How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic
If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool (h/t mindyourbusiness)
This week’s book:
Discourses and Selected Writings
Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.
Epictetus was born a slave around 50 ad. His owner was Epaphroditus, a rich freedman who was once a slave of Nero. Though he was a slave Epictetus was sent to study philosophy under Musonius Rufus.
Epictetus was lame and there are some stories it was caused by his master and others that it was caused by disease.
He was a freedman when all philosophers were banished from Rome in 89 by the Emperor Domitian. He then started his school in Greece, and had many students. He did not leave any writings from his lessons, but one of his students, Flavius Arrian, took notes and wrote the Discourses.
Epictetus did not marry, had no children, and lived to be around 80-85. In retirement, he adopted a child that would have been abandoned and raised him with a woman.
He died sometime around AD 135.
He might be my favorite Stoic teacher. I love his bare bones and very straight forward approach.
Following is a paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of one of his lessons. Epictetus’s text appears in bold, my replies are in normal text.
How ought we to exercise ourselves to deal with the impressions of our senses?
As we exercise ourselves to meet the sophistical interrogations, so we ought also to exercise ourselves daily to meet the impressions of our senses, because these too put interrogations to us.
The more I think I understand Stoicism, the more it can challenge me. I think for normal daily life I have a good grasp, but things out of the ordinary can be difficult to deal with.
So-and-so’s son is dead. Answer, “That lies outside the sphere of the moral purpose, it is not an evil.” His father has disinherited So-and-so; what do you think of it? “That lies outside the sphere of the moral purpose, it is not an evil.” Caesar has condemned him. “That lies outside the sphere of the moral purpose, it is not an evil.”
While none of these are evil in the context of Stoicism, they can cause distress. When my mom died in March, it was a huge thing to deal with. We had a complex relationship and while I know how she felt about me, I wish we could have had a goodbye. I did not let this drown me in grief and was able to focus on the positive aspects of our lives and be glad she wasn’t suffering through brutal cancer treatments anymore. If I was less in control of myself, it would have been easy to exaggerate my sorrow and focus on loss. Doing this would have been easier in some ways, but I would not have been able to support my step dad when he needed it.
He was grieved at all this. “That lies within the sphere of the moral purpose, it is an evil.” He has borne up under it manfully. “That lies within the sphere of the moral purpose, it is a good.” Now if we acquire this habit, we shall make progress; for we shall never give our assent to anything but that of which we get a convincing sense-impression.[1]
I try to remember the only true evil for me is when I fail to control my reactions. On Monday, I let the fact I am still couch bound and sleeping downstairs irritate me and I took it out on my wife a little. I apologized later, but it was definitely a bad reaction on my part. In my defense my foot was throbbing and it was hard to think straight, but I am still responsible for my reactions.
His son is dead. What happened? 5His son is dead. Nothing else? Not a thing. His ship is lost. What happened? His ship is lost. He was carried off to prison. What happened? He was carried off to prison. But the observation: “He has fared ill,” is an addition that each man makes on his own responsibility.
It is vital to look at the bare facts of an event and not add feelings or opinions to them if we want an honest assessment. Without an honest assessment, our reactions can be influenced to be out of control.
“But,” you say, “Zeus does not do right in all this.” What makes you think so? Because He has made you capable of patient endurance, and high-minded, because He has taken from these things the quality of being evils, because you are permitted to suffer these things and still to be happy, because He has opened for you the door,[2] whenever they are not to your good?[3] Man, go out, and do not complain.
God is not to blame for misfortune. Life can be fickle sometimes. Being couch bound for almost 2 weeks now is threatening to drive me insane, but other than one lapse, I have been in a good mood. My ankle has finally started to improve, today was the first day I could put any weight on it. Still can’t walk yet, and a little part of my brain is wondering if this is my life now. If I never run again, it would be difficult to deal with, but not the end of my life.
