每日斯多葛

Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own...

What is the fruit of these teachings?

You will realize you are dying before your time!

All you need are these: certainty of judgment in the present moment

Let all your efforts be directed to something, let it keep that end in view.

A person who doesn’t know any one of these things doesn’t know why they are here.

What then can pollute and clog the mind’s proper functioning?

We must give up many things to which we are addicted, considering them to be good.

Some things are in our control, while others are not.

Not by marveling at the material!

seeking to avoid what is controlled by others, they will then be agitated

Keep this thought at the ready at daybreak, and through the day and night

We control our reasoned choice and all acts that depend on that moral will.

Is it not fear, suspicion, desire, or something like that?

What is the cause of this back and forth?

we address circumstances not in accordance with the right assumptions

The work is quite feasible, and is the only thing in our power. . . .

praising the earth that nourished it and grateful to the tree that gave it growth.

A podium and a prison is each a place, one high and the other low

See things anew as you once did—that is how to restart life!

What did I do that was unfriendly, unsocial, or uncaring?

For this is what makes us evil—that none of us looks back upon our own lives.

And those who are in the army, how few of their possessions they get to keep...

From Rusticus . . .

What’s left to be prized?

Always remember this power that nature gave you.

There are three areas in which the person who would be wise and good must be trained.

Take a good hard look at people’s ruling principle, especially of the wise

giving yourself a break from all other considerations.

And if some regard you as important, distrust yourself.

you’ll obey reason without putting it on display and rest easy in its care.

Rather, gentleness and civility are more human, and therefore manlier.

Frame your thoughts like this

When I see an anxious person, I ask myself, what do they want?

The one who cannot be upset by anything outside their reasoned choice.

Don’t be bounced around, but submit every impulse to the claims of justice

struggle daily in great spirit with difficult circumstances.

Many are harmed by fear itself

Are you then relieved from feeling it, if you bear it in an unmanly way?

things have no natural power to shape our judgments.

There is no more stupefying thing than anger, nothing more bent on its own strength.

Our soul is sometimes a king, and sometimes a tyrant.

For what would you sell these things?

Then compare to those the joy and satisfaction you’d feel for abstaining altogether.

For to be wise is only one thing

wake up and see that what’s there is just like those dreams.

If someone asks you how to write your name, would you bark out each letter?

It is quite impossible to unite happiness with a yearning for what we don’t have.

This is the true athlete—the person in rigorous training against false impressions.

Don’t burn in desire for it, but wait until it arrives in front of you.

gather for your inspection their so-called pleasures!

there our impediment lies.

I begin to speak only when I’m certain what I’ Il say isn’t better left unsaid.’

You shouldn’t give circumstances the power to rouse anger

know that it’s really your own opinion fueling it.

Smoke and dust, the stuff of simple myth trying to be legend...

He has his own tendencies, and his own affairs.

Of all the things that are, some are good, others bad, and yet others indifferent.

When the water is troubled, it appears that the light itself is moved too

Drop a few treats and you will get it out!

a clear perception of one’s own ruling principle.

Above all, it is necessary for a person to have a true self-estimate

You must be a unified human being, either good or bad.

These are base people who don’t live as they wish; and so, no base person is free.

But we don’t discern this and see them as free, when they cost us dearly.

it’s not so pleasant for others to hear about your affairs.

Heraclitus called self-deception an awful disease and eyesight a lying sense.

If a person gave away your body to some passerby, you’d be furious.

If you don’t, you’ll be ruined.

We can remove most sins if we have a witness standing by as we are about to go wrong.

The unrestricted person, who has in hand what they will in all events, is free.

For when you see that, you’ll feel compassion, instead of astonishment or rage.

Whenever you find yourself blaming providence

nothing is more hostile to a firm grasp on knowledge than selfdeception.

Were you to live three thousand years, or even a countless multiple of that

It’s what demands due diligence, care for others, and obedience to God.

You are not your body and hair-style, but your capacity for choosing well.

Today I escaped from the crush of circumstances, or better put

For there are two rules to keep at the ready

Wouldn’t I prefer not to fall into war?

People seek retreats for themselves in the country, by the sea, or in the mountains.

What is it then to be properly educated?

To put it briefly, this sickness is an unrelenting distortion of judgment

Show us these things so we can see that you truly have learned from the philosophers.

freedom isn’t secured by filling up on your heart’s desire

How does your ruling reason manage itself?

Diogenes of Sinope said we sell things of great value for things of very little

As soon as one is in place, principles become necessary.

be sure that you have wrecked your whole purpose in life.

