Sannion ([info]sannion) wrote,
@ 2008-01-25 23:36:00
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Entry tags:daily wisdom

Greco-Egyptian Daily Wisdom #11
“You must know that it is no easy thing for a principle to become a man's own, unless each day he maintain it and hear it maintained, as well as work it out in life.” – Epictetus, Golden Sayings 30


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[info]spyro_prime
2008-01-26 07:51 am UTC (link)
Excellent:)!

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[info]sannion
2008-01-26 03:55 pm UTC (link)
Epictetus is indeed an excellent man.

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[info]spyro_prime
2008-01-26 07:56 pm UTC (link)
:)

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[info]gokceyazin
2008-01-26 10:03 am UTC (link)
maintaining it every day is one thing, but hearing it maintained by others, every day would prove kind of difficult don't you think? unless i did not understand the hearing part. :P

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[info]sannion
2008-01-26 03:54 pm UTC (link)
i believe - though i could be mistaken - that what epictetus is indicating is the importance of studying the example and wise words of sages. this has more than just an intellectual benefit - the more we saturate our mind with this material, the more it sinks into our life, shaping our very behavior. humans are mimetic creatures - we model what is in our environment, whether consciously or not. thus if our "environment" consists of the noble and good and examples of proper behavior, we're going to start emulating that. if only by pausing in the midst of a situation and reflecting, "What would Ptolemy Soter do in this situation?" (Or any hero, general, philosopher, or revered figure from antiquity.) That is the purpose for which Plutarch wrote his Parallel Lives of the Greeks and Romans, that men might have virtuous examples to pattern their behaviors after. (And also, in a couple examples, to show what happens when men fail to hede these virtues!)

At least, that's my take on it. Could be I'm reading entirely too much into it.

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[info]livejoan
2008-01-26 04:15 pm UTC (link)
This is a good quote. That 'each day he maintain it' is the hard part.
But what is life without challenges?

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[info]sannion
2008-01-26 04:17 pm UTC (link)
Heh! You're telling me! It's easy to believe or say something good - a hell of a lot harder to actually put those precepts into practice. And yeah, I don't think our society properly appreciates the virtue of challenge and overcoming obsctacles. We want everything handed to us easily. But part of the fun lies in the journey, ya know?

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