Hear how the Romans feel about philosophers, if you care to know. Italicus, who has a very great reputation among them as a philosopher, once, when I was present, got angry at his friends, as though he were suffering something intolerable, and said, “I cannot bear it: you are the death of me! you will make me just like him,” and pointed at me![4]
Apparently Italicus was pretending to be a much better Stoic than he actually was. Having loud principles that you don’t really believe in is asking to get exposed. While sometimes I don’t ive up to mine, I make an honest effort and review where I went wrong in an effort not to repeat the same mistakes.
This is the point where it starts to sound like flirting with nihilism.
Nihilism has the great advantages of being self-consistent and possibly true.
But exceedingly destructive to the human mind, which is wired with an outsided emphesis on the person it’s part of as an evolutionary advantage.
“…possibly true…”
The universe doesn’t give a shit about anything? It just happens because that is how the laws of the universe work?
The laws of the universe gave rise to me, that was inevitable. If good, prosperity, happiness, life doesnt matter to the universe or even to every other human being on the planet, it matters to me. It is written in my genes and that is a product of the universe operating by a set of cold, fixed laws. I can no more be a nihilist than I can fly to the moon on an elephant’s back. Maybe the universe does care by producing caring beings? How is that for anthropomorphism.
Not the same at all.
A Stoic would still recognize mourning is a normal part of life, they just don’t let it get out of hand.
A nihilist wouldn’t care at all, I would think, but I don’t know much about it.
I agree with you. Stoicism (and Christianity) act as antidotes to nihilism.
Also this
Strange, they still seem more like kissing cousins than anything else.
Uncivil: I knew what the link was before clicking.
Link?
I was still musing on Philosophy, I honestly didn’t even see the link.
Still can’t walk yet, and a little part of my brain is wondering if this is my life now. If I never run again, it would be difficult to deal with, but not the end of my life.
Broke my foot about 8 weeks ago, and had gotten a really bad ankle sprain about 20 years ago in martial arts. Both times for at least a month I felt like I would never be able to walk normally again, much less run. After a few months however with the ankle and some physical therapy, I was more or less back to normal. Foot is still not 100%, but keeps improving, I can walk pretty much normally now despite some discomfort and I am confident I’ll be able to run eventually.
The human body has a pretty amazing capacity to heal and recover.
Having a good physical therapist is a must. We have gone to the same one for years, he’s a genius. I’ve had a shoulder injury, tennis elbow, and golfer’s elbow. The Mrs. has had all kinds of knee, back, shoulder, and hip problems. We’ve worked through all those issues using PT, no drugs or surgery.
Having a good physical therapist is a must
Hear, hear. A ways back, I broke my knee but good. I’m lucky enough that my wife is a physical therapist, and she worked with me almost every night. I still have a deficit in range of motion, but I can walk, run, climb stairs, etc., which is something like a miracle.
As an aside, probably don’t pick a pediatric hand specialist do your knee repair. Just sayin’.
For sure.
Also, seek out a PT who works with athletes (even if you aren’t one). They won’t give you dumb-ass exercises more appropriate for your grandma.
I think of physical therapists as chiropractors whose philosophy, practice and methods actually work. Wife had a broken foot that caused her incredible pain and grief. The foot docs basically told us there was nothing they could do. They recommended a physical therapist almost as an afterthought…I think just to get rid of her.
Physical Therapist was a doctor of PT. I didnt know there was such a thing. She was an absolute miracle worker.
We’ll see what the Dr. tells me next week, but I agree with the PT comments.
After my ankle surgery, I had a PT and they gave me a list of home exercises to do.
I did all of them and told her that the exercises had left me sore and stiff.
She said that “nobody does all the exercises, so we always give extra.
Stupid me, I guess for doing everything she told me to do.
Our guy does dry needling, which is magic. I’ve also had cupping done by a massage therapist, that works pretty well too.
I’ve been to shitty chiros, docs and PTs as well as brilliant ones. I had a foot surgeon tell me I needed a new fucking joint in my foot (it was really fucked up). Then I was referred to a doc who works with runners and is in charge at the TC Marathon. She called bullshit on the surgery, did a gait analysis, figured out my foot doesn’t work naturally and set me up with orthotics. I haven’t had an issue since – and that was five years ago.
