Epictetus - Don't Let Them Grind You...

Epictetus - Stoic Philosopher of Roman Era (Thanks to Wikipedia for image)

Epictetus is the only philosopher  I can think of who started out as a slave.  His experience gave him a very special perspective on issues of free will and how much we are truly in charge of our own destiny.  He was also very clear on what actually matters.  His view was uncompromising.  The only thing of value is virtue.  Nothing else matters, except in so far as it contributes to the achievement of virtue.

He was a deeply religious man who revered Zeus and saw mankind as His offspring.  With such a pedigree, we have a lot to live up to even if we are slaves.  It gave him both a great sense of his own self worth and a well developed contempt for those who failed to live up to his standards.  He is recorded as regularly insulting his (paying) students.  One of his gripes was impatience.

No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen

It is comforting to know people couldn't wait to get what they want even in the pre-industrial world.  It is also a good reminder that good things don't just happen.

But his main point is that what happens inside the head is the thing that matters.

When one maintains his proper attitude in life, he does not long after externals.

His view was that nothing that was done to you matters.  You could be put in chains, as he literally had been, but your mind was your own.  The true slave is the person who lets what happens to him dictate the kind of life he leads.

He was a prickly character.  I suppose if you are indifferent to what is done to you by other people there isn't much point in taking trouble to make them like you.

And if you hold yourself to high, indeed godlike standards, why not hold others to just the same?   My last quote is directed at people like me  who attempt to write.

When a man prides himself on being able to understand and interpret a difficult book, say to yourself: If the book had been well written this man would have nothing on which to pride himself.

Ouch!