What is most important in human life? That is a perennial question which all of us ask ourselves, in one form or another, at some point in our lives. Unfortunately, many of us only confront that question either late in life or when tragic circumstances force the question upon us. Often, it is only after the raging fires of our youthful passions and career ambitions have exhausted our enthusiasm that we stop long enough to contemplate what is truly important...
What defined a Stoic above all else was the choice of a life in which every thought, every desire, and every action would be guided by no other law than that of universal Reason. ~ Pierre Hadot[1] The Stoics placed a rational, divine, and providential cosmos at the center of their philosophical system and relied on it as a guide for their every thought, desire, and action. For the Stoic, Nature is the measure of all things. As an expression...
The practice of Stoicism requires that we understand the theoretical essentials of the Stoic philosophical system. However, we must be vigilant not to get sucked into the trap of academic philosophy where analysis leads to paralysis, and philosophy becomes meaningless to all but those holding PhDs in the subject. Likewise, we must not apply Stoicism as a psychological balm or existential add-on to a twenty-first-century lifestyle otherwise focused on material success. We need to remember the purpose of Stoic practice,...
If I know Providence, I know my good and can follow it; so, no complaint. If I know not my good, I do not in reality know Providence. So if I complain, I complain of a specter and not a Deity: I complain as an animal, not as a man.[1] Either providence or atoms. By repeated use of this simple disjunction, Marcus Aurelius condensed and contrasted the worldviews proposed by the Stoics and the Epicureans, and emphasized the importance of...
Musonius in situ Of all the Stoics whose teachings survive, it’s fair to say that Musonius Rufus is the least studied, and I would argue, the least appreciated. For the past year I have been mostly a student solely of Musonius. When Chris started his series on The Piety of the Stoics, I asked if he had one planned for Musonius, and he suggested I try my hand at it. This is the result of that. I’d like to start...
Everything suits me that suits your designs, O my universe. Nothing is too early or too late for me that is in your own good time. All is fruit for me that your seasons bring, O nature. All proceeds from you, all subsists in you, and to you all things return. (Meditations 4.23) The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius was a deeply spiritual person and that fact comes across clearly in his Meditations. American philosopher and religious scholar Jacob Needleman suggests...
If I were a nightingale, I would perform the work of a nightingale, and if I were a swan, that of a swan. But as it is, I am a rational being, and I must sing the praise of God. This is my work, and I accomplish it, and I will never abandon my post for as long as it is granted to me to remain in it; and I invite all of you to join me in this same...
Seneca’s writing reveals a committed Stoic, a pious soul, and an inspirational moral philosopher. Nevertheless, some of his actions and financial dealings have generated doubt about his genuineness. The historical Seneca is a mixed bag if the record can be trusted. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind that Seneca engaged in politics at the highest levels of the dominant world power of his time. Thus, he had powerful enemies, not the least of which was Emperor Nero. When...
If I were a nightingale, I would perform the work of a nightingale, and if I were a swan, that of a swan. But as it is, I am a rational being, and I must sing the praise of God. (Epictetus, Discourses 1.16-20) As I wrote in a previous post, many people introduced to Stoicism by twenty-first-century popularizers are surprised by the religious nature of Stoic philosophy and the deep religious piety of the Stoics. Likewise, they are unaware that...
Say to yourself at the start of the day, I shall meet with meddling, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, and unsociable people. They are subject to all these defects because they have no knowledge of good and bad. But I, who have observed the nature of the good, and seen that it is the right; and of the bad, and seen that it is the wrong; and of the wrongdoer himself, and seen that his nature is akin to my own—not...
