This class is to be esteemed second to the clergy by a close imitation. We don't copy but imitate. And in due time men by careful discernment and action will cultivate a character with a special and harmonic ensemble of ideas, sentiments, and tastes that are in tune with that of the people he is called to serve.
These men will simultaneously stimulate high levels of refinement around them and avoid causing the flock to stumble— not in dress, not in speech, not in aesthetic tastes, nothing. A special abnegation it will take these men to reach such an estate of character and not all men are called to inherit such a patrimony of virtue. Nevertheless, they must arrive... They are the nobility.
"On one hand, there are the elites that control the strings of a certain social group and bring a small unity to it; then there is a superior elite that sees a higher unity in the crossing of the strings of various social groups, right up to the highest elite that plays the role of actually crossing the strings in the various levels of society." (1)
The first kind of elites are myriad, we can think of the the chair of a philosophical department at a university. He will leverage the ability to set the tone of the program. Will he opt for a highly technical language? Although serving the purpose of precision given his assessment of his students' character and characters leads to opt out. For one reason or another, he believes that it would deform their intellect rather than refine rendering them a burden to the common good. Now, maybe another chair of philosophy determines otherwise, it all depends on the social group he leads.
The second, higher kind of elite through his friendship with the chair of philosophy is aware of his program and the character of the social group. In addition, this elite sees how the philosophy department fits within the whole of the universtity. Not merely in a philosophical manner, however, he sees more comprehensively. He is deeply aware of the peculiar ideas, sentiments, and tastes. Or in other words, he possesses a penetrating psychological sense of this social group and its head, the chair. This elite we can say would aptly be president of the university.
The president of the university would be a higher kind of elite seeing with a penetrating psychological sense how all the departments of the university interact. Furthermore, he would possess a certain wisdom to harmonize them well as a conductor does various ensembles. What would result is a university with a distinct character or tone, by the will of God, brought out by the president. It is worth mentioning that God may allow a president to ascend which brings out an evil character that undermines the university and the good it may have produced in the past. Just think of the Ivy League universities today.
Finally, the highest kind of elite that crosses the "strings" of various social groups across different levels of society. This would naturally be the role of a king, although others may also. Alcuin of York comes to mind-- a teacher, poet, and calligrapher belonging to the court of Charlemagne. The king sees how all sectors of society with their peculiar character work together, from the education sector to the military.
Source: (1) Society of Souls by Dr. Plinio, Page 31
Painting: An Equestrian Portrait Of The Young King Charles II Of Spain by Sebastián Herrera Barnuevo (Spanish, 1619-1671)
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