What Sustains Us in Life? Exploring Virtues with Gotthelf
The famous Swiss author Jeremias Gotthelf lived and worked as a pastor in Lützelflüh around 200 years ago—about 30 minutes from where I live today. His real name was neither Gotthelf nor Jeremias, but Albert Bitzius. People regularly confided their worries and failings to him, sharing deeply personal details of their lives, and he gained a profound insight into what troubled them. From these encounters, he could distil, in a sense, what makes for a fulfilling life and which decisions lead people into difficulty. In his books Uli the Farmhand and Uli the Tenant Farmer, Gotthelf offers an inspiring account of how a person with little hope and no money to start with can gradually work their way towards responsibility and prosperity, despite adverse circumstances. I am currently reading his book Anne Bäbi Jowäger, where similar stories unfold. His characters embody virtues rooted in Christianity.
- Diligence and reliability: doing things carefully and keeping promises.
- Humility: knowing our limits, accepting correction and continuing to learn.
- Kindness and compassion: respecting people even when we expect nothing in return.
- Honesty: being truthful with ourselves and others.
- Prudence: distinguishing between a fleeting impulse and a lasting aspiration.
- Courage and sound judgement: taking responsibility and speaking up when something is wrong.
We can readily relate these characters and their conversations to life today. Jeremias Gotthelf’s stories are more than mere fiction: they are grounded in his observations. He could draw on his wealth of experience as a pastor and compare different ways of living and different choices without having to make the same mistakes himself. Through his books, he could convey virtues in ways that offered others a positive guide for their lives. As he himself wrote, even a brief exchange of words can take root in the soul and grow. Gotthelf shows how this can happen for both good and ill.
What do his books leave with us? What valuable seeds does he plant? He advocates virtues such as humility, diligence and kindness, as well as honesty and generosity of spirit. Yet we should always use our judgement and avoid letting our desires lead us astray. At the same time, it is important to listen to our feelings: is there love? Do I feel love for someone?
Gotthelf describes a world from around 200 years ago. Nevertheless, I recognise much in his characters that still concerns us today.
These virtues take on a very practical meaning when students live together:
Do I keep the agreements I make?
Do I address problems honestly?
And do I treat my housemates kindly even when our habits, political views and opinions differ?
