Stoicism 

Definition: the endurance of pain or hardship without a display of feelings and without complaint. It essentially teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions.

Or another way of looking at it is that wise individuals live in harmony with divine reason. We are forever confined to our present moment and knowing we can't go into the past to change anything, thus we find happiness in the "now" and see everything as a lesson to learn from rather than something that potentially breaks us down and buries our souls. 

One thing you will learn about me is that I am absolutely addicted to the etymological origins about words and ideas. How did they come to be? Where was it derived? How has it evolved? What influenced the word? The idea of the word? 

These are questions that run through my mind constantly in regards to everything in my universe. So, to understand Stoicism we must first understand the etymology of it and we must begin with the man above, Zeno of Citium. 

You're probably wondering what Citium means so lets break that down first. 

In the southern coast of Cypress there is a City called Larnaca, which is the 3rd largest city in the country. Now that is the current name of that city. However, where present-day Larnaca currently exists, there used to be a city kingdom known as Kition. 

Kition is derived from the word, Kathian, which was an Egyptian inscription dating to the period of Pharaoh Ramses III (1198–1116 BC) and found in the temple of Medinet Habu is considered to refer to Kition.

The latin word for Kition is Citium.

Its most famous, and probably only known, resident was Zeno of Citium, born c. 334 BC in Citium and founder of the Stoic school of philosophy which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC.

Zeno was a Hellenistic thinker and founder of the stoic school of philosophy which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC.

The Hellenistic World = The great golden age of Athenian philosophy, encompassing Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle only lasted for about a hundred years. This is essentially a revolutionary time for man and how to think about life and our place in the universe. 

Before Zeno became a great teacher, he was a wealthy merchant. On a voyage from Phoenicia to Peiraeus he survived a shipwreck but lost all of his wealth out at sea. After which he went to Athens and visited a bookseller. There he encountered Xenophon's Memorabilia. He was so pleased with the book's portrayal of Socrates that he asked the bookseller where men like Socrates were to be found. Just then, Crates of Thebes, the most famous Cynic living at that time in Greece happened to be walking by, and the bookseller pointed to him

From the day Zeno became Crates’ pupil, he showed a strong bent for philosophy. Zeno began teaching in the colonnade in the Agora of Athens known as the Stoa Poikile (Greek Στοὰ Ποικίλη) in 301 BC. His disciples were initially called Zenonians, but eventually they came to be known as Stoics, a name previously applied to poets who congregated in the Stoa Poikile.

The 4 Cardinal Virtues (Left to Right)

• Wisdom: Ability to navigate complex situations in a logical, informed and calm manner.
• Temperance: Exercise of self restraint and moderation in all aspects of life.
• Justice: Treating others with fairness even when they have done wrong.
• Courage: Not just in extraordinary circumstances but facing daily challenges with clarity and integrity.

I began reading Senecas' work, primarily, Letters from a Stoic and On the Shortness of life, back in my college days. I was blown away how one line of his work would leave me in deep thought and self discovery for the rest of the day. 

At a time when Roman laws considered slaves as property, Seneca called for their humane treatment and stressed that every single one of us share the same fundamental humanity.

Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC – AD 65), fully Lucius Annaeus Seneca and also known simply as Seneca (/ˈsɛnɪkə/), was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and—in one work—humorist of the Silver Age of Latin literature.

Seneca was a prolific writer of philosophical works on Stoicism

Seneca generally employs a pointed rhetorical style in his prose. His writings focus on traditional themes of Stoic philosophy. The universe is governed for the best by a rational providence, and this has to be reconciled with adversity. 

Seneca regards philosophy as a balm for the wounds of life. 

The destructive passions, especially anger and grief, must be uprooted, although sometimes he offers advice for moderating them according to reason.  He discusses the relative merits of the contemplative life and the active life, and he considers it important to confront one's own mortality and be able to face death. One must be willing to practice poverty and use wealth properly, and he writes about favors, clemency, the importance of friendship, and the need to benefit others

The Death of Seneca

In AD 65, Seneca was caught up in the aftermath of the Pisonian conspiracy, a plot to kill Nero. Although it is unlikely that Seneca was part of the conspiracy, Nero ordered him to kill himself. Seneca followed tradition by severing several veins in order to bleed to death.

Even Senecas' parting words to his wife were that of a wise man. As they were taking him to end his own life he looked at his wife and child and said,

"What need is there to weep over parts of life. The whole of it calls for tears."  - Seneca

In most cases, the quote above would be correct but not in the case of Marcus Aurelius.

