Dear brother or sister,

One substance and one law, one common Reason of all intelligent creatures, and one truth

So, you have found my message from across the sea of time. And now, you are wondering why I have addressed you as “brother” or “sister.” The ancient Stoics, whose wisdom guided me in my time, said many wise things, and I will cite a few of them presently. But of all Stoic teachings, perhaps the least emphasized is that which stresses the unity of all mankind. The Stoic emperor, Marcus Aurelius, taught that 

All things are woven together and the common bond is sacred … for there is one Universe out of all, one God through all, one substance and one law, one common Reason of all intelligent creatures, and one truth… 

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.9 

In my own time—the early 21st century—the common bonds uniting mankind were often severed by the sword of hatred, bigotry, and xenophobia. The Roman statesman and Stoic, Seneca, spoke to the “unnaturalness” of hatred: 

Hatred is ... a vice which goes point-blank against Nature.

Hatred is not only a vice, but a vice which goes point-blank against Nature. Hatred divides instead of joining and frustrates God’s will in human society. One man is born to help another. Hatred makes us destroy one another … It is not hatred, but mutual love, that holds all mankind together. 

Seneca (cited by David 1903) 

After these foundational principles, I think Stoicism is best understood through an examination of some common misconceptions about it. Many people who hear the term “stoic” imagine someone who rigidly and obsessively tamps down “feelings” and emotion. 

When we understand and accept the way things are, we find ourselves at peace, and [are] free

Yet that is a gross caricature of Stoicism, which asserts simply that when we understand and accept the way things are, we find ourselves at peace, and free to pursue higher pleasures. When we refuse to accept the way things are, we make ourselves (and often, others) unhappy. When we live our lives according to Stoic principles, we don’t need to quash our feelings—rather, the feelings we experience are appropriate to “the way things are.” 

Distinguish carefully those things we can change or control from those beyond our control

The “flip side” of this misconception is that Stoics are mere “fatalists”—that they passively accept whatever happens in life, no matter how bad. This canard envisions the Stoic as a version of Voltaire’s character in Candide, Dr. Pangloss, who famously asserts, "All is for the best in this best of all possible worlds!" True: Stoics believe in a deterministic universe—in effect, that every event has a cause and happens as it must. 

But our own aims, goals, and actions are part of the causal chain that acts upon the world. When the world produces evil, hatred or injustice, the Stoic sage does not sit passively by. Rather, the Sage answers evil with virtue; hatred with love; and injustice with justice. Accepting that “things are as they are” does not mean denying that they can change! Stoicism teaches us to distinguish carefully those things we can change or control from those beyond our control. 

Finally, my friend: I can’t toss this bottle into the sea without citing two of the most famous Stoic teachings. Marcus Aurelius taught that 

Things do not touch the soul … [rather], our perturbations come only from the opinion which is within… 

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.9 

Or, as Epictetus put it, 

It is not he who gives abuse … who offends us; but the view that we take of [it] as insulting or hurtful.” 

Epictetus, Discourses 80 (Bonforte 1955) 

Live long and prosper! 

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Ron Pies MD, psychiatrist and educator, compares Stoic thought with Buddhism and Judaism (juBuSto), and finds parallels. He is the Author of Three Petalled Rose. 

 

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