(독서) Daily Stoic-12월28일 ON BEING REMEMBERED

"It's a disgrace in this life when the soul surrenders first while the body refuses to."-MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.29 ("몸이 아직 버티고 있음에도 영혼이 먼저 항복하는 것은 이 생에서의 수치입니다."-마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 명상록 6.29)   Despite his privileges, Marcus Aurelius had a difficult life. The Roman historian Cassius Dio mused that Marcus "did not meet with the good fortune that he deserved, for he was not strong in body and was involved in a multitude of troubles throughout practically his entire reign." At one point, he was so sick that a rumor spread that he had died and matters were made worse when his most trusted general used it as an opportunity to declare himself the new emperor.   But throughout these struggles-the years at war, the crippling illnesses, his ...

"It's not at all that we have too short a time to live, but that we squander a great deal of it. Life is long enough, and it's given in sufficient measure to do many great things if we spend it well. But when it's poured down the drain of luxury and neglect, when it's employed to no good end, we're finally driven to see that it has passed by before we even recognized it passing. And so it is-we don't receive a short life, we make it so."-SENECA, ON THE BREVITY OF LIFE, 1.3-4a ("우리가 살기에 시간이 너무 짧은 것은 결코 아닙니다. 오히려 많은 시간을 낭비하기 때문입니다. 삶은 충분히 길며, 그것을 잘 활용한다면 위대한 일을 하기에도 충분합니다. 그러나 사치를 부리거나 무시하며 그 시간을 허비하고, 아무런 유익도 없는 데 사용하다 보면, 결국 그 시간이 지나가고 나서야 그것을 알아차리게 됩니다. 결국 문제는 우리가 짧은 삶을 받은 것이 아니라, 우리가 그것을 짧게 만든다는 데 있습니다."-세네카, 삶의 짧음에 관하여 1.3-4a)   No one knows ...

"The mind must be given relaxation-it will rise improved and sharper after a good break. Just as rich fields must not be forced- for they will quickly lose their fertility if never given a break-so constant work on the anvil will fracture the force of the mind. But it regains its powers if it is set free and relaxed for a while. Constant work gives rise to a certain kind of dullness and feebleness in the rational soul."-SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 17.5 ("마음은 휴식을 가져야 합니다. 좋은 휴식 후에는 더욱 향상되고 예리해질 것입니다. 비옥한 들판도 강제로 경작하면 안 됩니다. 끊임없이 사용되면 비옥함을 빨리 잃을 것이기 때문입니다. 마찬가지로, 마음도 끊임없이 단련하면 힘이 약해지고 맙니다. 그러나 잠시 자유롭고 이완되면 다시 힘을 되찾습니다. 끊임없는 작업은 이성적인 영혼에 어떤 종류의 둔함과 약화를 가져옵니다."– 세네카, 『마음의 평정에 관하여』, 17.5)   One can't read Marcus Aurelius and Seneca and not be struck by the difference between these two radically different personalities. Each had his own strengths and weaknesses. Which would you rather have entrusted with the immense responsibility of an empire? Probably Marcus. But who would you rather be as a person? Probably Seneca.   One of the reasons is that Seneca seems to have had what we would now refer to as work/life balance. Whereas Marcus can read as though he's worn down and tired, ...

"You know what wine and liqueur tastes like. It makes no difference whether a hundred or a thousand bottles pass through your bladder-you are nothing more than a filter."-SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 77.16 ("당신은 와인과 독한 술이 어떤 맛인지 이미 알고 있습니다. 백 병이든 천 병이든 그것들이 당신의 방광을 지나가는 것은 아무런 차이가 없습니다. 당신은 단지 하나의 필터에 불과할 뿐입니다." - 세네카, 도덕적 서신, 77.16 )   Here ere we have another contemptuous expression, this time from Seneca, who, given his reputation for opulence, probably enjoyed a nice drink from time to ...

"You are afraid of dying. But, come now, how is this life of yours anything but death?"-SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 77.18 ("당신은 죽음을 두려워합니다. 하지만, 가만히 생각해보십시오. 지금의 당신의 삶이 죽음과 무엇이 다릅니까?"-세네카, 도덕적 편지 77.18)   Seneca tells an amazing story about an obscenely wealthy Roman Senec who was carried around by slaves on a litter. On one occasion, after being lifted out of a bath, the Roman asked, "Am I sitting down yet?" Seneca's point was essentially: What kind of sad ...