The old Romans had a custom which survived even into my lifetime. They would add to the opening words of a letter: "If you are well, it is well; I also am well."
Persons like ourselves would do well to say: "If you are studying philosophy, it is well." For this is just what "being well" means. Without philosophy the mind is sickly, and the body, too, though it may be very powerful, is strong only as that of a madman or a lunatic is strong.
This, then, is the sort of health you should primarily cultivate; the other kind of health comes second, and will involve little effort, if you wish to be well physically.
It is indeed foolish, my dear Lucilius, and very unsuitable for a cultivated man, to work hard over developing the muscles and broadening the shoulders and strengthening the lungs. For although your heavy feeding produces good results and your sinews grow solid, you can never be a match, either in strength or in weight, for a first-class bull. Besides, by overloading the body with food you strangle the soul and render it less active.
I am always pleased when I come across someone who expresses a greeting with sincerity and understanding, not merely as a mindless formality. To genuinely wish someone well, or to inquire about his life with interest, reveals the good that we are all capable of, even if it may seem that so many people choose to be cynical and fake.
I am similarly inspired when I come across someone who lives philosophically, not merely through thoughtless habits. I do not mean by this the tired image of a scholar with his head in the clouds, but rather the person who is guided in all his actions by a deeper meaning and purpose, and who recognizes that all things must be tempered by wisdom.
I think it no accident that these two qualities will so often be bound together, that the one who shows compassion and concern for his neighbors will also be the one who acts out of a profound love for the truth. Yes, the decent man will offer kindness, and the decent man will do so because he has an awareness of human dignity—he is the true philosopher, the only kind that really counts.
After all, how can I desire what is good for anyone, if I don’t first know what is good to begin with?
A necessary part of that philosophical character involves a formation of priorities, a sense of which aspects of this life are greater or lesser, more important or less important. These different aspects need not ever conflict with one another, though they must always be put in their rightful place.
Let me care for my body, while caring for my soul above all else. Let me do more for my physical health, certainly, while still doing the most for my intellectual, moral, and spiritual health. This isn’t an arbitrary decision; it arises from being conscious of my own nature, as a creature made with a mind and a will, designed to have a power over the flesh and the bones.
A man with a true mastery over his own thoughts can always be happy, regardless of what happens to his body; a man with an imposing physique joined to a weak character is a curse to both himself and others. To not recognize this is the reason we have so many bullies, both big and small, running about.
However mighty the human frame becomes, there will always be something mightier. What we sadly forget is that the mightiest thing of all is a great spirit, for it alone remains invincible.
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