Hurry to your own ruling reason, to the reason of the Whole, and to your neighbor’s.

But the base person is unable to do anything else.

Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought

Drama, combat, terror, numbness, and subservience

Our prayers are at war with our prayers, our plans with our plans.

Make sure you’re not made ‘Emperor,’ avoid that imperial stain.

First off, don’t let the force of the impression carry you away.

For we are made for cooperation.

arrogant opinion and mistrust.

accepting any appearance that flashes by without counting the cost.

you are an impression and not at all what you appear to be

It isn’t events themselves that disturb people, but only their judgments about them.

Throw out your conceited opinions

Thyestes: Anyone who has experienced how easily they flow back.

Don’t act grudgingly, selfishly, without due diligence, or to be a contrarian.

it’s better to produce the balance-sheet of your own life

Nothing will ever befall me that I will receive with gloom or a bad disposition.

listen closely to what’s being signaled.

Do away with the opinion I am harmed, and the harm is cast away too.

What are conflict, dispute, blame, accusation, irreverence, and frivolity?

we must discover the missing art of assent

Here’s a way to think about what the masses regard as being ‘good’ things.

Not by any means, but it is possible to be a person always stretching to avoid error.

It succeeds in its own purpose .. .

Of these, the first two are yours insofar as they are only in your care.

Just as when meat or other foods are set before us

The one who is harmed is the one who abides in deceit and ignorance.

For, as I’ve said, it’s possible to avoid without suspicion or hate.

How short-lived the praiser and praised, the one who remembers and the remembered.

Tantalus: The highest power is— Thyestes: No power, if you desire nothing.

Watch the stars in their courses and imagine yourself running alongside them.

in the same way what is good or evil and useful or useless differs for each person.

For philosophy doesn’t consist in outward display

First tell yourself what kind of person you want to be, then do what you have to do.

Otherwise they will be raw, spoiled, and not nourishing.

How much more worthy than spending on sticks and stones is it to spend on people?

the body is that of the doctor and the physical trainer

Young friend, if you wish to be beautiful, then work diligently at human excellence.

God laid down this law, saying: if you want some good, get it from yourself.

In the things outside of our own reasoned choice.

We must seize what flees.

Let us also produce some bold act of our own—and join the ranks of the most emulated.

Those who lack self-control live disoriented and disturbed lives.

Kindness is invincible, but only when it’s sincere, with no hypocrisy or faking.

The same principle is at work in our state of mind.

How quickly time erases such things, and how many will yet be wiped away.

Don’t set your mind on things you don’t possess as if they were yours

Try as a first step to remain calm and count the days you haven’t been angry.

By God, how much I’d like to see a Stoic.

the principle, the task, or what’s being portrayed.

That’s why the philosophers warn us not to be satisfied with mere learning

The learner is not taught, but burdened by the sheer volume

Otherwise, it would be like the boxer exiting the ring because he took some punches.

Instead of being a good person today, you choose instead to become one tomorrow.

a person who has had a long life to have lived too little.

But the fortunate person is the one who gives themselves a good fortune.

Joy for human beings lies in proper human work.

T m constantly amazed by how easily we love ourselves above all others

Well-being is realized by small steps, but is truly no small thing.

The first thing to do—don’t get worked up.

Work nourishes noble minds.

Until I know what a person is working for, I can’t deem them industrious. . . .

What is your vocation?

Indeed, no one can thwart the purposes of your mind

How beautifully Plato put it.

Let him aid his fellow citizens by silent public witness.

This is what we’re here for.

Or, rather just wipe your nose and stop seeking a scapegoat.

are too unstable to live as they wish, but only live as they have begun.

we can truly choose whose children we’d like to be

Perhaps, but no obstacle to acting with justice, self-control, and wisdom.

If you allow it to get started you won’t be able to control when it stops.

If you find something very difficult to achieve yourself, don’t imagine it impossible

How much more harmful are the consequences of anger and grief than the circumstances

No, a far better request is, ‘Train my mind to adapt to any circumstance.’ . . .

One must serve on watch, another in reconnaissance, another on the front line. . . .

one by which it can be carried, and one by which it can’t.

To the youngster talking nonsense Zeno said

So what if you are injured and can’t climb up without another soldier’s help?

So, let’s step back from her as much as possible.

Here is the great soul—the one who surrenders to Fate.

Don’t fill your mind with all the bad things that might still happen.

If then it’s not that the things you pursue or avoid are coming at you

We should take wandering outdoor walks

If you are defeated once and tell yourself you will overcome

You could enjoy this very moment all the things you are praying to reach

If a person carries themselves so, where is there any room for fighting?

nothing happens to the wise person contrary to their expectations.

