Sublime

For what else is tragedy than the portrayal in tragic verse of the sufferings of men who have attached high value to external things?

“Some things are in our control and others not,” writes the Stoic philosopher Epictetus in The Enchiridion. “Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions.”

“Don’t trust in your reputation, money, or position, but in the strength that is yours—namely, your judgments about the things that you control and don’t control. For this alone is what makes us free and unfettered, that picks us up by the neck from the depths and lifts us eye to eye with the rich and powerful.” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES

“Ask yourself the following first thing in the morning: What am I lacking in attaining freedom from passion? What for tranquility? What am I? A mere body, estate-holder, or reputation? None of these things. What, then? A rational being. What then is demanded of me? Meditate on your actions. How did I steer away from serenity? What did I do that was

With regard to everything that happens to you, remember to look inside yourself and see what capacity you have to enable you to deal with it. If

On the other hand, the “good” that the Stoics advocate is simpler and more straightforward: wisdom, self-control, justice, courage. No one who achieves these quiet virtues experiences buyer’s remorse.

‘They’re things that lie outside the sphere of choice, and they’re nothing to me.’

Que faut-il donc faire ? rendre parfait ce qui dépend de nous, et prendre les autres choses comme elles viennent. Comment viennent-elles donc ? comme Dieu le veut.

For what else is tragedy than the portrayal in tragic verse of the sufferings of men who have attached high value to external things?