Simple Stoic Advice
Be Seen
Be Seen
The beautiful thing about Stoic philosophy is the advice contained within it is just as applicable today as it was when it was first written all those many years ago. We can learn a great deal from interpreting the advice provided and using it to our advantage as we go throughout our own lives.
Today’s quote comes to us courtesy of Epictetus, entry XXXV of the Enchiridion (Translation by A.A. Long under the title How to be Free):
Quote
“Whenever you do something you have decided ought to be done, never try to avoid being seen doing it, even if people in general may disapprove of it. If, of course, your action is wrong, just don’t do it at all.”
Advice
All humans are social creatures, whether or not we choose to accept it. Some of us may be introverts, some may be extroverts, but regardless, humans are social creatures who need one another.
Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus all speak to the need for transparency in actions. As a social creature, we do not want to be living one life to the public and another in private. On the contrary, we are meant to be on display at all times.
Epictetus reminds his students here that the end goal of all action and speech is virtue. The Stoic’s goal is to pursue virtue in every action taken. However, by having our actions on display, we leave ourselves open to criticism. That’s okay, so long as the criticism is coming from someone reputable and who can provide it in a way that helps us align our actions more with virtue than with vice. All other speech about our actions should be taken as indifferent.
Seneca himself once wrote to his friend Lucilius:
“Live in such a way that anything you would admit to yourself could be admitted to even an enemy.”
The actions and words we use behind closed doors should not be hidden by that door, but should instead be laid bare, out and in the open. We are social creatures and we need each other. We should therefore speak and act in a way that is natural to who we are, not to hide it behind closed doors. If someone corrects you, examine who the individual is and, if they are wise, take their advice and pursue the course of virtue.
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