What assistance can we find in the fight against habit?

How does it help, my husband, to make misfortune heavier by complaining about it?

it’s quite possible to be simple without being crude.

yes, even to care for them.

That which is an impediment to action is turned to advance action.

Whatever anyone does or says, for my part I’m bound to the good.

vilified or praised, not even if dying or pressed by other demands.

The task of a philosopher

If you don’t, you’ll be unlucky, prone to failure, hindered and stymied.

they’ II do it even if it will bring danger.

Or was I made for this, to snuggle under the covers and keep warm?

This is what you should teach me, how to be like Odysseus

And as far as the gods go, by now you could try being more straightforward and kind.

For I believe a good king is from the outset and by necessity a philosopher

Love the humble art you have learned, and take rest in it.

But what does Socrates say? ‘Just as one person delights in improving his farm

In your soul, don’t be passive or aggressive.

Another is not so quick, but still considers the person a debtor and knows the favor.

You must therefore wield them as you are able, but in harmony with nature.

credit for the good deed or a favor in return?

Do I have that of a child, a youth. . . a tyrant, a pet, or a wild animal?

As you move forward along the path of reason, people will stand in your way.

the ruling reason in each of us is master of its own affairs.

As Plato said, every soul is deprived of truth against its will.

The unjust person acts against the gods.

And it’s our own natural purpose that is more fitting and more satisfying.

Nothing is noble if it’s done unwillingly or under compulsion.

Receive without pride, let go without attachment.

Can anyone break news to you that your assumptions or desires are wrong?

such things are bought at the expense of life... .

Often injustice lies in what you aren’t doing, not only in what you are doing.

if you find anything in human life better than justice, truth, self-control

Some people are sharp and others dull

greater as you draw near.

Trust me, real joy is a serious thing.

pleading for unknown litigants and still seeking the approval of ignorant spectators.

Yet while those shopkeepers have dustbins for disposal, Nature has no need of them.

Indeed, how could exile be an obstacle to a person’s own cultivation

Is there any place more full of confusion than the Forum?

You must no longer feel anger, resentment, envy, or regret.

Silence is a lesson learned from the many sufferings of life.

Apply yourself to thinking through difficulties

life is also in the demands of court, there too one can live well.

Don’t look around to see if people will know about it.

Don’t tell yourself anything more than what the initial impressions report.

We don’t abandon our pursuits because we despair of ever perfecting them.

Musonius thought habit to be more effective.

Many words have been spoken by Plato, Zeno, Chrysippus, Posidonius

all from not letting your ruling reason do the work it was made for

Without it, no one can live without fear or free from care.

And what can this virtue be?

Just as the nature of rational things has given to each person their rational powers

then by God, I swear we would be making progress.

For the only contest the good person enters is that of their own reasoned choice.

It is said that if you would have peace of mind, busy yourself with little.

Inwardly, we ought to be different in every respect

For sucha soul will never be at rest

then you won’t tire and give up

Therefore, explain why a wise person shouldn’t get drunk

PII never be ashamed to quote a bad writer with a good saying.

The ones who pioneered these paths aren’t our masters, but our guides.

I was shipwrecked before I even boarded . . . the journey showed me this

Heraclitus would shed tears whenever he went out in public—Democritus laughed.

Let us use this gift of nature and count it among the greatest things.

No person has the power to have everything they want

Anything that must yet be done, virtue can do with courage and promptness.

Or, if you are able, remove their compulsion.

The rational soul is stronger than any kind of fortune

Men, the philosopher’s lecture-hall is a hospital

We must undergo a hard winter training and not rush into things

T judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune.

blaming both gods and other people.

You can bind up my leg

Consider who you are.

don’t have their bubbles burst with change.

if we let our fears predominate

It is when times are good that you should gird yourself for tougher times ahead

Let us get used to dining out without the crowds

especially with the young.

How is the fortress destroyed?

Try praying differently, and see what happens

keep your philosophy to yourself for a bit.

Success comes to the lowly and to the poorly talented

But I will see to it that I won’t be found doing or saying anything contemptible.

When they start to get you down, tell yourself you are giving in to pain.

For the action is yours alone

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing

You’!] be able to keep the beat if you are constantly returning to it.

Difficulties show a person’s character.

How much more unconquerable if its judgments are careful and made rationally?

For that reason, nothing should ever be unexpected by us.

No servitude is more abject than the self-imposed.

Leisure without study is death—a tomb for the living person.

Yet we are exposed to greater danger with our backs turned.

I think if it had been possible they would have given us more, but it was impossible.

