<!-- bryant-content-generator:start --> # Classical excellence was a civic arrangement... > Classical excellence was a civic arrangement rather than an inspirational poster. Rubio described philosophy, poetry, athletics, art, war, and statecraft as arenas in which people trained, competed, and exposed their work to judgment. Such contests can be abused, but they also make a culture capable of distinguishing achievement from self-congratulation. A neo-Western renewal has to recover the productive discipline of excellence, not merely its vocabulary. **Source:** [[articles/America's Neo-Western Renewal from the Acropolis of Athens to Eternity|America's Neo-Western Renewal from the Acropolis of Athens to Eternity]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Classical excellence was a civic arrangement rather than an inspirational poster. Rubio described philosophy, poetry, athletics, art, war, and statecraft as arenas in which people trained, competed, and exposed their work to judgment. Such contests can be abused, but they also make a culture capable of distinguishing achievement from self-congratulation. A neo-Western renewal has to recover the productive discipline of excellence, not merely its vocabulary.” — Bryant McGill https://bryantmcgill.com/passages/passages-classical-excellence-civic-excellence-merely-vocabulary ``` <!-- bryant-content-generator:end -->