These posts deal with stoic philosophy from the ancient Greeks and Romans, and how stoicism can help us learn how to lead better lives
Moral Letters
Many people are the architects of their own misery, never realizing that with similar effort and much less worry they could just as easily be about the building of a personal paradise.
Moral Letters
Now I am aged myself, though I did not note time’s magic as it worked upon me. I woke up one day to see some potion had taken its effect, and wizened my face before I’ve managed to bring wisdom to my eyes.
Moral Letters
People spend their time in want and worry, and their earnest efforts are destined to futility because they are working towards ends that can never make them happy. They want possessions, promotions, and power, and worry that what they have obtained will be taken from them.
Moral Letters
It betrays real cruelty to knowingly treat another as beneath you simply because they serve you. But to do so out of ignorance of their inherent worth is an even worse offense to your own worth.
Moral Letters
Acquire new knowledge while thinking over the old, and you may become a teacher of others.
Moral Letters
A gifted thinker turns words into more than words by adding meaning. This particular alchemy comes about when we go beyond the surface and address what is of lasting value.
Moral Letters
Philosophy holds out to us the exact same opportunity, regardless of birth, gender, class, or wealth. Truly the way is open to all.
Moral Letters
When we look at others, our views of reality are shaded by the tint of our own minds: our prejudices, our fears, and our faults.
Moral Letters
How do we find meaning? By learning to identify all those things that are meaningless, and serve only to weigh us down: public opinion and trends; fashion, fame, and fortune; anger, envy, and longing.
Moral Letters
For us to know the true worth of something, we must look beyond the packaging. And this takes time.
Moral Letters
Just as the glib speaker fools the lazy listener, so we mistake fervor in argument for conviction, and conviction for correctness.
Moral Letters
Think of a summary as but a sip, nourishing if it comes after a full meal, but leaving you empty if you have consumed nothing before it.