Chapter 9: That we adopt the profession of the philosopher when we cannot fulfill that of a man.
It is no ordinary task merely to fulfil man's promise. For what is Man? A rational animal, subject to death.
At once we ask, from what does the rational element distinguish us? From wild beasts. And from what else? From sheep and the like.
Look to it then that you do nothing like a wild beast, else you destroy the Man in you and fail to fulfil his promise. See that you do not act like a sheep, or else again the Man in you perishes.
You ask how we act like sheep?
When we consult the belly, or our passions, when our actions are random or dirty or inconsiderate, are we not falling away to the state of sheep?
What do we destroy? The faculty of reason. When our actions are combative, mischievous, angry, and rude, do we not fall away and become wild beasts?
In a word, some of us are great beasts, and others are small but base-natured beasts, which give occasion to say, “Nay, rather let me be food for a lion.” All these are actions by which the calling of man is destroyed.
It is no ordinary task merely to fulfil man's promise. For what is Man? A rational animal, subject to death.
At once we ask, from what does the rational element distinguish us? From wild beasts. And from what else? From sheep and the like.
Look to it then that you do nothing like a wild beast, else you destroy the Man in you and fail to fulfil his promise. See that you do not act like a sheep, or else again the Man in you perishes.
You ask how we act like sheep?
When we consult the belly, or our passions, when our actions are random or dirty or inconsiderate, are we not falling away to the state of sheep?
What do we destroy? The faculty of reason. When our actions are combative, mischievous, angry, and rude, do we not fall away and become wild beasts?
In a word, some of us are great beasts, and others are small but base-natured beasts, which give occasion to say, “Nay, rather let me be food for a lion.” All these are actions by which the calling of man is destroyed.
—from Epictetus, Discourses 2.9
Though I tried to resist the conclusion for some time, I finally had to admit that professional academia and the love of wisdom have very little in common. While nominally appearing to cover the same ground, the one is a job to make a living, and the other is a vocation to living well. I am saddened when folks won’t see the difference.
A chapter like this one doesn’t sit well with the experts, because it reminds them why talking the talk is useless without walking the walk. Epictetus is a philosopher best suited for those who urgently wish to become good rather than to look good, who understands why the lofty theories must be put to work in gritty practice.
Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.
Beyond any sweeping notions about humanity, there remain the hard facts of being human. To know how I should act first requires that I know my own nature, and for what end I was made. There is no need to complicate the matter with fanciful musings: I am an animal, and I also possess the power of reason. These are self-evident from the very conditions of my everyday experience.
Only that which can rule itself can rule another, and thus it is the role of the reflective mind to direct the instinctive passions. From the very beginning, we have a good sense of why the head is above and the gut is below, both literally and figuratively. The emotion is merely as good as the understanding.
Whenever impulsive folks tell you to stop thinking and just listen to your heart, remember that their advice is itself a judgment, an act of the intellect. That we should carefully attend to our feelings is not in question, but a feeling does not decide; it is one thing to embrace a passion, and quite another to be dragged along behind it.
What has become of me when I fail to act with estimation? It has always brought me grief, because I am running blind. If I am consumed by fear, I am no more than a sheep, and if I am consumed by rage, I am no more than a wolf. Whatever the form of the desire, I have abdicated my role as a man, and I have reduced myself to the level of a brute. The vices proceed from the perversion of my natural powers.
The appetites are in need of a guiding conscience, as the sheep are in need of a caring shepherd to protect them from the wolves.
Though I tried to resist the conclusion for some time, I finally had to admit that professional academia and the love of wisdom have very little in common. While nominally appearing to cover the same ground, the one is a job to make a living, and the other is a vocation to living well. I am saddened when folks won’t see the difference.
A chapter like this one doesn’t sit well with the experts, because it reminds them why talking the talk is useless without walking the walk. Epictetus is a philosopher best suited for those who urgently wish to become good rather than to look good, who understands why the lofty theories must be put to work in gritty practice.
Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.
Beyond any sweeping notions about humanity, there remain the hard facts of being human. To know how I should act first requires that I know my own nature, and for what end I was made. There is no need to complicate the matter with fanciful musings: I am an animal, and I also possess the power of reason. These are self-evident from the very conditions of my everyday experience.
Only that which can rule itself can rule another, and thus it is the role of the reflective mind to direct the instinctive passions. From the very beginning, we have a good sense of why the head is above and the gut is below, both literally and figuratively. The emotion is merely as good as the understanding.
Whenever impulsive folks tell you to stop thinking and just listen to your heart, remember that their advice is itself a judgment, an act of the intellect. That we should carefully attend to our feelings is not in question, but a feeling does not decide; it is one thing to embrace a passion, and quite another to be dragged along behind it.
What has become of me when I fail to act with estimation? It has always brought me grief, because I am running blind. If I am consumed by fear, I am no more than a sheep, and if I am consumed by rage, I am no more than a wolf. Whatever the form of the desire, I have abdicated my role as a man, and I have reduced myself to the level of a brute. The vices proceed from the perversion of my natural powers.
The appetites are in need of a guiding conscience, as the sheep are in need of a caring shepherd to protect them from the wolves.
—Reflection written in 7/2001
IMAGE by Ian Lawson
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