Marcus Aurelius acquired the name, The Philosopher King during his life time. He was educated extensively in rhetoric and philosophy and was the ruler of the Roman Empire, which essentially made him the most powerful man on the planet at the time. He has absolute power and his word was law, but was he corrupt? 

You would be surprised to hear that Marcus Aurelius was consistently a great human being and a man of high moral character. He is considered the last of the 5 great emperors who presided over the most majestic days of the Roman Empire. 

Now you should try to put yourself in his shoes and truly think about this man. He took the throne in 161 AD and held that position until he died in 180 AD, a 19 year reign over the entire world. Let us imagine modern day Earth. You give the wrong co-worker privileges and power at work and they may take advantage of the situation with their new found ego boost. However, if we take Marcus Aurelius, this man had rule over all of Earth, yet you wouldn't have known he had such power based on his actions. He was a simple man who wanted to live in accordance with nature.  

This is a man who could have slept with anyone he wanted where ever he wanted. If he wanted wine, he could have requested all of the Vino in existence. If he wanted someone executed he could have had it done any time of day, yet he was not that kind of ruler. He was gentle, loving and kind. 

This is not a man who had equals, he was the most powerful man on the planet. Such a man has no confidant. Also, who is Marcus Aurelius going to complain to? Who can this man bring his worries and thoughts to? Nobody really, so he began writing to himself and kept a journal. 

This was a journal where he kept his ideas and advice that was strictly meant for him. His writings were never intended for publication and he actually requested to have them burned after his death. Marcus wrote for his own moral improvement, to remind himself of and to render concrete the Stoic doctrines he wanted to live by; that happiness lies in virtue, which is wholly in one’s own power; and that one should not be angry at one’s associates but regard them as siblings, offspring of the same God.

Some historians say that Marcus Aurelius  wrote these philosophical musings to himself because he may have been the loneliest man in the world. He had no true friends because he had no equals. He did not choose to rule over the throne of this great kingdom, he just had the misfortune of being born the emperor of Rome. But as a true practitioner of Stoicism, rather than complain, he wanted to do the best job he could and decided he would live in accordance to his situation rather than fight it or complain.

He was constantly writing 1 and 2 line epigrams reminding himself to not lose his temper with these people that he would encounter on a regular basis. He kept reminding himself that suffering is human and it's not the avoidance of suffering but your reactions and thought towards it.

The human condition itself will have problems, worries, and suffering and you shouldn't worry about these external forces that you can't control. Only worry about the things you do have control over which are your personal thoughts and actions. 

We should be lucky that his personal letters were not burned. These unintentional musings can be found in his book, Meditations. It is considered by many commentators to be one of the greatest works of philosophy and I must agree with them. 

Sidenote:

Marcus Aurelius's meditations would guide and comfort Nelson Mandela through his 27 year imprisonment during his struggle for racial equality in South Africa.

Honorable Mention:

Epictetus was born a slave who became a stoic philosopher. Unlike Marcus Aurelius who was the most powerful man in the world, it is safe to say that Epictetus had almost zero power. The Samuel L. Jackson to the Unbreakable Bruce Willis that is Marcus Aurelius. Two complete opposites, yet philosophy was the great equalizer between these two men. Every human has access to philosophy and these teachings help you find discipline and control over your emotions. They also help you live up to the highest potential of human beings. Suffering is a choice. 

The name that was actually given to Epictetus was unknown. In Greek, the word epiktetos simply means 'gained' or 'acquired'. The Greek philosopher Plato used the term as 'property'. The name that suits the slave, yet his teachings too live on today. 

Epictetus taught that philosophy is a way of life and not just a theoretical discipline. To Epictetus, all external events are beyond our control; we should accept calmly and dispassionately whatever happens. However, individuals are responsible for their own actions, which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline.

Early in life, Epictetus acquired a passion for philosophy and, with the permission of his wealthy owner, he studied Stoic philosophy under Musonius Rufus, which allowed him to rise in respectability as he grew more educated.

Once gaining his freedom, Epictetus continued his pursuit and teachings of stoic philosophy. No writings by Epictetus are known. His discourses were transcribed and compiled by his pupil Arrian.

Arrian also compiled a popular digest, entitled the Enchiridion, or Handbook. In a preface to the Discourses that is addressed to Lucius Gellius, Arrian states that "whatever I heard him say I used to write down, word for word, as best I could, endeavouring to preserve it as a memorial, for my own future use, of his way of thinking and the frankness of his speech."