Discipline
“Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement”.
Discipline consists of more than punishment, at the hand of authority, for wrongdoing. It includes self discipline; the regulation by a man of his own heart and mind, the cultivation of discernment, virtue and noble tastes and sentiments and the suppression of unbalanced passions, vice and mean dispositions. Discipline therefore, is a way of life.
The undisciplined man is a slave to passion, luxury and sloth. He entertains dreams on a large scale but the reality of his existence is pathetic. On the other hand, the disciplined man is a free man. His judgment is sound because he is trained and experienced in responsible judgment. His means are independent. His life is free of the debilitating influence of vice. He is able to discern between that which seems good and that which is good.
Although discipline does not consist merely of punishment, at the hand of authority, for wrongdoing, this external discipline is nevertheless very important, as an essential part in training the individual to be self-disciplined (by means of punishments, rewards and warnings). This is necessary and proper, both for the sake of the individual and society at large. This external discipline is necessary, for example, in schools, in order to induce the recalcitrant (stubborn/defiant) student to concentrate on his studies and observe proper behaviour as well as to protect the other students from a corrupting and disruptive influence. A failure by authority to impose discipline leads to malcontent workers or soldiers militarily speaking. A lack in discipline from authority refracts a lack of discipline to lower peers. In order to correct this infraction with Discipline within the ranks is simple. Merely a soldier is made to do push up strengthening their bodies but not necessarily their minds. Physical exertion is merely just a small...