(독서) Daily Stoic-10월29일 CHARACTER IS FATE

"You'll more quickly find an earthly thing kept from the earth than you will a person cut off from other human beings." -MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 9.9.3 “땅에 속한 물건이 땅과 분리된 것을 찾는 것이, 다른 인간과 완전히 단절된 사람을 찾는 것보다 훨씬 더 쉬울 것이다." - 마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 『명상록』 9.9.3)   Naturally, Marcus Aurelius and the rest of the Stoics were not familiar with Newtonian physics. But they knew that what went up must come down. That's the analogy he's using here: our mutual interdependence with our fellow human beings is stronger than the law of gravity.   Philosophy attracts introverts. The study of human nature can make you aware of other people's faults and can breed contempt for others. So do struggle and difficulty-they isolate us from the world.   But none of that changes that we are, as Aristotle put it, social animals. We need each other. We must be there for each other. We must take care of each other (and to allow others to care for us in return). To pretend otherwise is to violate our nature, to be more or less than what it means to be a human being. 당연히 마르쿠스 아우렐리우스와 나머지 스토아 철학자들은 뉴턴의 ...

"Crimes often return to their teacher."-SENECA, THYESTES, 311 ("범죄는 종종 그들의 교사에게 돌아간다."  - 세네카, 티에스테스, 311 )   It's ironic that Seneca would have one of his characters utter this line. As we know, for many years Seneca served as the tutor and mentor to the emperor Nero. There is a lot of evidence that Seneca was, in fact, a positive moral influence on the deranged young man, but even at the time, Seneca's contemporaries found it strange that a philosopher would serve as the right hand to such an evil person. They even used the Greek word tyrannodidaskalos-tyrant teacher-to describe him. And just as Shakespeare observed in Macbeth, "Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return / To plague th'inventor," Seneca's collaboration with Nero ultimately ended with the student murdering the teacher.   It's something to think about when you consider whom to work with and whom to do business with in life. If you show a client how to do something unethical or illegal, might they return the favor to an unsuspecting you later on? If you provide a bad example to your employees, to your associates, to your children, might ...

"The best and the greatest number of authors have asserted that philosophy consists of three parts: the moral, the natural, and the rational. The first puts the soul in order. The second thoroughly examines the natural order of things. The third inquires into the proper meaning of words, and their arrangements and proofs which keep falsehoods from creeping in to displace truth."-SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 89.9 (“철학은 도덕적, 자연적, 이성적 세 부분으로 구성되어 있다고 주장하는 저자들이 가장 많고 많습니다. 첫 번째는 영혼을 정리하는 것입니다. 두 번째는 사물의 자연적 질서를 철저하게 조사합니다. 세 번째는 단어의 올바른 의미와 거짓이 진리를 대체하지 못하도록 하는 단어의 배열과 증거를 탐구합니다."-세네카, 도덕적 편지, 89.9)   These three parts-the moral, the natural, and the ...

"What, then, makes a person free from hindrance and self- determining? For wealth doesn't, neither does high-office, state or kingdom-rather, something else must be found... in the case of living, it is the knowledge of how to live."-EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.1.62-64 (“그렇다면 무엇이 사람을 방해받지 않고 스스로 결정할 수 있게 하는 것일까? 부도, 높은 공직도, 국가도, 왕국도 아닌 다른 무언가를 찾아야 합니다... 생활의 경우에는 어떻게 사는지에 대한 지식입니다."-에픽테토스, 담론, 4.1.62-64) You have two essential tasks in life: to be a good person and to pursue the occupation that you love. Everything else is a waste of energy and a squandering of your potential. How does one do that? OK, that's a tougher question. But the philosophy we see from the Stoics makes it simple enough: say no to distractions, to destructive emotions, to outside pressure. Ask yourself: What is it that only I can do? What is the best use of my limited time on this planet? Try to do the right thing when the situation calls for it. Treat other people the way you would hope to be treated. And understand that every small choice and tiny matter is an opportunity to practice these larger principles. That's it. That's what goes into the most important skill of all: how to live. ...

"Dig deep within yourself, for there is a fountain of goodness ever ready to flow if you will keep digging." -MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.59 (“계속 파고들면 언제나 선의 샘이 솟아날 준비가 되어 있으니 내면의 깊은 곳을 파보세요.” -마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 명상, 7.59)   Today, we could hope that goodness comes our way-good news, good weather, good luck. Or we could find it ourselves, in ourselves. Goodness isn't something that's going to be delivered by mail. You have to dig it up inside your own soul. You find it within your ...