For speechmaking at the bar, or any other pursuit that claims the people's attention, wins enemies for a man; but philosophy is peaceful and minds her own business. Men cannot scorn her; she is honored by every profession, even the vilest among them. Evil can never grow so strong, and nobility of character can never be so plotted against, that the name of philosophy shall cease to be worshipful and sacred.
A passage like this will confuse many readers, since it seems like the exact opposite is the case, that philosophers are met with confusion at best, and derision at worst.
I will always remember the look of disappointment, perhaps even contempt, on the face of the mother of a girl I fancied, when I told her I was studying philosophy and history. “Well, I guess you might not be smart enough to become a doctor like my husband, but maybe you could manage to become a lawyer? Why waste your life?”
The problem, of course, is what we really mean by being a philosopher. Are we referring to philosophy as a worldly career, as just another means for acquiring wealth and status? If so, the protective mother was quite right, because that sort of professional academic will never have a place high up in the hierarchy of important people, as much as he might wish to think he does.
Yet philosophy can mean something far more fundamental, compared to which the trappings of a job or the accumulation of honors are quite insignificant. Whatever else his circumstances may be, the philosopher sees that wisdom is the only currency that counts, and that the improvement of his own character is his greatest calling. Epictetus was such a philosopher, though he was only a slave. Marcus Aurelius was such a philosopher, though he was only an emperor.
However else a stuffy scholar can come across, most people will still have an immediate respect for someone who passes through this life with understanding and with love, regardless of his trade. True philosophy is about our human calling, and it speaks to our instinctive need for meaning and purpose. You know it right away when you find it.
The best will stand in awe of the sage, the conflicted will find inspiration in him, and even the worst will hesitate to do him any harm, sensing the touch of the divine in him. Even if they do persecute him, the way he responds can only fill them with a sense of shame.
Lawyers, politicians, or celebrities can win many admirers, but the very nature of their game will also inspire many profound resentments. The philosopher can avoid much of that, for he is completely uninterested in playing such a game.
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