Never, for my part, did I imagine Marcus Regulus to have been distressed, or unhappy, or wretched; because his magnanimity was not tortured by the Carthaginians; nor was the weight of his authority; nor was his honor; nor was his resolution; nor was one of his virtues; nor, in short, did his soul suffer their torments, for a soul with the guard and retinue of so many virtues, never surely could be taken, though his body was made captive.
We have seen Gaius Marius; he, in my opinion, was in prosperity one of the happiest, and in adversity one of the greatest of men than which man can have no happier lot.
You know not, foolish man, you know not what power virtue possesses; you only usurp the name of virtue; you are a stranger to her influence. No man who is wholly consistent within himself, and who reposes all his interests in himself alone, can be otherwise than completely happy.
But the man whose every hope, and scheme, and design depends upon fortune, such a man can have no certainty—can possess nothing assured to him as destined to continue for a single day. If you have any such man in your power, you may terrify him by threats of death or exile; but whatever can happen to me in so ungrateful a country, will find me not only not opposing, but even not refusing it.
To what purpose have I toiled? To what purpose have I acted? Or on what have my cares and meditations been watchfully employed, if I have produced and arrived at no such results, as that neither the outrages of fortune nor the injuries of enemies can shatter me?
We have seen Gaius Marius; he, in my opinion, was in prosperity one of the happiest, and in adversity one of the greatest of men than which man can have no happier lot.
You know not, foolish man, you know not what power virtue possesses; you only usurp the name of virtue; you are a stranger to her influence. No man who is wholly consistent within himself, and who reposes all his interests in himself alone, can be otherwise than completely happy.
But the man whose every hope, and scheme, and design depends upon fortune, such a man can have no certainty—can possess nothing assured to him as destined to continue for a single day. If you have any such man in your power, you may terrify him by threats of death or exile; but whatever can happen to me in so ungrateful a country, will find me not only not opposing, but even not refusing it.
To what purpose have I toiled? To what purpose have I acted? Or on what have my cares and meditations been watchfully employed, if I have produced and arrived at no such results, as that neither the outrages of fortune nor the injuries of enemies can shatter me?
—from Cicero, Stoic Paradoxes 2
We all say that we want to be happy, and yet we rarely reflect on what this might mean. Most of us will assume that happiness is the same thing as pleasure, so we pursue those conditions that can offer us the greatest possible gratification. In such an approach, morality merely becomes a tool for avoiding unnecessary pain: if I play by the rules, then hopefully other people won’t hurt me.
But what if I told you that there are people who measure their appetites by their conscience, and not the other way around? You might not immediately notice them, because they do not feel the need to make demands or to put on a show. They understand why all good things are pleasurable, but not all pleasurable things are good, and so they are satisfied by the dignity of their actions. To be fulfilled in the virtues is the highest end, which also brings with it the fitting consequence of an unsurpassed joy.
Historians tell me that Marcus Regulus couldn’t have offered his life for the sake of his promise, though I wonder if they are just inclined to see everyone as base. Whether the story of his sacrifice is fact or fable, it demonstrates what is most noble within our nature, as creatures gifted with reason and will. For all the harm done to his flesh, his spirit remained intact, and the contentment came from an awareness of that ultimate meaning.
Since I know very little about Gaius Marius, I now have some homework to do. I was under the impression that, for all his courage, he also had a streak of brutality, so I will do some digging about what Cicero may have meant. This will take me some time, but I do not find that burdensome, as I appreciate how the effort can contribute to my own character. As it is with the big things, so it is with the little things.
I am sometimes afraid to even speak about the virtues, given how often people will exploit their appearance in a pursuit of the vices. Yet since they are only playing make-believe, I know how they are fractured by insincerity, and I therefore know why they cannot be at peace with themselves. Don’t let the pretenders ruin it for you.
In my own experience, I have never been happy when I am angry, fearful, grasping, or devious. I have always been happy when I am loving, constant, grateful, and authentic. Where my life revolves around feeble attempts at manipulating fortune, I am constantly anxious. Where my life rests in the integrity of my thoughts, words, and deeds, I am finally liberated. Beyond the arguments from philosophy, these are the facts, plain and simple.
True bliss is about arriving at that point where you no longer allow the circumstances to bring you down.
We all say that we want to be happy, and yet we rarely reflect on what this might mean. Most of us will assume that happiness is the same thing as pleasure, so we pursue those conditions that can offer us the greatest possible gratification. In such an approach, morality merely becomes a tool for avoiding unnecessary pain: if I play by the rules, then hopefully other people won’t hurt me.
But what if I told you that there are people who measure their appetites by their conscience, and not the other way around? You might not immediately notice them, because they do not feel the need to make demands or to put on a show. They understand why all good things are pleasurable, but not all pleasurable things are good, and so they are satisfied by the dignity of their actions. To be fulfilled in the virtues is the highest end, which also brings with it the fitting consequence of an unsurpassed joy.
Historians tell me that Marcus Regulus couldn’t have offered his life for the sake of his promise, though I wonder if they are just inclined to see everyone as base. Whether the story of his sacrifice is fact or fable, it demonstrates what is most noble within our nature, as creatures gifted with reason and will. For all the harm done to his flesh, his spirit remained intact, and the contentment came from an awareness of that ultimate meaning.
Since I know very little about Gaius Marius, I now have some homework to do. I was under the impression that, for all his courage, he also had a streak of brutality, so I will do some digging about what Cicero may have meant. This will take me some time, but I do not find that burdensome, as I appreciate how the effort can contribute to my own character. As it is with the big things, so it is with the little things.
I am sometimes afraid to even speak about the virtues, given how often people will exploit their appearance in a pursuit of the vices. Yet since they are only playing make-believe, I know how they are fractured by insincerity, and I therefore know why they cannot be at peace with themselves. Don’t let the pretenders ruin it for you.
In my own experience, I have never been happy when I am angry, fearful, grasping, or devious. I have always been happy when I am loving, constant, grateful, and authentic. Where my life revolves around feeble attempts at manipulating fortune, I am constantly anxious. Where my life rests in the integrity of my thoughts, words, and deeds, I am finally liberated. Beyond the arguments from philosophy, these are the facts, plain and simple.
True bliss is about arriving at that point where you no longer allow the circumstances to bring you down.
—Reflection written in 5/1999
IMAGE: J.M.W. Turner, Regulus (1828)
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