, created a race of balloon people who could be punctured and fly away in a moment. Some tyrants are just this way: third-rate talent that chanced into power. When you see the grift, they deflate more quickly than one could imagine given their earlier bloviating.

They snark on Twitter, but cannot block critics fast enough.

What is a tyrant? He is any guru. A tyrant is any spin master or pundit who has predetermined the conclusion, but still pretends to follow the process of reason. The good God insists that both the ends and the means be just. The tyrant, great or small, cares only about the end: follow the tyrant. As to the means? They cheat. They double shuffle. The small tyrant, often, will justify his tyranny, his bias, his mendacity, but pointing to the Big Tyrant. “At least, I am not him.” they say.

Against the great tyrant, the spirit of Antichrist, philosophers like Saint John and Plato level the great guns of philosophy: works like the Gospel of John and Republic. Plato saw the problem of small tyrants. In Republic, he has a character, Clitophon, speak up as the great tyrannical guru Thrasymachus opines. This Clitophon is given a short dialogue to tell his lesser lies. The lesser tyrant is the man who would control his tiny world and so he gets a tiny dialogue!

So it goes.

God help me avoid tyranny. Potentially great tyrants are warned by saints like Ambrose. This saint was willing to tell an emperor “repent.”

Against becoming a lesser tyrant, there are saints like Saint Raphael. This good man labored with the poor, orphans, and a divided North American church. He was a scholar whose service cut him off from the communities of discourse he loved. He did not complain. The tyrants, great and small, draw attention to self. The saints, great and small, are saints because they draw attention to the good God and serve the poor. Saint Raphael, a twentieth century saint, is such a one. He was the slayer of small tyrants by being the servant of all people. While robber barons exploited workers, Saint Raphael served workers.

Rejoice, O Father Raphael, Adornment of the Holy Church! Thou art Champion of the true Faith, Seeker of the lost, Consolation of the oppressed, Father to orphans, and Friend of the poor, Peacemaker and Good Shepherd, Joy of all the Orthodox, Son of Antioch, Boast of America: Intercede with Christ God for us and for all who honor thee.

From a devotional for the Clitophon at The College program at The Saint Constantine School.

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

November 3, 2020

God Be Kind To Us (with bonus reference to Ion)

Next Post

November 5, 2020 Love (God and Neighbor!)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: __!

Select your answer to see how you score.

Hope Believe Pray Rejoice

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »