A CARPENTER doth not come and say, "Hear me discourse on the art of building"; but he hires a house and fits it up and shows himself master of his trade. Let it be your business likewise to do something like this: eat like a man; drink, dress, marry, have children, perform the duty of a citizen; bear reproach; bear with an unreasonable brother; bear with a father; bear with a son, a neighbour, a companion, as becomes a man. Show us these things that we may see that you have really learnt somewhat from the philosophers.
EPICTETUS. DISCOURSES. Book iii. §21. ¶1
Put your money where your mouth is.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, it is only mind games and distractions, a mental exercise with no workout, unless we make the transition from learning to lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of the mote in your neighbour's eye with a log in your own... Bear with all men/women with patience and understanding. Their walk is not yours and only by walking in their shoes can you truly understand what has made them who they are.
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to be a perfect Stoic to talk about Stoicism. It is actually a given that you are probably NEVER going to achieve 'perfection' as a Sage. This fact, however, is not an 'carte-blanche' for ignoring the principles you profess. The ancient Stoic had a term for the student who is progressing. He was a 'prokopton'. The point of Stoicism is not the goal. It never was. The point of Stoicism is the progress each of us make in discovering and expressing our own inner Sage. This a life long journey, and it is the journey that matters.
ReplyDeleteThe journey to your goal begins with the first step. It is in the process that Stoicism is learned, the daily decisions and evaluations. The work of excavating a soul to find the inner sage that is left after the firing process of life.
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