The stoic Epictetus
Few words have been more corrupted by appropriation and misuse than the modern derivative of the ancient philosophy of Stoicism. Today,
stoic is a word rendered vacant of the original quest for enlivenment that animated Stoic philosophy, instead warped to connote the very opposite — a kind of unfeeling forbearance that borders on pursed-lipped resignation.
But two millennia ago, Stoicism emerged as a life-affirming platform for being — a kind of supervitamin for the soul, fortifying the human spirit against the trials of daily life, against the onslaught of the world, and, above all, against its own foibles. At its heart was the idea that the four cardinal virtues of courage, justice, wisdom, and self-control are the seedbed of human flourishing, and that all of our suffering arises from our perception and interpretation of events, rather than the events themselves — an idea that has as much in common with
Buddhism as it does with
Bertrand Russell.
Stoicism's wide appeal and application is reflected in the diversity of its originators and early proponents — a Roman emperor and military leader, a celebrated playwright, a former slave who freed and sculpted himself into a prominent lecturer, a successful merchant, and a former boxer who put himself through school by working as a water carrier. Over the millennia, Stoicism has continued to influence minds as varied as
Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Martha Nussbaum, and
Tim Ferriss. Today, the Stoics' wisdom is as valid and empowering as ever — Marcus Aurelius's advice on
how to begin each day is a potent recipe for sanity in the modern world; Seneca's meditation on
how to stretch life's shortness by living wide rather than long remains the greatest consolation for the fact of our finitude, and his advice on
the mightiest antidote to fear continues to fortify the spirit; Epictetus's notion of
self-scrutiny applied with kindness is perhaps the best attitude we can cultivate toward ourselves and the surest strategy for true growth.
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