For although the body needs many things in order to be strong, yet the mind grows from within, giving to itself nourishment and exercise. Yonder athletes must have copious food, copious drink, copious quantities of oil, and long training besides; but you can acquire virtue without equipment and without expense. All that goes to make you a good man lies within yourself.
And what do you need in order to become good? To wish it. But what better thing could you wish for than to break away from this slavery—a slavery that oppresses us all, a slavery which even chattels of the lowest estate, born amid such degradation, strive in every possible way to strip off?
In exchange for freedom they pay out the savings which they have scraped together by cheating their own bellies; shall you not be eager to attain liberty at any price, seeing that you claim it as your birthright? Why cast glances toward your strong box? Liberty cannot be bought.
It is therefore useless to enter in your ledger the item of “Freedom”, for freedom is possessed neither by those who have bought it, nor by those who have sold it. You must give this good to yourself, and seek it from yourself.
And what do you need in order to become good? To wish it. But what better thing could you wish for than to break away from this slavery—a slavery that oppresses us all, a slavery which even chattels of the lowest estate, born amid such degradation, strive in every possible way to strip off?
In exchange for freedom they pay out the savings which they have scraped together by cheating their own bellies; shall you not be eager to attain liberty at any price, seeing that you claim it as your birthright? Why cast glances toward your strong box? Liberty cannot be bought.
It is therefore useless to enter in your ledger the item of “Freedom”, for freedom is possessed neither by those who have bought it, nor by those who have sold it. You must give this good to yourself, and seek it from yourself.
—from Seneca, Moral Letters 80
I will not recklessly claim that working to become a good man is somehow “easier” than working to become a champion in the arena, for it also demands its own form of rigor and discipline. Yet a life of inner constancy is nevertheless far simpler, in the sense that self-mastery does not rest upon the crutches of outer conditions. Whatever the circumstances may be, whether convenient or inconvenient, virtue requires only an absolute act of committed choice.
The warrior reaches for his honed weapons. The athlete trains with his specialized gear. The academic must refer to his extensive library. But the man who just wants to become more understanding and more loving from day to day needs nothing beyond the strength of his own convictions. There is a fierce beauty to this profound Stoic truth.
If it came instantaneously, I would already be a saint. I stumble regularly, and sometimes I fall flat on my face, though the difference is now that I decide to get up, to dust myself off, and to begin once more. The practice builds the habit. The habit improves the character. The character makes the man. Slowly but surely, the resolution forms a disposition like a second nature. Never be ashamed of progress, however slight.
And what prize awaits me? The warrior, the athlete, or the academic may win fortune and fame, while I am pursuing my freedom. This is not the usual conception of liberty, as the power to be delivered from the tyranny of others, and is instead the power to rule myself, regardless of the force inflicted by another. No money can purchase it, no position can grant it; it is available to anyone who knows himself.
The cardinal error is to equate success with a dominion over the world, when the true king reigns over his judgments. I crave riches because I fear poverty, and I seek out the approval of others because I remain ignorant of my nature. That was what I needed to hear back in college, not to fret over the football, the beer, or the job market.
Better late than never?
I will not recklessly claim that working to become a good man is somehow “easier” than working to become a champion in the arena, for it also demands its own form of rigor and discipline. Yet a life of inner constancy is nevertheless far simpler, in the sense that self-mastery does not rest upon the crutches of outer conditions. Whatever the circumstances may be, whether convenient or inconvenient, virtue requires only an absolute act of committed choice.
The warrior reaches for his honed weapons. The athlete trains with his specialized gear. The academic must refer to his extensive library. But the man who just wants to become more understanding and more loving from day to day needs nothing beyond the strength of his own convictions. There is a fierce beauty to this profound Stoic truth.
If it came instantaneously, I would already be a saint. I stumble regularly, and sometimes I fall flat on my face, though the difference is now that I decide to get up, to dust myself off, and to begin once more. The practice builds the habit. The habit improves the character. The character makes the man. Slowly but surely, the resolution forms a disposition like a second nature. Never be ashamed of progress, however slight.
And what prize awaits me? The warrior, the athlete, or the academic may win fortune and fame, while I am pursuing my freedom. This is not the usual conception of liberty, as the power to be delivered from the tyranny of others, and is instead the power to rule myself, regardless of the force inflicted by another. No money can purchase it, no position can grant it; it is available to anyone who knows himself.
The cardinal error is to equate success with a dominion over the world, when the true king reigns over his judgments. I crave riches because I fear poverty, and I seek out the approval of others because I remain ignorant of my nature. That was what I needed to hear back in college, not to fret over the football, the beer, or the job market.
Better late than never?
—Reflection written in 11/2013
IMAGE: Ilya Repin, What Freedom! (1903)
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