Ten Rules for Daily Life 

1. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. 
2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself. 
3. Never spend your money before you have it. 
4. Never buy what you do not want, because it is cheap; it will be dear to you. 
5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold. 
6. We never repent of having eaten too little. 
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly. 
8. How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened! 
9. Take things always by their smooth handle. 
10. When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, n hundred. 

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) The third president of the United States 

Thomas Jefferson, who was attracted to Hellenistic philosophies, had ten rules for his daily life (see page 6). How Stoic are these rules? 

“Take things by their smooth handle,” is obviously a paraphrase from the Enchiridion of Epictetus: 

If your brother acts unjustly, do not lay hold of the act by that handle wherein he acts unjustly, for this is the handle which cannot be borne: but lay hold of the other, that he is your brother, that he was nurtured with you, and you will lay hold of the thing by that handle by which it can be borne. 

Epictetus, Enchiridion, 43 

More generally, the Stoics would say that we should avoid making strong value judgments or using emotive language in a way that’s merely upsetting—that’s the “rough” or broken handle. Instead, we should learn to take a step back, suspend emotive value judgments, and view things as honestly and objectively as possible—that’s the “smooth” handle that leads to practical wisdom and rational problem-solving. 

What about Jefferson’s other nine rules? Several of them are very similar to other prominent aspects of ancient Stoic wisdom. Jefferson presumably owned and read The Discourses and Enchiridion of Epictetus as well as the writings of Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, and the works of Cicero. 

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. 

One of the major themes of Stoicism is the idea that we should bear in mind our own mortality, that life is fleeting. We must therefore pay more attention to our own actions in the present.. Marcus Aurelius, for instance, criticizes himself for acting as though, 

You would rather become good tomorrow than be so today. 

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.22 

Indeed one of his most quoted sayings is that: 

No more of all this talk about what a good man should be, but simply be one. 

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 10.16 

Never trouble another for what you can do yourself. 

The Stoics emphasize that we should take responsibility for our own lives. 

Yes, but my nose runs. For what purpose then, slave, have you hands? Is it not that you may wipe your nose? 

Epictetus, Discourses, 1.6 

We should not wait for help from others but learn to take action where necessary. 

We never repent of having eaten too little. 

The Stoics were known for eating a simple diet and training themselves to control their appetite. For example, we’re told of the Stoic teacher Musonius Rufus: 

He often talked in a very forceful manner about food, on the grounds that food was not an insignificant topic and that what one eats has significant consequences. In particular, he thought that mastering one’s appetites for food and drink was the beginning of and basis for self-control. 

Musonius Rufus, Lecture, 18 

Stoics like Epictetus made the virtue of temperance, or moderation, the basis of their training. They believed that without self-control in basic matters such as our daily use of food and drink we inevitably lack the self-discipline required to exercise wisdom more generally in our lives. 

When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, a hundred. 

The Stoics believed that anger was perhaps the most dangerous of the unhealthy passions. We have an entire book on the subject by Seneca called On Anger. In it he claims that the first Roman emperor, Augustus, who had trained in Stoicism, though known for violence earlier in life, learned to conquer his anger. 

The late Emperor Augustus also did and said many memorable things, which prove that he was not under the dominion of anger. 

Seneca, On Anger, 3.23 

Although Seneca doesn’t mention it in his book, we know from another source that Augustus’ Stoic tutor showed him basically the same technique that Jefferson describes in his rules: 

Whenever you get angry, Caesar, do not say or do anything before repeating to yourself the twenty-four letters of the alphabet. 

Plutarch, Moralia, Sayings of Romans 

Conclusion 

Although Jefferson at one time identified himself as an Epicurean, he found the Stoic teachings, of Epictetus in particular, valuable as a guide to living wisely, and continued to draw upon them in the advice he gave to others. 

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Donald Robertson

 

 

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