“How can I follow the gods in everything, and how can I be content with the divine governance, and how can I become free?”
For he is free, for whom all things happen according to his will and whom no one can hinder.
“What then? Is freedom the same as madness?”
Heaven forbid! frenzy and freedom have nothing in common.
“But, you say, ‘I want everything to happen as I think good, whatever that may be.’”
Then you are in a state of madness, you are out of your mind. Do you not know that freedom is a noble thing, and worthy of regard? But merely to want one's chance thoughts to be realized, is not a noble thing; it comes perilously near being the most shameful of all things.
How do we act in matters of grammar? Do I want to write Dion's name as I will? No, I am taught to will the right way of writing. How is it in music? Just the same. So it is universally, in every region of art or science.
Otherwise, it would not be worthwhile to know anything, if everything conformed itself to each man's will.
I have long been told that an education serves to provide me with a career, and to make a name for myself, and to help me win nice things. Some would add that it also supports the common good by training me to be productive and obedient.
Now what could learning possibly have to so with serving the Divine, or with practicing acceptance, or with perfecting my freedom? It all depends on our conception of the good to begin with, and where we establish our measure.
For some people, fame, property, and pleasure are all they see, and so they determine their lives by such worldly standards. For others, there is a calling to nurture a deeper sense of humanity, and so they live their lives according to the riches of wisdom instead of the riches of money.
What am I treating as being absolute in my judgments? Do I bow down out of fear or out of love? Is my profit in gratification or in virtue? Everything else in life hinges on such questions, and so the philosopher seeks out the answers, rather than just assuming them. There is the merit of a fundamental and a radical education.
When Epictetus sets out the goals of true learning, I notice not only how countercultural they are, but also how they would seem to contradict our usual ideas about freedom. He says here that I can both submit to Divine Providence at the very same time as I fully express my liberty, and to some that would sound quite ridiculous. If the world must unfold as it does, what place is there for my own choices?
He leaves no doubt about meaning freedom without any limitations, for he then defines it as the power to have events be in complete accordance with our wishes. Yes, I crunched up my face when I reread that, and perhaps you did too. How odd to say that it is possible to get whatever we want!
Aren’t those the words of someone who is as the very least deeply selfish, or maybe a bit delusional? That would only be true if freedom required forcing the world to our wills, not if freedom involves adapting our wills to the world. Either way, the decision is entirely my own, though the difference is in working with events or working against them, where each will lead to starkly contrasting consequences.
A human education requires the acquisition of an ability to come to terms with circumstances, and to act of my own accord at the same as other things act according to their specific ends.
If I want to speak or write, must I not learn to come across in a clear and eloquent manner? If I wish to play music, must I not perform by skillful means? It is much the same with the autonomy of will, not to use it in any old way, but to use it rightly.
I am in no doubt that Providence rules absolutely, and I am also in no doubt that I am given my own part to play, possessing a mastery over my contributions. I can only properly fulfill my free will, however, if I apply it in harmony, and not in opposition, to other conditions, to think of it as engaging in a responsibility, not in demanding a right.
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