Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.18

Nothing happens to any man that he is not formed by Nature to bear.

The same things happen to another, and either because he does not see that they have happened, or because he would show a great spirit, he is firm and remains unharmed.

It is a shame, then, that ignorance and conceit should be stronger than wisdom.

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 5 (tr Long)

The Stoic will find contentment in the fact that he comes equipped to provide for his own happiness, and that he may always make good out of any circumstance.

Could the things that happen to me take away my property, my pleasure, or my position? Could the things that happen to me even take away my very life? Yes, and they most certainly will, to one degree or another, and at one time or another. Yet none of these things are the measure of my life. Reason informs me of this, and serenity follows from this.

Now while the Stoic may give the appearance of strength, not all who give the appearance of strength are necessarily Stoic. The dignity of action is not simply in its outward signs, but in its inward disposition. As Marcus Aurelius points out, some people seem to possess endurance, but they may possess it for very different reasons.

Sometimes our ignorance will make us thoughtless, careless, or completely indifferent to what is happening. We then stumble through life unaffected by things, because we are unaware of what they actually mean. This is hardly Stoic.

Sometimes our arrogance will make us think that we are invincible, and that we must be strong in order to live up to a special image of ourselves. We then smash our way through life unaffected by things, because we believe we are better than those things. This, too, is hardly Stoic.

The man who drinks poison because it tastes sweet is a fool, not a Stoic. The man who faces danger to impress himself and others is vain, not a Stoic.

It may seem wrong that ignorance and pride appear more powerful than wisdom and virtue, but I would suggest that while they may give the impression of power, they are, of course, completely lacking in any power of character. Perhaps the irony is that only foolish and vain people would even begin to confuse such things.

I remember a time when I won a soccer game by blindly kicking the ball at the last second. I had no clever plan, no skillful play in mind, and I wasn’t aiming anywhere at all, yet it went into the corner of the goal. For a short time after that, my skill and strength were praised.

Dumb luck isn’t strength.

I remember another time when I passed an oral exam by appearing confident. I was well aware that I didn’t know the material as well as I should, but I replied to every question with a cocky insistence that the question was misleading or misguided. The examiners fell for it, and for a short time after that, my knowledge and insight were praised.

Presumption isn’t strength.

I would have been a much stronger fellow if I had admitted I didn’t have a clue about what I had done, or admitted I didn’t have any idea what I was talking about.

Written in 6/2006

IMAGE: Francois Gérard, Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte (c. 1815)

Certainly a strong man, but hardly a Stoic man. Conceit never trumps virtue.