How Does the Static Become Dynamic Goodness?

There is a seductive allure to the idea that innocence is synonymous with goodness. After all, what could be more virtuous than being free from sin? To be innocent is to be uncorrupted, untainted by the stains of wrongdoing. Yet this view misunderstands the nature of virtue itself. Virtue is not a static condition but a dynamic process: a journey through trials, errors, and triumphs that transforms the soul into something more than it was. So innocence can also mean being uninitiated into the virtues.

Consider the philosopher’s stone, that legendary object said to turn base metals into gold. The alchemist’s quest for this stone is not merely about finding a magical substance; it is about the transformation of self. Similarly, the path to goodness is not found in remaining untouched by temptation but in acting against it. A soul that has never faced the shadow of corruption cannot know the light of virtue. It is only through struggle for highest and greatest good that the confrontation of what we reject enacts in what we become; in which we learn who we truly are.

This brings us to a fundamental truth: innocence without action is a prison, not a paradise. To remain in innocence forever is to remain in ignorance, never learning the lessons that shape us into something more meaningful. The child who has never known the sting of lies cannot understand the value of truth; the heart untouched by betrayal cannot comprehend the strength of loyalty. Goodness, therefore, is not the absence of evil intent but the presence of strengths as qualities cultivated through GOOD choices made in the face of resistance to evil directly.

When we entered a civilised state, out from more primitive lifestyles, we took on new masters but only One which can lead us to life beyond our own.