![]() ![]() Could Epictetus have endured the one thing after another that was Roman slavery (torture, exile, deprivation) if had not been tough as hell? Cleanthes too–his training as a boxer would have been crucial to surviving poverty, as well as the squabbles of the philosophical life. ![]() Marcus was strong, even though he was often sick. The second is that we must train for it physically. If this parade surprises you, it’s your fault. The Stoics say first that we must be mentally and emotionally prepared for this. It’s one thing after another, after another. You move across the country for a job that doesn’t work out. The financial writer Morgan Housel (whose wonderful book The Psychology of Money we recommend, and he was also a recent podcast guest) described history as “one damned thing after another.” Well, what is history made up of? Life. But you might also say he met with exactly what he ought to have expected. He didn’t meet with the good fortune that he deserved, one ancient historian reflected. What came next we’ve talked about before: A plague. And then of course, in order to ascend to the purple, he had to lose his mentor Hadrian and his beloved stepfather Antoninus. He had 14 children during his 30-year marriage to Faustina. His lifepath was upended by Hadrian’s selection. By the time Marcus Aurelius took over as emperor, he had not had an easy life. ![]()
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