“Choose an ideal, more as something to emulate, than as something to imitate. Examples of greatness lie about us, living texts of renown”… Baltazar Gracian
The aforementioned aphorism was taken from Martin Fischer’s translation of the Art of Worldly Wisdom which was originally written in the 17th century. Gracian first published it in 1647 after his study of Europe’s most powerful and influential men and women. Three hundred and fifty years later little has changed with men and women who look for role models whom we can learn from and emulate.
We begin our little lives as children imitating more than emulating, but as we build a life of our own and strive to become wiser, we begin to understand that imitation is impossible and has a fruitless end. We cannot be just like another, nor can anyone ever be just like us. The art of emulation is best accomplished over time after great personal study, observation, and application.
The sage ones look for models, mentors, and examples to emulate. They look at parts of a person that can be emulated and not the whole. We cannot extol the character, virtues, and mannerisms of another and expect to achieve the same results. It took a life of listening, observing, thinking, and evaluating on their part to get to where they are. We can’t duplicate another’s life, therefore another’s overall qualities.
What we can do is study those models from which we can emulate certain qualities or attributes that we wish to represent. Think of someone who has a quality that you admire. They need not be a perfect whole but may have one particular attribute that you would like to represent. One whom that particular quality makes them stand above all others in that regard. Then study the person as well as the quality and the circumstances in which you desire to demonstrate the same characteristic.