On Constancy 9

. . . "Will you not leave the small arguments about these matters to others, to lazy fellows, that they may sit in a corner and receive their sorry pay, or grumble that no one gives them anything; and will you not come forward and make use of what you have learned?

"For it is not these small arguments that are wanted now: the writings of the Stoics are full of them.

"What then is the thing which is wanted? A man who shall apply them, one who by his acts shall bear testimony to his words. Assume, I, entreat you, this character, that we may no longer use in the schools the examples of the ancients but may have some example of our own." . . .

--Epictetus, Discourses 1.29 (tr Long)

Like Seneca, Epictetus has little patience for professional philosophers or academics here. I always insist, time and time again, that philosophy and the love of learning receive their poor reputation not from those who desire wisdom, but from those who see their education as a tool for their own selfish profit.

None of us need any more posturing, we need no more preening and fine tales, we need no more obsession with what Epictetus calls the "small arguments".  Of course the details matter, but when we obsess with details to pursue our own vanity, we've taken the wrong path.

I admire someone who will act, not merely pontificate. If you show me you are charged with love, with justice, with compassion and with character, I will follow you to the absolute end. But do not attempt to deceive me with all the games. I've been around the block often enough, and I can see a charlatan from a mile away.

Constancy requires action, not musings. It requires, conviction, not speculation. It requires what is actual, not what is hypothetical. I need to catch myself quite regularly, and remind myself that the trappings of vanity will be the end of me, because vanity is a dependence upon everything outside of me.

As soon as I entered graduate school, I was told that everything depended upon getting what they call a 'tenure-track' job. This meant spending many years worried about getting the right teaching evaluations, which of course meant trying to be popular with the students. Most importantly it meant getting published in all the right journals, which meant impressing our superiors.

Pardon my French, but the whole process was an exercise in kissing ass.

Now does anyone see a problem here? Epictetus certainly did, because like any proper Stoic, or even any proper philosopher, he did not think that his value depended upon the estimation of his popularity.

I am learning to be more constant, simply by no longer caring for these illusions.  I look forward to a day when I might make my work about care and service for others, and not about the care and service of myself.

Written in 4/1999

Image: Cesare Dandini, Personification of Constancy, c. 1634