M. Herein, indeed, the mind and body are unlike: that though the mind when in perfect health may be visited by sickness, as the body may, yet the body may be disordered without our fault; the mind cannot. For all the disorders and perturbations of the mind proceed from a neglect of reason; these disorders, therefore, are confined to men: the beasts are not subject to such perturbations, though they act sometimes as if they had reason.
There is a difference, too, between ingenious and dull men; the ingenious, like the Corinthian brass, which is long before it receives rust, are longer before they fall into these perturbations, and are recovered sooner: the case is different with the dull.
Nor does the mind of an ingenious man fall into every kind of perturbation, for it never yields to any that are brutish and savage; and some of their perturbations have at first even the appearance of humanity, as mercy, grief, and fear. But the sicknesses and diseases of the mind are thought to be harder to eradicate than those leading vices which are in opposition to virtues; for vices may be removed, though the diseases of the mind should continue, which diseases are not cured with that expedition with which vices are removed.
I have now acquainted you with the arguments which the Stoics put forth with such exactness; which they call logic, from their close arguing: and since my discourse has got clear of these rocks, I will proceed with the remainder of it, provided I have been sufficiently clear in what I have already said, considering the obscurity of the subject I have treated.
A. Clear enough; but should there be occasion for a more exact inquiry, I shall take another opportunity of asking you. I expect you now to hoist your sails, as you just now called them, and proceed on your course.
There is a difference, too, between ingenious and dull men; the ingenious, like the Corinthian brass, which is long before it receives rust, are longer before they fall into these perturbations, and are recovered sooner: the case is different with the dull.
Nor does the mind of an ingenious man fall into every kind of perturbation, for it never yields to any that are brutish and savage; and some of their perturbations have at first even the appearance of humanity, as mercy, grief, and fear. But the sicknesses and diseases of the mind are thought to be harder to eradicate than those leading vices which are in opposition to virtues; for vices may be removed, though the diseases of the mind should continue, which diseases are not cured with that expedition with which vices are removed.
I have now acquainted you with the arguments which the Stoics put forth with such exactness; which they call logic, from their close arguing: and since my discourse has got clear of these rocks, I will proceed with the remainder of it, provided I have been sufficiently clear in what I have already said, considering the obscurity of the subject I have treated.
A. Clear enough; but should there be occasion for a more exact inquiry, I shall take another opportunity of asking you. I expect you now to hoist your sails, as you just now called them, and proceed on your course.
—from Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 4.14
While ailments of the body will often come to us involuntarily, those of the mind proceed from our own judgments, and so we ultimately bear a conscious responsibility for them. I do not take this to mean that a man should be condemned when he finds himself troubled, but rather that he should be encouraged to recognize why the way he feels is a consequence of how he chooses to think.
The meaning and the value he embraces will shape the responses of his passions, and while our emotions can hardly be turned off and on with a simple wish, their order or disorder is a reflection of the deeper order or disorder to our habitual attitudes.
In other words, I am drawn to what I perceive as good, and I am averse to what I perceive as evil. Gratification, lust, grief, and fear are within my power to tame, if only I commit to taking a firm hold of my opinions. I must remind myself that I am a creature determined by my reason, and that I do not need to be at the mercy of my moods. By being accountable to myself, I am liberated from the extremes of appetite.
If I first remove the vice, the perturbation will eventually also pass, slowly but surely. The discipline of self-reflection and the formation of consistent character permit the soul to become more resilient, just as the practice of physical exercise both strengthens and invigorates the body. For too many years, I would make myself out to be a victim, when what I really needed was the confidence to stand by my own conscience.
While turning to a memory may still make me feel sadness, the awareness that I need never lose what grants me dignity makes any discomfort far more bearable. I certainly miss the people and the things to which I formed an attachment, and yet my sense of what is true and good in this life allows me to learn about putting any hardship to good use. It will not destroy me, because I will not permit it to define me.
While ailments of the body will often come to us involuntarily, those of the mind proceed from our own judgments, and so we ultimately bear a conscious responsibility for them. I do not take this to mean that a man should be condemned when he finds himself troubled, but rather that he should be encouraged to recognize why the way he feels is a consequence of how he chooses to think.
The meaning and the value he embraces will shape the responses of his passions, and while our emotions can hardly be turned off and on with a simple wish, their order or disorder is a reflection of the deeper order or disorder to our habitual attitudes.
In other words, I am drawn to what I perceive as good, and I am averse to what I perceive as evil. Gratification, lust, grief, and fear are within my power to tame, if only I commit to taking a firm hold of my opinions. I must remind myself that I am a creature determined by my reason, and that I do not need to be at the mercy of my moods. By being accountable to myself, I am liberated from the extremes of appetite.
If I first remove the vice, the perturbation will eventually also pass, slowly but surely. The discipline of self-reflection and the formation of consistent character permit the soul to become more resilient, just as the practice of physical exercise both strengthens and invigorates the body. For too many years, I would make myself out to be a victim, when what I really needed was the confidence to stand by my own conscience.
While turning to a memory may still make me feel sadness, the awareness that I need never lose what grants me dignity makes any discomfort far more bearable. I certainly miss the people and the things to which I formed an attachment, and yet my sense of what is true and good in this life allows me to learn about putting any hardship to good use. It will not destroy me, because I will not permit it to define me.
—Reflection written in 1/1999
IMAGE: Edgar Degas, Melancholy (c. 1868)
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