Musonius Rufus, Fragments 46

It is not easy to produce an effect upon soft characters any more than it is to pick up a soft cheese with a hook, but young men of sound nature, even if you turn them away, hold to philosophy all the more. 

 

For that reason, Rufus frequently discouraged pupils, using this as a means of testing the superior and inferior ones. For he used to say, "Just as a stone, even if you throw it upwards, will fall downwards because of its nature, so the superior man, the more one repels him, the more he inclines toward his own natural direction."

 

I have never tried picking up soft cheese with a hook, but I have tried to herd cats and to fix that tiny screw on my eyeglasses, and I can assure you that both are far easier than being a teacher. The student will only receive and retain in proportion to the strength of his own commitment, and there is no way to force him to understand. 

 

The value of everything else in our lives ultimately reduces back to character, our willingness to take full responsibility for ourselves. This is not a strength that comes from possessing many things, or having a powerful body, or being gifted with cleverness, but arises rather from the integrity of our souls. This is never given to us by our circumstances, but proceeds out of our choices. 

 

It is within my power to offer whatever inspiration I might have within me, best presented in the form of a good example as well as fine words, and it is also within my power to distinguish who is most amenable to self-improvement, open to a new perspective. 

 

Those who truly love wisdom and virtue, however difficult their struggles may be, will ultimately seek out truth of their own accord, and will not be easily discouraged from the task. 

 

I will test myself often, firmly but carefully, to see how capable I am at overcoming an obstacle, and I will also do so with the people around me, whether inside or outside a classroom. 

 

Present a barrier, with compassion and concern instead of malice or manipulation, to find out where someone stands. I can raise or lower the bar, move the goal closer or further away, and I will then discover something about the weight of convictions. 

 

I will begin to recognize that the people who wish to become better see a hindrance as an opportunity. Love is such that it pushes back with loyalty when it is pushed away by opposition.