Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness by Epictetus (A new interpretation by Sharon Lebell. It's about time we all read this book, period.
The only prosperous life is the virtuous life:
Virtue is our aim and purpose. The virtue that leads to enduring happiness is not a quid pro quo goodness. Goodness in and itself is the practice and reward.
Goodness isn't ostentatious piety or showy good manners. It's a lifelong series of subtle readjustments of our character. We fine-tune our thoughts, words, and deeds in a progressively wholesome direction. The virtue inheres in our intentions and our deeds, not in results.
Why should we bother being good? To be good is to be happy; to be tranquil and worry-free. When you actively engage in gradually refining yourself, you refine from lazy ways of covering yourself or making excuses. Instead of feeling a persistent current of low-level shame, you move forward by using the creative possibilities of all this moment, your current situation. You begin to fully inhabit this moment, instead of seeking escape or wishing that what is going on were otherwise. You move through your life by thoroughly in it.
The virtuous life holds there as treasures: your own right action, your fidelity, honor, and decency.
Virtue is not a matter of degree, but an absolute.
The only prosperous life is the virtuous life:
Virtue is our aim and purpose. The virtue that leads to enduring happiness is not a quid pro quo goodness. Goodness in and itself is the practice and reward.
Goodness isn't ostentatious piety or showy good manners. It's a lifelong series of subtle readjustments of our character. We fine-tune our thoughts, words, and deeds in a progressively wholesome direction. The virtue inheres in our intentions and our deeds, not in results.
Why should we bother being good? To be good is to be happy; to be tranquil and worry-free. When you actively engage in gradually refining yourself, you refine from lazy ways of covering yourself or making excuses. Instead of feeling a persistent current of low-level shame, you move forward by using the creative possibilities of all this moment, your current situation. You begin to fully inhabit this moment, instead of seeking escape or wishing that what is going on were otherwise. You move through your life by thoroughly in it.
The virtuous life holds there as treasures: your own right action, your fidelity, honor, and decency.
Virtue is not a matter of degree, but an absolute.
No comments:
Post a Comment