Posts Tagged: Epictetus

“Thoughts Before Going Home”

On February 25, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer


Monday, February 25, 2019

Our time is coming to an end soon here in Florida.  My goal is to enjoy the last few days we have here.  I’ve had a really wonderful time.  The warmth and sunshine have been delicious.  So has the food.  Long walks on the beach, miniature golf, the flowers, and seagulls—all wonderful!  And, of course, being with my sweetheart, my wife, has been a great treat.

However, it will be good to be home, too.  To attend my 12-step meetings, to teach Hebrew, to take care of my strawberries and our garden, to mow the grass, to simplify our house, to attend our church, to experience the beginning of spring again—all wonderful!

Our time on earth will also end soon.  We need to enjoy it, to cherish it, to take good care of the earth, of one another, of ourselves.  But soon, we’ll be going home.

Paul reminds the Philippians that their real citizenship is in Heaven. (Philippians 3:20)  Why did he need to remind them?  Because they, like all of us, were prone to forget.

C.S. Lewis says that God gives us some nice inns along the way, but he never lets us mistake them for home.

The Greco-Roman philosopher Epictetus says something similar.

“Consider when, on a voyage, your ship is anchored; if you go on shore to get water you may along the way amuse yourself with picking up a shellfish, or an onion. However, your thoughts and continual attention ought to be bent towards the ship, waiting for the captain to call on board; you must then immediately leave all these things, otherwise you will be thrown into the ship, bound neck and feet like a sheep.

So it is with life. If, instead of an onion or a shellfish, you are given a wife or child, that is fine. But if the captain calls, you must run to the ship, leaving them, and regarding none of them. But, if you are old, never go far from the ship: lest, when you are called, you should be unable to come in time.”

Enjoy life, wherever you are, but don’t miss the boat!

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“PITY RATHER THAN DESTRUCTION”

On October 13, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

 “Should not, then, this robber, or this adulterer, be destroyed? By no means, but take it rather this way: This man who errs and is deceived concerning things of greatest moment, who is blinded, not in the vision which distinguisheth black and white, but in the judgment which distinguisheth Good and Evil—should we not destroy him? And thus speaking, you shall know how inhuman is that which you say, and how like as if you said, Shall we not destroy this blind man, this deaf man? For if it is the greatest injury to be deprived of the greatest things, and the greatest thing in every man is a Will such as he ought to have, and one be deprived of this, why are you still indignant with him? Man, you should not be moved contrary to Nature by the evil deeds of other men. Pity him rather, be not inclined to offense and hatred, abandon the phrases of the multitude, like “these cursed wretches.” How have you suddenly become so wise and hard to please?”  (Epictetus)

“Frodo: ‘It’s a pity Bilbo didn’t kill Gollum when he had the chance.’

Gandalf: ‘Pity? It’s a pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many—yours not least.’”  (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring.)

This morning, I was thinking about someone for whom I have great contempt.  It isn’t important who.  Fill in the blank, if you like.

Then, I turned “at random” to the above quote from the Stoic philosopher Epictetus.  (Was it truly “at random”?  I doubt it.)

Pity!  Evil deeds show that someone is blind in very significant ways.  The old expression “more to be pitied than censored” comes to mind.

The word “pity” may be related to the word “piety.”  Both words get a bad press these days.  Perhaps they deserve it.  Think, for example, of the exclamation, “I don’t want your pity!”

Then again, maybe both pity and piety need to be brought back from exile.  Perhaps the foundation of human society is pity, which is in turn a crucial aspect of piety.

Perhaps we could begin with our own evil, our own blindness.  Perhaps we could have a little pity toward our own manifest and manifold stupidities.

Admittedly, self-pity can be a really bad thing.  No question about that!  I have often gotten enmeshed in self-pity.  Easy to get into.  Very nearly impossible to get out of!

However, even good things can be abused.  Perhaps it is possible that exercising pity toward myself is appropriate if it is a balanced and appropriate pity.

As a friend of mine said many years ago (when he thought I was being too hard on myself), “You need to get off your own back!”

Perhaps if I got off my own back, I would have the courage to have pity on others as well.

 

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