Milo and the Calf

Category: Stoicism

  • Your Occasional Stoic – the Distractions of Fandom

    From my tutor: not to become a Green or Blue supporter at the races, or side with the Lights or Heavies in the amphitheater; to tolerate pain and feel few needs; to work with my own hands and mind my own business; to be deaf to malicious gossip.  Meditations 1:5 We do not know who Marcus’s…

  • Your Occasional Stoic: Marcus on His Mom and Staying Clear of the Habits of the Rich

    From my mother: piety, generosity, the avoidance of wrong-doing and even the thought of it; also simplicity of living, well clear of the habits of the rich. – Meditations 1:3 After 1:2’s foray into “manliness” its nice to see Marcus honor his mother, though much of these attributes are stereotypically feminine, its good to see Marcus wanted to…

  • Your Occasional Stoic: Integrity and “Manliness”

    “From what they say and I remember of my natural father: integrity and manliness” – Marcus Aurelius, Mediations 1:2 Marcus’s natural father was Marcus Annius Verus, a politician.  He died when Marcus was three. “Manliness” — ugh. I don’t even know what that means. I think there’s a lot to learn from the meditations, but…

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    Your Occasional Stoic: Decency and Mild Temper

    “From my grandfather Verus: decency and a mild temper” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 1:1 Verus here is Marcus Annius Verus, three time consul and Marcus’s grandfather. Marcus father died when he was very young, and Verus adopted the boy, raising him to adulthood. This first meditation sets the tone for the work, much of what…