The great, heroic style, it may be, belongs to others, to Socrates and men like him.
“If then this is our true nature, why do not all men, or many, show it?”
What? Do all horses turn out swift, are all dogs good at the scent?
“What am I to do then? Since I have no natural gifts, am I to make no effort for that reason?”
Heaven forbid. Epictetus is not better than Socrates: if only he is as good as Socrates I am content.
For I shall never be a Milo, yet I do not neglect my body; nor a Croesus, and yet I do not neglect my property; nor, in a word, do we abandon our effort in any field because we despair of the first place.
What is truly meant by human greatness? Is it even possible for someone like me, or is it reserved for just the few?
Once again, it will only be my estimation of human nature that can provide any measure, and my answer will depend on where I place the standard of what is good in this life.
I find it interesting, and at times also discouraging, that the people who brag the most about their extraordinary skills and achievements are usually also the quickest to sell themselves out. Since they define themselves first by how the world sees them, their worth is subject to the will of others; they are not as strong and independent as they would like to come across.
In contrast, I will also find people who are more concerned with a depth of conviction than a magnitude of impressions, and they are therefore quite indifferent to any grandeur of appearances. They will not sell out their thoughts, words, and deeds, because they know that their own virtue is absolutely priceless.
Yes, there will be some people who make the bigger marks on the world, but I need not think that this is the only form of excellence. I don’t have the intelligence, the wit, or the way with words that Socrates had, and yet I should not be surprised that such qualities mattered less to him than a simple good will and a sturdy conscience. Socrates offered a greatness that every man could pursue, however humble the circumstances:
I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons or your properties, but first and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private.
But if this path is open to anyone, not just to those gifted with talent or smiled upon by fortune, why is the world not teeming with more kind and decent people? All are surely called, and are granted such a capacity, but they must then choose to nurture it, to develop it, to commit to it.
Of the very few talents I have, I cannot think of a single one that could ever make me rich and powerful, though I still have everything I need to practice virtue. I should not complain that this isn’t enough, since it provides all that is necessary to make me fully human. That is where I can choose to find my own kind of greatness.
I can care for my physical health, even if I am not like Milo, a legendary athlete. I can care for my possessions, even if I am not like Croesus, a legendary rich man. Most importantly, I can care for my character, even if I am not like Socrates, a legendary philosopher.
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