Quotes on philosophy, the good life, and excellence of mind
On Philosophy
“Deliver yourself to philosophy if you wish to be safe, to be tranquil, to be happy, and, what matters most, if you wish to be free. There is no other way you can gain your freedom.”
It is through philosophy that we gain the best insights into life. That is what philosophy is supposed to do.
Stoicism is a practical philosophy, it does not concern itself with semantics and these endless questions that philosophy today tends to surround.
At the core of Stoicism, and at philosophy as a whole, it is about how we learn to live a good life.
On Deprivation
“Take stock of all those things that drive us to distraction — those things we cry the hardest to lose — and you’ll see: it’s not deprivation that troubles us but the thought of deprivation. One thinks a loss has occurred, but no one really feels that loss.”
How often have we feared the loss of something only to experience it and realize it was not as hard to lose as we thought?
Seneca reminds us that we often fear more in our imagination than in reality.
Our thoughts control our lives.
Make sure they’re good ones.
On Being Good
“So when one is willing to become good, goodness is in large part achieved.”
The first step in any endeavor is being willing to take that first step.
In Seneca’s work, On Anger, he advises his brother that the individual who comes to the mirror to see himself in order to change has already begun the process of change because he’s taken the first step.
Sometimes the first step is the hardest.
But once you’ve taken it, you have begun the journey.
Don’t fear taking the first step.
On Reading and Learning
“Wherever you cast your eyes, you will read something that could have been outstanding if the remainder were not equally good. For this reason, you must give up hope that you will ever be able to take just a quick sampling from the works of the greatest men. You must read them as wholes, come to grips with them as wholes. The subject matter is treated along the lines that are proper to it, and an intellectual product is devised from which nothing can be removed without a collapse.”
We’re so ready to accept quick fixes to life that we would rather accept a quick quote than dive into the actual work that quote came from.
Every one, for thousands of years, has looked for quick fixes.
They don’t exist.
If you find an author or philosopher you enjoy, grab his work, all of it, and get a sense for his mind and his ideas, where they come from. Get a biography of them and learn about their life.
Only then can you truly understand their words.
(You can find all of Seneca’s moral letters here and a great biography of him here).
On Excellence of Mind
“No one acquires an excellent mind without first having a bad one. All of us have been taken over already, and to learn virtue is to unlearn one’s faults.”
It is is important to keep me in mind we are all works in progress.
At all times.
The path of philosophy is one of constant reflection, tuning, and repeating. Through this process, we continue to grow and move closer to the individual we want to become.
But before then, we all start at square one.
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