The good ones have great knowledge of anatomy, and know the problem isn’t really the real problem, the problem is usually caused by something else up the chain. So Tundra’s gait, and in my case the elbow pain was caused by something in my forearm. And my shoulder pain was shoulder, pec, and bicep.
Physical Therapist was a doctor of PT.
For all that they act like they know everything, MDs are generalists. DPTs know way more about how joints and muscles work; PharmDs know way more about how drugs work and interact, etc.
The good ones have great knowledge of anatomy, and know the problem isn’t really the real problem
The wife is always on about exactly this. Address the problem, not the symptom.
I’ll never be the same guy I was 3 years ago. I try not to complain because it doesn’t change anything.
Happy to be a Glib.
It’s better today than yesterday, my fear was stemming from the fact it hadn’t improved much at all in the first week.
My broken foot actually felt like it was worse after the first week, but then after that there was a very slow steady improvement. Probably because that scared me into staying off of it instead of trying to get around too much.
You don’t get what you deserve. You get what you get.
Deserve’s got nuthin’ to do with it.
When my son came with us on vacation last month we were talking about movies and I realized I had failed in one aspect, he had never seen Josie Wales, Pale Rider, or Unforgiven.
After we got back to my house we had a few days before he had to go home, so we watched all 3.
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometime you’ll find
You get what you need
” If a man loses anything and goes back and looks carefully for it, he will find it.”
– Sitting Bull
Hunkpapa Lakota chief
We see that all of the time. In social and political matters people always find what they are looking for whether it is there or not.
Depraved indifference
The CrossFit Games will resume in Fort Worth on Friday after a special tribute to the athlete who drowned during a race.
Organizers said they thought carefully about how to move forward in the wake of Lazar Dukic’s death.
——-
The CrossFit Games were suspended on Thursday after the accident.
Organizers said after a lot of consideration and consultation with Dukic’s family, it was decided that the games at Dickies Arena would continue throughout the remainder of the weekend.
Friday morning’s events will begin with a special tribute to Dukic.
Life goes on? How can this be permitted?
They’re not wrong about Crossfitters being deranged.
Ozy might have a bit to say about that
Ozy might look up his work and despair.
I see absolutely no reason why they should cancel their annual championship because one of the athletes died during the competition. He won’t come back to life if they cancel. The other athletes would be screwed if they cancel, not to mention the sport itself.
All downside, no upside.
I’m very curious what happened. I saw the video and he didn’t look like he was struggling that much. And there were rescue people right there. It could have been cramps, but I wonder if it was a cardiac event.
Regardless, that sucks but I agree with RC Dean – no reason to cancel the games. People drop dead in marathons with some regularity.
Daily ray of moonlight:
https://x.com/AMAZlNGNATURE/status/1816086740240572756
Now someone needs to find that video of a guy yelling out a window in a big city and having everyone do the same.
Yeah, that was my thought too, interpolate some footage of Hell’s Kitchen circa 1950 and you would see something similar.
I assume you didn’t have this in mind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_rttgtyigc
This is the lone wolf equivalent in humans.
That one woke my husky up and he joined in too.
Yeah, mine ran over to the open window and was looking for a friend.
Sad to say, but God, or the universe, or fate or fortune doesn’t give a large rodent’s buttocks about you, me, or humanity in general. If anything, there will be a lot more adverse events in one’s life than favorable ones.
There are two ways to deal with those unpleasant facts. One way is to bemoan our condition. Temporarily satisfying, yes; but the problem is still here. The other way recognizes what the situation is, accepts it and deals with it reasonably and to the best of our ability. That applies to both the happy and unhappy events. How we feel about things makes no difference. What we do about them does.
I’ve often said, “Luck is just probability wearing a fursuit.”
I had a brutal headache last night and slept maybe 2 hours.
Logged on for work this morning and fell asleep on the couch at 0830 EST.
Just woke up.
