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From Vol. 5, Issue 1, January 2023

Stoic every day

Stoic Everyday || Chuck Chakrapani

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  1. If you ate with restraint and self-control, would that not be pleasing to God? You ask the waiter to bring hot water. She brings lukewarm water or even totally ignores you. If you don’t get angry then, would it not be pleasing to God? [Epictetus D1.13]
  2. The universal cause is like a flood, sweeping everything along with it. How foolish are these people who play at politics and convince themselves that they are philosophers! [Marcus Aurelius, M9.29]
  3. Let the wise be moderate, and when things call for courage, they should display strength, not anger. [Seneca, A1.17]
  4. If you are placed in a position above others, are you going to behave like a tyrant? [Epictetus D1.13]
  5. Do what nature demands now. Get moving and don’t look around to see if anyone is looking at you. [Marcus Aurelius, M9.29]
  6. We should both resist anger and control it once it has arisen. [Seneca, A1.18]
  7.  If plants and our bodies are so intimately linked to the world and its rhythms, won’t the same be true of our minds – only more so? [Epictetus D1.14]
  8. Be satisfied, if even with the smallest progress. Count the result as no small success. [Marcus Aurelius, M9.29]
  9. Education calls for the greatest attention and will have the greatest payoff because it’s easier to mold tender minds. It is difficult to uproot vices that we grow up with. [Seneca, A1.18]
  10. As wood is the material for the carpenter, as marble is for the sculptor, so is the art of living for each individual. [Epictetus D1.15]
  11. The task of philosophy is modest – all simplicity and plain-dealing. Don’t tempt me into audacity and pride. [Marcus Aurelius, M9.29]
  12. Wine kindles anger because it increases heat. According to each person’s disposition, some fly into a passion when they are heavily drunk, some when they are slightly drunk. [Seneca, A1.19]
  13. Nothing important happens in an instant. Even grapes and figs take time to ripen. If you say you want a fig right now, I will ask you to be patient. First let the tree blossom and bear fruit. And then, let the fruit ripen. [Epictetus D1.15]
  14. Be indifferent to external events. Be just and fair in your actions. [Marcus Aurelius, M9.31]
  15. Nature makes some people prone to anger. Many other factors have the same effect… Anything that hurts the body or the mind stirs the disturbed mind to find fault. But these are only the first causes of anger. [Seneca, A1.20]
  16. We neglect to give thanks … then complain to God concerning our own condition. [Epictetus D1.16]
  17. Let the common good guide your thoughts and actions. This is according to nature. [Marcus Aurelius, M9.31]
  18. Mental habits have the greatest power. Unwholesome practices will nurture anger. [Seneca, A1.20]
  19. We neglect to give thanks … then complain to God concerning our own condition. [Epictetus D1.16]
  20. You can get rid of many of the anxieties that disturb you now. They are just your opinion. [Marcus Aurelius, M9.32]
  21. Moderate pleasure relaxes the mind and brings it to a proper balance. [Seneca, A1.20]
  22. Reason analyzes and coordinates everything. Therefore, reason should not go itself unanalyzed. [Epictetus D1.17]
  23. Let your mind become spacious by allowing your thoughts to embrace the universe and contemplating the eternity. [Marcus Aurelius, M9.32]
  24. Anger and despair call for different remedies. The remedies for two vices are not only different but diametrically opposed. Let us always attack the dominant one. [Seneca, A1.20]
  25. It’s not the threat of death that compels you but your own judgment that it is better to do something else than die. [Epictetus D1.17]
  26. All that you see now will be gone quickly… Then what is there to choose between the oldest grandfather and the baby that died in its cradle? [Marcus Aurelius, M9.33]
  27. Children derive the most significant benefit when you bring them up in a healthy way right from the start. [Seneca, A1.21]
  28. If you want, you are free. If you want, you will blame no one, you will accuse no one – if you want, everything will happen according to your plan. [Epictetus D1.17]
  29. Observe these people… They imagine their praise and blame can help others, or hurt others. How presumptuous! [Marcus Aurelius, M9.34]
  30. Children’s spirit is fueled by freedom and dampened by control... So, we should avoid extremes and guide them towards the middle path – sometimes by encouraging, sometimes by curbing. [Seneca, A1.13]
  31. We go to a diviner and a philosopher, not to admire the interpreter, but to admire the interpretation. [Epictetus, D1.17] D: Discourses. M: Meditations. A: On Anger