No man of exalted gifts is pleased with that which is low and mean; the vision of great achievement summons him and uplifts him.
Just as the flame springs straight into the air and cannot be cabined or kept down any more than it can repose in quiet, so our soul is always in motion, and the more ardent it is, the greater its motion and activity.
But happy is the man who has given it this impulse toward better things! He will place himself beyond the jurisdiction of chance; he will wisely control prosperity; he will lessen adversity, and will despise what others hold in admiration.
It is the quality of a great soul to scorn great things and to prefer that which is ordinary rather than that which is too great. For the one condition is useful and life-giving; but the other does harm just because it is excessive.
Similarly, too rich a soil makes the grain fall flat, branches break down under too heavy a load, excessive productiveness does not bring fruit to ripeness.
This is the case with the soul also; for it is ruined by uncontrolled prosperity, which is used not only to the detriment of others, but also to the detriment of itself.
Just as the flame springs straight into the air and cannot be cabined or kept down any more than it can repose in quiet, so our soul is always in motion, and the more ardent it is, the greater its motion and activity.
But happy is the man who has given it this impulse toward better things! He will place himself beyond the jurisdiction of chance; he will wisely control prosperity; he will lessen adversity, and will despise what others hold in admiration.
It is the quality of a great soul to scorn great things and to prefer that which is ordinary rather than that which is too great. For the one condition is useful and life-giving; but the other does harm just because it is excessive.
Similarly, too rich a soil makes the grain fall flat, branches break down under too heavy a load, excessive productiveness does not bring fruit to ripeness.
This is the case with the soul also; for it is ruined by uncontrolled prosperity, which is used not only to the detriment of others, but also to the detriment of itself.
—from Seneca, Moral Letters 39
People often speak about becoming great, though they are usually referring to the breadth of their circumstances, not to the depth of their characters. If I hear any talk about honor and glory, it tends to come down to putting on a show instead of standing up for a principle. Where a standard of nobility should be about the virtue of our actions, it is too easily mistaken for the accidents of birth and breeding.
We are all made for excellence, each and every one of us, and yet the acquisition of fortune and fame has nothing to do with the improvement of our souls. Indeed, how could I ever believe that messing about with the things out there will in any way increase the dignity in here? How foolish it is to think that their movements correspond to my own worth! They will come and go on their own terms, and in the meantime, I will have built nothing that is truly my own.
I can only strive for a human greatness by rising above the limitations of my conditions. The less I esteem the trappings of riches and influence, the more I grow in the one power that matters for me, the capacity to rule myself. I should be exceptional in the value of my thoughts, words, and deeds, while being quite unremarkable in the prestige of my surroundings.
John the Baptist had it right when he knew he must decrease. Lao Tzu was on to something when he advised us to be small in order to be big. Socrates correctly warned against thinking it possible to trade wisdom for money. As the flame reaches upwards, it does not demand a recognition for its light or compare its heat to any of the countless other fires that burn. It does its own work, and it is perfectly content with that.
The Stoic does not hate worldly prosperity at all, even as he is extremely wary of his own attachment to such a state of affairs. If he depends on what he gets, he is no longer focused on what he can give. Where his attention is on filling his pockets, he limits his ability to move about with liberty. When his head gets too big, it is certain to weigh him down, even to snap his little neck.
What will likely become of me if I dwell on the superficial? I don’t need to speculate, because I have seen it happen within myself, even if only on the slightest scale. The priorities I choose will determine the sort of man I turn into, and there is nothing grand about hunting after pennies and sucking up for favors.
Avarice kills nobility. It delays others from finding their way, and it cripples any chance I have of maturing into a creature of understanding and love.
People often speak about becoming great, though they are usually referring to the breadth of their circumstances, not to the depth of their characters. If I hear any talk about honor and glory, it tends to come down to putting on a show instead of standing up for a principle. Where a standard of nobility should be about the virtue of our actions, it is too easily mistaken for the accidents of birth and breeding.
We are all made for excellence, each and every one of us, and yet the acquisition of fortune and fame has nothing to do with the improvement of our souls. Indeed, how could I ever believe that messing about with the things out there will in any way increase the dignity in here? How foolish it is to think that their movements correspond to my own worth! They will come and go on their own terms, and in the meantime, I will have built nothing that is truly my own.
I can only strive for a human greatness by rising above the limitations of my conditions. The less I esteem the trappings of riches and influence, the more I grow in the one power that matters for me, the capacity to rule myself. I should be exceptional in the value of my thoughts, words, and deeds, while being quite unremarkable in the prestige of my surroundings.
John the Baptist had it right when he knew he must decrease. Lao Tzu was on to something when he advised us to be small in order to be big. Socrates correctly warned against thinking it possible to trade wisdom for money. As the flame reaches upwards, it does not demand a recognition for its light or compare its heat to any of the countless other fires that burn. It does its own work, and it is perfectly content with that.
The Stoic does not hate worldly prosperity at all, even as he is extremely wary of his own attachment to such a state of affairs. If he depends on what he gets, he is no longer focused on what he can give. Where his attention is on filling his pockets, he limits his ability to move about with liberty. When his head gets too big, it is certain to weigh him down, even to snap his little neck.
What will likely become of me if I dwell on the superficial? I don’t need to speculate, because I have seen it happen within myself, even if only on the slightest scale. The priorities I choose will determine the sort of man I turn into, and there is nothing grand about hunting after pennies and sucking up for favors.
Avarice kills nobility. It delays others from finding their way, and it cripples any chance I have of maturing into a creature of understanding and love.
—Reflection written in 1/2013
No comments:
Post a Comment