Goodness, Beauty and Truth, I call this the ancient triad. The classical culture of Greek civilisation called this the triumvirate. It’s interesting to see this triad existed in other civilisations. There is something Trinitarian in the function of these three, existing together as one. They seem to belong together, just like an American BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) sandwich.
Goodness, Beauty and Truth are not ultimate realities, they each point beyond themselves to God. C. K. Chesterton put it so well, “God is not a symbol of Goodness: Goodness is a symbol of God.” Each member of this triad is a symbol, a signifier which tells us something about God. They are reminders of him, pointers to him. This is the reason why we should love them.
So, wherever we encounter Goodness, we see something which points to the essence of God himself. We glimpse it in the smile of a stranger. Because God is personal, goodness is also personal. Not some cold code of ethics, this was the Roman ideal of goodness. The same is true of Beauty—every dimension of it is a symbol which points us to God. He is not beautiful, he is Beauty. All that is beautiful in some way reflects him. It acts as a kind of icon which is a pale reflection of who he is.
And in the same manner, all that is true points to God. The English puritans were fond of saying, “All truth meets at the top.” All truth points to the one who is himself the Truth. Truth is not propositions, mere statements of fact, it is also personal.