Headache is gone, so I got that going for me, which is nice.
God is not to blame for misfortune.
A transactional God is much easier for people than faith (acceptance). You don’t pray to God to give you things, you pray for the strength to bear up under misfortune manfully.
Sorry about your foot, brother. First couple weeks suck. I predict you’ll be much better shortly.
Today, I can”walk” without crutches.
I say “walk” because I cannot roll my foot forward at all and have to hop my good foot into position for the next step.
Good times.
Yikes – airliner in Brazil in a spin-stall.
https://x.com/JloGrows/status/1821964211871752590
From the comments 60 souls.
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/plane-with-capacity-transport-68-people-crashes-brazil-website-g1-reports-2024-08-09/
Damn. Amazing video
Talk about local news, damn
That looks horrifying.
Presumed dead? No one went to see?
it just happened. They may not have actually gotten to it.
Seems an accurate way to describe current events.
It looks like Business Insider is now paywalled. I wonder how that’s working out for them.
So, in England, where they have royalty, wherein the future queen of England goes to visit people in her country wearing a headscarf and being snubbed for a handshake by invaders, and they just … take it. https://x.com/HazelAppleyard_/status/1821952349881188422
Should have had the guy put in the stocks. The Tower of London still stands, doesn’t it?
What good is it to be the king if you can’t fuck with people?
I think they’ve given up prima nocta for a while now.
I think they lost the plot with shaking hands in the first place. The correct greeting is bow or curtsy with no contact. Well, for their subjects. đź–• since 1776.
Diana’s death ruined that.
The speech crackdown has been unsettling for me. I’m seeing on Twitter that the cops in the UK have turned off comments because they’re getting ratio’d badly by people in the US.
I’ve also seen people posting what I’m thinking: that President Harris would have no problem extraditing troublesome Americans to the UK to face charges of posting hate speech online.
Ten day ban on X, is it the UK or Venezuela?
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ypx0p84rgo
She would also have no compunction about implementing that here if she could.
But remember, Trump is the dictator.
Right-wingers are now planting decoy protests in the UK and when the police arrive the only people they find are armed Islamist mobs who mobilized to attack the fake protests
https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1821345484419821571
Nice – when the cops realize there’s nobody except a Muslim mob, they literally run away.
Go fuck yourself, Limey prick.
Is that hateful enough?
Someone posted that some police departments are blocking all of north America from their websites
Dont blame us. We shot as many of them as we could when we had the chance.
“Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law”
Yeah, keep this shit up and you will find out what not being safe is all about.
I dunno. Context? No sound so I dont know what he said. He did place his hand on his chest and bow a bit. Maybe he said “Sorry but I have the cootie bugs” or “It would be disrespectful for me to touch you”
It looks more like a cultural misunderstanding.
He shook Williams hand without hesitation.
She’s pretty hot.
Maybe it was something like this.
Gustave: maybe he hates Williams or it is not disrespectful for him to touch a man.
I dunno. He didn’t shake her hand but his body language did not say ‘disrespect’.
That was a formalized bow.
Cultural sexism to shake the hand of a man and then bow to a woman. Sure, if you want to look at it that way.
But it wasn’t a sign of disrespect.
He looked at her and spoke as he was bowing.
Britain has been invaded and it’s burning and I’m unreasonably sad about that. It’s turned into a third-world shithole and I fear for us too.
Oh we have something those Brits don’t. You really have to understand how different they’ve always been with their class sensibilities. We dispensed with that, pre-Revolution really.
The people who have guns know their potential and will hold back as long as possible, which will be too late.
As social cohesion erodes, maybe not, Moje. I recall a BLM protest that rolled up to some town and was greeted by the sight of armed citizens lining the roads.
Sadly Mojeaux they have a very long history of totalitarian mentality. As far back as you care to look as a matter of fact.
I consider them one of the most militarized tyrannical governments in the world. Not as bad as the Norks but definitely on the list.
The ruling class in England is on their knees before the Muslim invaders. They grin and take it when they are humiliated in public, they protect violent mobs of Muslims, they persecute their own countrymen who protest the invaders. This is the behavior of a conquered or colonized people.
