Stoicism

January 14, 2020

The Philosopher-King, the last of the Five Good Emperors.

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.
If it is not right, do not do it. If it is not true, do not say it.
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.
What doesn't transmit light creates its own darkness.
Your three components: body, breath, mind. Two are yours in trust; to the third alone you have clear title.

The rich philosopher who preached the virtues of the poor. Some call it hypocrisy, others (N. N. Taleb), the first Antifragile mindset.

But what if poverty is something to be desired? Riches have shut off many a man from the attainment of wisdom; poverty is unburdened and free from care. When the trumpet sounds, the poor man knows that he is not being attacked; when there is a cry of "Fire," he only seeks a way of escape, and does not ask what he can save.
It is not the man who has too little that is poor, but the one who hankers after more.
There will always be causes for anxiety, whether due to prosperity or to wretchedness.
In guarding their fortune men are often closefisted, yet, when it comes to the matter of wasting time, in the case of the one thing in which it is right to be miserly, they show themselves most extravagant.
Happy the man who improves other people not merely when he is in their presence but even when he is in their thoughts.
We must indulge the mind and from time to time allow it the leisure which is its food and strength. We must go for walks out of doors, so that the mind can be strengthened and invigorated by a clear sky and plenty of fresh air. At times it will acquire fresh energy from a journey by carriage and a change of scene, or from socializing and drinking freely. Occasionally we should even come to the point of intoxication, sinking into drink but not being totally flooded by it; for it does wash away cares, and stirs the mind to its depths, and heals sorrow just as it heals certain diseases.

If a person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses, but answer: "He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would've mentioned those as well."
If you wish to be a writer, write.
The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.
First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.
If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.
Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself.
Don't just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a more discriminating and reflective person. Books are the training weights of the mind. They are very helpful, but it would be a bad mistake to suppose that one has made progress simply by having internalized their contents.