(독서) Daily Stoic-11월3일 FOLLOWING THE DOCTOR'S ORDERS

"But I haven't at any time been hindered in my will, nor forced against it. And how is this possible? I have bound up my choice to act with the will of God. God wills that I be sick, such is my will. He wills that I should choose something, so do I. He wills that I reach for something, or something be given to me--I wish for the same. What God doesn't will, I do not wish for."-EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.1.89 (“하지만 나는 언제라도 내 의지가 방해받지 않았고, 내 의지에 반하는 행동을 강요받지 않았습니다. 어떻게 그게 가능했을까요? 나는 내 선택을 신의 뜻과 함께 묶어 두었습니다. 신이 내가 병들기를 원하신다면, 나 역시 그렇게 원합니다. 신이 내가 무언가를 선택하길 바라신다면, 나도 그렇게 합니다. 신이 내가 무언가를 바라거나 받기를 바라신다면, 나 역시 같은 것을 원합니다. 신이 원하지 않는 것을 나는 원하지 않습니다.” -에픽테토스, 담화록, 4.1.89)   When General Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote to his wife on the eve of the invasion of Normandy, he told her, "Everything we could think of has been done, the troops are fit, everybody is doing his best. The answer is in the lap of the gods." He'd done everything he could— and now, what would happen would happen and as Epictetus might say, he was ready to bear whatever that was. In fact, Eisenhower had written another ...

"Don't seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will-then your life will flow well."-EPICTETUS, ENCHIRIDION, 8 ("일어난 모든 일이 내가 원하는 대로 되기를 바라지 말고, 오히려 모든 일이 실제로 일어나는 대로 되기를 바라십시오. 그러면 당신의 삶은 순조롭게 흐를 것입니다." - 에픽테토스, 엔케이리디온 8)   "It is easy to praise providence for anything that may happen if you have two qualities: a complete view of what has actually happened in each instance and a sense of gratitude. Without gratitude what is the point of seeing, and without seeing what is the object of gratitude?"-EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.6.1-2 ("어떤 일이 일어나든 섭리를 찬양하는 것은 쉽습니다. 단, 두 가지 조건이 필요합니다. 바로 각 경우에 실제로 일어난 일을 완전하게 이해하는 것과 감사의 마음을 갖는 것입니다. 감사함이 없다면 이해하는 것의 의미는 무엇일까요? 그리고 이해가 없다면 감사의 대상은 무엇이겠습니까?" - 에픽테토스, 담화록 1.6.1-2)   Something happened that we wish had not. Which of these is easiest to change: our opinion or the event that is past?   The answer is obvious. Accept what happened and change your wish that it had not happened. Stoicism calls this the "art of acquiescence"- to accept rather than fight every little thing.   And the most practiced Stoics take it a step further. Instead of simply accepting what happens, they urge us to actually enjoy what has ...

"The human being is born with an inclination toward virtue." -MUSONIUS RUFUS, LECTURES, 2.7.1-2 ("인간은 본래 선을 추구하는 성향을 가지고 태어난다." - 무소니우스 루푸스, 강의, 2.7.1-2)   "The notion of original sin has weighed down humankind for centuries. In reality, we’re made to help each other and be good to each other. We wouldn’t have survived as a species otherwise.   There is hardly an idea in Stoic philosophy that wouldn't be immediately agreeable to a child or that doesn't jibe with common sense. The ideas within it go to the core of who we are and what we know to be true. The only things they conflict with are the various inventions of society-which usually serve some selfish interest more than they benefit the common good.   You were born good. "All of us have been made by nature," Rufus said, "so that we can live free from error and nobly-not that one can and another can't, but all." You were born with an attraction to virtue and self-mastery. If you've gotten far from that, it's not out of some inborn corruption but ...

"Aren't you ashamed to reserve for yourself only the remnants of your life and to dedicate to wisdom only that time can't be directed to business?"-SENECA, ON THE BREVITY OF LIFE, 3.5b ("자신의 인생에서 남은 찌꺼기만을 자기 자신에게 남겨두고, 오직 일에 사용할 수 없는 시간만을 지혜에 할애하는 것이 부끄럽지 않은가?" – 세네카, 「삶의 짧음에 관하여」 3.5b)   In one of his letters, Seneca tells a story about Alexander the Great. Apparently as Alexander was conquering the world, certain countries would offer him pieces of their territory in hopes that he'd leave them alone in exchange. Alexander would tell them, writes Seneca, that he hadn't come all the way to Asia to accept whatever they would give him, but instead they were going to have to accept whatever he chose to leave them.   According to Seneca, we should treat philosophy the same way in our lives. Philosophy shouldn't have to accept what time or energy is left over from other occupations but instead we should graciously make time for those other pursuits only once our study is finished.   If real self-improvement is what we're after, why do we leave our reading until those few minutes before we shut off the lights ...

"Each person acquires their own character, but their official roles are designated by chance. You should invite some to your table because they are deserving, others because they may come to deserve it."-SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 47.15b ("사람은 저마다 자신의 성격을 획득하지만, 그들의 공식적인 역할은 우연에 의해 정해집니다. 당신은 어떤 사람들은 그들이 자격이 있기 때문에 초대해야 하고, 다른 사람들은 앞으로 자격이 생길 수 있기 때문에 초대해야 합니다." - 세네카, 도덕 서한, 47.15b)   In the hiring process, most employers look at where someone went to school, what jobs they've held in the past. This is because past success can be an indicator of future successes. But is it always? There are plenty of people who were successful because of luck. Maybe they got into Oxford or Harvard because of their parents. And what about a young person who hasn't had time to build a track record? Are they worthless?   Of course not. This is why character is a far better measure of a man or woman. Not just for jobs, but for friendships, relationships, for everything. Heraclitus put it as a ...