You have to admit, there is something just a bit karmic about that.
Ironic, even
When my son came with us on vacation last month we were talking about movies and I realized I had failed in one aspect, he had never seen Josie Wales, Pale Rider, or Unforgiven.
Speaking of Clint Eastwood movies, I really liked A Perfect World.
Never saw that one, looks interesting.
It’s really good. Definitely worth your time.
Eastwood movies are some of the best ever made and yes Brooks, A Perfect World is one of the best of Eastwood.
I didn’t recognize the title so I looked it up.
Yup. It’s a great movie.
Costner’s best movie too.
The First Traveling Saleslady
Clint Eastwood is paired romantically with… Carol Channing.
Do you have a movie substack? Because you should.
I’m coming up on 7,000 posts on my blog.
Two Mules for Sister Carol?
Damn, that’s a bunch. I just want you to monetize!
“…and a little part of my brain is wondering if this is my life now. If I never run again, it would be difficult to deal with, but not the end of my life.”
About six years ago, I started losing feeling in my left finger tips. I kind of dicked around thinking about it for a while, talked to a few people I know, and everyone said “go to the doctor”.
So, one day, I got off my ass and called my doctor, and the girl who answered asked my what was wrong. I told her, she asked me to hold on a second, and when she got back on the line she said “go immediately to the emergency room.” Which kind of knocked me back, so I thought about it for a while, then called my wife, told her what they said, and she rushed home and we went.
After several hours, multiple tests, including a 2 hour MRI, the doctor came in and said “you have MS.” And then I went home, fed the dog, and had a beer. Because, at the same time my life changed, nothing changed. I am still me, no matter what.
That’s a good way to look at life.
Yes the standard CYA answer. I understand it and why, but it’s just another symptom of the way our society no longer understands risk and tradeoffs.
Well, they were right. I may have had a stroke, or something else like that I needed a bunch of tests right away, along with an immediate diagnosis to get the ball rolling on treatment. The doctors office isn’t set up for that.
It’s ridiculous. A relatively minor symptom of longstanding is by no definition an imminent threat to health.
Now, if you call and say, my left arm just went numb, yeah, probably cause to go to the ED.
Zwak, losing the feeling in your fingers weeks or months before is not a symptom of a stroke. Even if you had a stroke weeks or months before, there’s nothing anybody could do about it now. Typically the onset of stroke symptoms is severe, and the window for treatment is a few hours.
Zwak,
I understand. I had contemplated all manor of bucket lists, life altering changes, extreme plans….
In the end I am who I am. I can’t be a bohemian and never work again traveling somewhere new every month, explore all of my interests regardless of my responsibilities.
I can relax and spend more on my comfort and that of my family (stop overthinking every purchase like you are still poor), keep trying new things, continue to build and grow my relationships, and live my life.
“I am still me, no matter what.” Well said.
Holy shit, and even if Trump is elected, you think this shit won’t continue with the unaccountable fucks downstream?
Nope. He will be voting Team Blue in the fall too.
We have limited resources. Following Tulsi Gabbard around all the airports in the world is way more important.
Amazing that only right wing nutters are concerned about this.
You would think someone like Today or The View might cover it, at least.
Remember when people like Maddow pretended to care about civil rights?
No, I don’t.
And Tulsi is the one being persecuted. This is so fucked up.
Just remember, this isn’t the most important election of our lives.
None of them are, we just need to lie back, and think of no one being created equal.
Jordanian illegal allien
who tried to breach base
Was on terror watch list…
Released.
That is a lot of holy crap to fit into a headline.
Did have to post 10k in bail. So, there is that.
How does an illegal immigrant have 10k?
Kamala probably paid.
At least they held onto him to verify where he was on Jan. 6.
Can you imagine if you were illegally in any other country in the world and convicted of a crime at a military base? Go to Canada and cross the border, find a army base and drive up to the gate and lie to try to get access. See what happens to you.
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