The wise person is still not harmed by the storms of life— poverty, pain, and the rest. For not all his works are hindered but only those that pertain to others. He is himself, always, in his actions, and in the doing of them he is greatest when opposed by fortune. For it is then that he does the business of wisdom itself, which as we just said is his own good as well as that of others. (Letters 85.37) […]
Note: An updated version of this post is now available as Episode 24 of the Stoicism On Fire podcast. People seek retreats for themselves in the countryside, by the seashore, in the hills; and you too have made it your habit to long for that above all else. But this is altogether unphilosophical, when it is possible for you to retreat into yourself whenever you please. (Meditations 4.3.1) The modern world is bursting with angst. News of an impending environmental […]
Isn’t it likely that in our case too, it can’t be sufficient merely to want to become a virtuous and good person, but that it is also necessary to acquire some kind of knowledge? (Discourses 2.14.10) Discourses 2.14 is addressed to a wealthy and powerful Roman named Naso, who apparently accompanied his son at one of Epictetus’ lectures. Epictetus opens this dialogue by suggesting that Naso may find his lecture ‘tiresome’ because he is presumably unacquainted with the process of […]
Our situation is like that at a festival. Sheep and cattle are driven to it to be sold, and most people come either to buy or to sell, while only a few come to look at the spectacle of the festival, to see how it is proceeding and why, and who is organizing it, and for what purpose. So also in this festival of the world. Some people are like sheep and cattle and are interested in nothing but their […]
UPDATE: This topic is also covered in Episode 6 of the Stoicism On Fire podcast Some things are within our power, while others are not. Within our power are opinion, motivation, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is of our own doing; not within our power are our body, our property, reputation, office, and, in a word, whatever is not of our own doing. (Enchiridion 1) The Stoic Dichotomy of Control (DOC) is simultaneously the most intuitively simple aspect […]
From everything that happens in the universe it is easy to praise providence, if one has within him two things: the faculty of taking a comprehensive view of the things that happen to each person and a sense of gratitude. For, otherwise, one will either fail to recognize the usefulness of what has come about, or else fail to be truly grateful if one does in fact recognize it. (Discourses 1.6.1-2) Psychological resilience is a byproduct of Stoic practice; it […]
The doctrine that the world is a living being, rational, animate and intelligent, is laid down by Chrysippus in the first book of his treatise On Providence, by Apollodorus in his Physics, and by Posidonius… And it is endowed with soul, as is clear from our several souls being each a fragment of it. (DL 7.142-3)[1] Some people think the idea of a conscious cosmos is an antiquated relic of the ancient Stoics that must be abandoned to modernize Stoicism. […]
NOTE: This post has been updated and is available as Stoicism On Fire, Episode 23
NOTE: This post has been updated and is available as Stoicism On Fire, Episode 22
NOTE: This post has been updated and is available as Stoicism On Fire, Episode 21
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