How does the bull, he answered, at the lion's approach, alone discover what powers he is endowed with, when he stands forth to protect the whole herd?
It is plain that with the possession of his power the consciousness of it also is given him. So each of us, who has power of this sort, will not be unaware of its possession.
Like the bull, the man of noble nature does not become noble of a sudden; he must train through the winter, and make ready, and not lightly leap to meet things that concern him not.
As the legendary Bart Simpson put it, “In these crazy topsy-turvy times. Who’s to say what’s right or wrong?” How am I to know if my conscience is rightly informed, whether my thoughts and deeds are in harmony with Nature? How will I recognize true character?
I tend to view the customs of the hour from the outside in, and yet I can’t help but notice that, in a time of such great worldly prosperity, doubt seems to be the order of the day. Many of us stumble along, uncertain about where we came from, where we are going, and what we can trust; most tellingly, we lack a working account of who we are.
I will often make it far more difficult for myself than it has to be. How odd that an animal knows quite well what it is capable of, and what it must do, while I sit about in confusion!
Am I right to think that Epictetus is here referencing the fable from Aesop? When the bulls stand together in the pasture, the lion is helpless against their united front, and he can only overcome them when they are divided. Now if only humans were so quick to learn the same lesson.
The animal is aware of its place and purpose through instinct, of course, while we come to a sense of our moral identity through the reflection of reason. This can provide me with a far greater depth and certainty of mission, and yet it also allows for the possibility of profound error in the freedom of judgment. As is so often the case, the abuse of the gift transforms it into a burden.
Nevertheless, I must only examine what sort of creature I am to grasp how it is best for me to live. Nature gave me a mind, a power able to find meaning in all other powers, and so I am made to understand the truth. Joined to this, Nature gave me a will, a power to rule over my own actions, and so I am made to choose the good. This, as Epictetus said in his opening lines, is what is distinctly mine.
The cardinal virtues, as measures of our character, derive directly from this awareness of the self. By prudence I perceive, by fortitude I stand firm, by temperance I find my balance, by justice I reach out to my brothers and sisters.
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