Wipe
out imagination; check desire; extinguish appetite; keep the ruling faculty in
its own power.
—Marcus
Aurelius, Meditations, Book 9.7 (tr
Long)
Stoic thinking will often go against
the trends of our age, or of any age, and this is yet another one of those
passages that can elicit a negative reaction from readers. It seems to be
saying that feelings, and expression, and longing are terrible things that must
be destroyed. This makes the Stoic seem like quite the heartless grinch.
I completely understand such a
response, because I also don’t like to be told that my feelings don’t matter.
It isn’t that they don’t matter,
however, but rather about how they should matter. It can take me a while to
realize that only my judgments can allow me to make my feelings have purpose.
Just as the body must be guided by the senses, so passion must be guided by conscience.
While the language in the passage is
indeed rather blunt and forceful, I suspect the bigger problem is that we don’t
like to think that our emotions should be ruled. We often start with passion,
and then employ reason in order to feel
good. The Stoic rather suggests that we start with reason, and then direct our
passions in order to do good.
Once again, Stoicism isn’t saying
that we are not creatures of feeling, or that we shouldn’t be doing any
feeling. The passions are an essential aspect of our nature, but they are not the
only aspect of our nature, and they are not the highest aspect of our nature. A
feeling can only have value when it is first understood, and so what is good or
bad in life requires passion to be guided by reason.
The language is firm because the
commitment must be firm. Take charge. When it comes to things within my power,
it will be so if I only so decide.
Wiping out imagination is not about
stifling my creativity, but about not letting myself be ruled by appearances.
Are the images running away with me? Rein the appearances back in. While I can
let them speak for themselves, I shouldn’t let them speak for me.
Checking desire is not about
smothering my feelings, but about moderating my longing. Are my desires telling
me what to do? Turn that around. I should be telling them what to do.
Extinguishing appetite is not about
denying my wants, but about knowing what I should choose to want. Are my
circumstances determining my actions? Stop being a slave to conditions. I will make
decisions about what happens, not letting what happens make my decisions.
It is reason that allows me to
control myself, to be my own master, because only this power of awareness can
distinguish true from false, and right from wrong. This does not restrict or
oppress me, but is instead the very source of my liberty and contentment.
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