Nothing can satisfy greed, but even a small measure satisfies nature.

my mind will remain with Stilpo.

Why shouldn’t your truth, justice, and self-control shine until you are extinguished?

But the wise person can lose nothing.

Meditate often on the interconnectedness and mutual interdependence of all things

That which isn’t good for the hive, isn’t good for the bee.

Better to trip with the feet than with the tongue.

will no longer endure in us.

The unjust person is unjust to themselves—making themselves evil.

But isn’t that exactly why pleasure trips us up?

When the standards have been set, things are tested and weighed.

Leave the past behind, let the grand design take care of the future

just as the beloved sees it all in the lover’s glance.

if you would be loved, love

The best way to avenge yourself is to not be like that.

You say, they must have sense, can’t they tell how they are offending others?

Everything turns on your assumptions about it, and that’s on you.

must have their rusty souls constantly scrubbed down. .. .

Wherever there is a human being, we have an opportunity for kindness.

There’s nothing worse than a wolf befriending sheep.

use the counterforce of our training.

By having principles be the source of desire and action.

This is akin to being upset that past generations didn’t praise you.

So someone’s good at taking down an opponent

But you have many other qualities you can’t claim to have been deprived of at birth.

Dig deep within yourself

What, then, makes a person free from hindrance and self-determining?

The second thoroughly examines the natural order of things.

Crimes often return to their teacher.

You’ll more quickly find an earthly thing kept from the earth than you will a person

others because they may come to deserve it.

Aren’t you ashamed to reserve for yourself only the remnants of your life

The human being is born with an inclination toward virtue.

then your life will flow well.

He wills that I reach for something, or something be given to me—I wish for the same.

it means that what happens to each of us is ordered to help aid our destiny.

just as there is no good in persisting in a new state.

the harmony between the individual divine spirit and the will of the director

No one has had so much divine favor That they could guarantee themselves tomorrow.

namely, your judgments about the things that you control and don’t control.

For this is your duty, to perform well the character assigned you.

The universe is change.

Now that life of theirs is dead and gone ... the times of Trajan, again the same...

And you can wipe this out at a moment’s notice.

then there is no room left for blaming gods or being hostile to others.

Don’t allow yourself to be heard any longer griping about public life

But the observation ‘he has suffered evil,’ is an addition coming from you.

For substance is like a river’s unending flow

Hecato says, ‘cease to hope and you will cease to fear.’ . . .

rather than be a way to rail against the faults of others.

4) embraces everything nature assigns it.

I will follow and not stumble; even if my will is weak I will soldier on.’

For everything that happens is related and the same.

A good isn’t increased by the addition of time

Fortune falls heavily on those for whom she’s unexpected.

In short, you must remember this

just as those who ride behind triumphant generals remind them they are mortal.

What’s more, luxury breeds injustice because it also breeds greediness.

Some collapse sooner, others later, but it makes no difference.

How Satisfying it is to dismiss and block out any upsetting or foreign impression

If someone is slipping up, kindly correct them and point out what they missed.

Don’t lament this and don’t get agitated.

they are at once both cheerful and self-composed.

The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.

Let each thing you would do, say or intend be like that of a dying person.

Philosophy does not claim to get a person any external possession.

Anything that can be prevented, taken away, or coerced is not a person’s own

you’ll never have a base thought nor will you have excessive desire

As long as you live and while you can, become good now.

see what’s left as a bonus and live it according to Nature.

It’s better to conquer grief than to deceive it.

the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers.

let no one rob me of a single day who isn’t going to make a full return on the loss.

we favor them if they show contempt for their lives.

It’s all one whether we’ ve experienced forty years or an aeon.

So why get worked up that you’ve been given a certain lifespan and not more?

knowing that wisdom and acting justly are one and the same.

This is the mark of perfection of character

your own reasoned choice.

dies unknown to himself.

Both Alexander the Great and his mule-keeper were both brought to the same place

Think of the whole universe of matter and how small your share.

the surest mark of the base and cowardly, is not death

an old man has no other evidence besides his age to prove he has lived a long time.

Take charge and stake your own claim—something posterity will carry in its notebook.

But, come now, how is this life of yours anything but death?

You know what wine and liqueur tastes like.

But it regains its powers if it is set free and relaxed for a while.

And so it is—we don’t receive a short life, we make it so.

It’s a disgrace in this life when the soul surrenders first

Everything lasts for a day, the one who remembers and the remembered.

Tn all things we should try to make ourselves be as grateful as possible.

To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden.

You aren’t likely to read your own notebooks, or ancient histories