Here are the thoughts
and quotes I’ve collected that relate to Stoicism that I review on a regular
basis, for those that might be interested. And then at the bottom of this post
are some reading recommendations for those looking to learn more.
Stoicism quotes and thoughts:
“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not,
but rejoices for those which he has.” –Epictetus
“Never have I put my trust in Fortune, even when she appeared to be
offering peace; all those gifts she bestowed on me in her kindness—money,
position, influence—I stored where she would be able to reclaim them with no
disturbance to me.” –Seneca
“…the wise man is neither raised up by prosperity nor cast down by
adversity; for always he has striven to rely predominantly on himself, and to
derive all joy from himself.” –Seneca
"People look for retreats for themselves, in the country, by the coast, or in the hills; and you too are especially inclined to feel this desire. But this is altogether unphilosophical, when it is possible for you to retreat into yourself at any time you want. There is nowhere that a person can find a more peaceful and trouble-free retreat than in his own mind, especially if he has within himself the kind of thoughts that let him dip into them and so at once gain complete ease of mind; and by ease of mind, I mean nothing but having one’s own mind in good order. So constantly give yourself this retreat and renew yourself. You should have to hand concise and fundamental principles, which will be enough, as soon as you encounter them, to cleanse you from all distress and send you back without resentment at the activities to which you return." —Marcus Aurelius
"Practice, then, from the very beginning to say to every rough impression, ‘You’re an impression and not at all what you appear to be.’ Then examine it and test it by the standards that you have, and first and foremost by this one, whether the impression relates to those things which are within our power or those which aren’t up to us; and if it relates to those things which aren’t within our power, be ready to reply, ‘That’s nothing to me’." —Epictetus
William Irvine: “The Stoics were not opposed to emotion in general but to
negative emotions such as fear, anger, and grief -- what sensible person
wouldn't be? They saw nothing at all wrong, though, with the experience of
positive emotions. Indeed, they strove to put themselves into a state of mind
in which they could take delight in the world around them.”
Charlie Munger: 1) Never feel sorry for yourself (even if your child is
dying of cancer); 2) Never have envy.
Nassim Taleb on Stoics and Stoicism:
“Having control over randomness can be expressed in the manner in which
one acts in the small and the large. Recall that epic heroes were judged by
their actions, not by the results. No matter how sophisticated our choices, how
good we are at dominating the odds, randomness will have the last word…..There
is nothing wrong and undignified with emotions—we are cut to have them. What is
wrong is not following the heroic or, at least, the dignified path. That is
what stoicism truly means. It is the attempt by man to get even with
probability…..stoicism has rather little to do with the stiff-upper-lip notion
that we believe it means…..The stoic is a person who combines the qualities of
wisdom, upright dealing, and courage. The stoic will thus be immune from life’s
gyrations as he will be superior to the wounds from some of life’s dirty
tricks. But things can be carried to the extreme; the stern Cato found it
beneath him to have human feelings. A more human version can be read in
Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic, a soothing
and surprisingly readable book that I distribute to my trader friends.....Good,
enlightened (and “friendly”) advice and eloquent sermons do not register for
more than a few moments when they go against our wiring. The interesting thing
about stoicism is that it plays on dignity and personal aesthetics, which are
part of our genes. Start stressing personal elegance at your next misfortune.
Exhibit sapere vivere (“know how to live”) in all circumstances…..The only
article Lady Fortuna has no control over is your behavior.”
“Seen this way, Stoicism is about the domestication, not necessarily the
elimination, of emotions. It is not about turning humans into vegetables. My
idea of the modern Stoic sage is someone
who transforms fear into prudence, pain into information, mistakes into
initiation, and desire into undertaking.”
“Seneca also provides us a catalogue of social deeds: invest in good
actions. Things can be taken away from us—not good deeds and acts of virtue.”
“So far, that story is well known, and we have learned to move from the
left of the Triad (fragile) to the center (robust). But Seneca went beyond….
He said that wealth is the
slave of the wise man and master of the fool. Thus he broke a bit with the
purported Stoic habit: he kept the upside…. In my opinion, if previous Stoics claimed to prefer poverty
to wealth, we need to be suspicious of their attitude, as it may be just all
talk. Since most were poor, they might have fit a narrative to the
circumstances (we will see with the story of Thales of Miletus the notion of
sour grapes—cognitive games to make yourself believe that the grapes that you
can’t reach taste sour). Seneca was all deeds, and we cannot ignore the fact
that he kept the wealth. It is central that he showed his preference of wealth
without harm from wealth to poverty…. Seneca even outlined his strategy in De beneficiis,
explicitly calling it a cost-benefit analysis by using the word “bookkeeping”:
“The bookkeeping of benefits is simple: it is all expenditure; if any one
returns it, that is clear gain; if he does not return it, it is not lost, I
gave it for the sake of giving.” Moral bookkeeping, but bookkeeping
nevertheless…. So he
played a trick on fate: kept the good and ditched the bad; cut the downside and
kept the upside. Self-servingly, that is, by eliminating the harm from fate and
un-philosophically keeping the upside. This cost-benefit analysis is not quite
Stoicism in the way people understand the meaning of Stoicism (people who study
Stoicism seem to want Seneca and other Stoics to think like those who study
Stoicism). There is an upside-downside asymmetry. That’s antifragility in its
purest form.” [note to last sentence: “And for those who believe that Zeno, the
founder of Stoicism, was completely against material wealth, I have some news:
I accidentally found a mention of his activities in maritime financing, where
he was an involved investor, not exactly an activity for the anti-wealth
utopist.”]
Only focus on what you can control. You cannot control what others say or
how they act. You can only control how you react.
Negative visualization. Imagine losing the comforts of your life and the
people and things you love and enjoy. And remember that one day you will lose
them; either through misfortune or death.
From dust to dust. We came
from the dust of stars and will return to dust one day. Remember that you will
eventually die, and that it could happen at any time. Do not dwell on this
fact, but reflect on this reality as a way to help you live.
…………….
Of the classics, I’d start with these 3 as an intro the main
Stoic figures:
While Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus are generally considered
“The Big 3”, Musonius Rufus may be the Big 4th, so it may be good to
go to him next:
And then if you want to get a little deeper with Seneca and
Epictetus:
Tim Ferriss also posted one of Seneca's great essays:
On The Shortness of Life. And Ferriss compiled a great 3-volume set on Seneca's letters and some modern Stoics called The Tao of Seneca:
Volume 1,
Volume 2,
Volume 3.
There is also a lot of Stoic wisdom in Schopenhauer and
Frankl:
And Nassim Taleb discusses
Stoicism in parts of his books (some of which is quoted in the upper part of
this post):
……………
And finally, Rudyard Kipling’s
poem If, which has a Stoic tone to it.
If—By Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head
when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on
you,
If you can trust yourself
when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting
too;
If you can wait and not be
tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give
way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too
wise:
If you can dream—and not make
dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your
aim;
If you can meet with Triumph
and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the
same;
If you can bear to hear the
truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave
your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out
tools:
If you can make one heap of
all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at
your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart
and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are
gone,
And so hold on when there is
nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold
on!’
If you can talk with crowds
and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common
touch,
If neither foes nor loving
friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too
much;
If you can fill the
unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance
run,
Yours is the Earth and
everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
