The Stoic Magazine Library

It’s no mistake – it’s supposed to be 80/120. It’s a deliberate play on the 80/20 rule, so please, don’t confuse it. Today I take a different angle. I want to show how the Stoic principles translate into patterns of daily life.

In this extract, Elbert Hubbard chronicles how Marcus Aurelius and Faustina, the Younger developed affection for – and eventually marry – each other.

“No reasonable person can claim that the ancient Stoics were right about everything [...]However, this leads us to another problem: that of attempting to “fix” Stoicism by imposing our worldview onto those of the ancients.”

“Stoicism has neither a catechism nor an official declaration of faith.”

“Despite our love of truth, though, difficulties arise because the truth is not always obvious or easy to understand.”

“How do you want to spend your days – in fear, anger, and disgust – or building a more ethical, collaborative world?”

“We need to learn how to choose to not travel that path. This is what I came to call the principle of defining a proper alternative.”

Marcus as the chief judge: Marriages and divorces

“As Stoics, one of our primary tasks is learning to see the world clearly and accurately.”

“Seeing can help us understand the urgent need to try to do something. I realize I can only do what’s within my power, but I hope I’ll find ways to learn and act,”

“Virtue is the answer to just about any of our questions.”

“In Stoicism body, mind and spirit are not distinct but are all made of one and the same matter.”

“How then could some humans be so careless as to reduce an elephant to its tusks, without a second thought as to the role it plays in supporting the ecosystem?”

“Men and women do not get married because marriage is legal, nor do they continue living together because divorce is difficult.”

“You don´t just need discomfort to acquire virtue, but to be virtuous. Like the red queen in Alice in Wonderland you need to run, just to stay in place. It´s not like once you reached virtue it's nothing but smooth sailing.”