this is a film about
ism and why you need
your life because as people seldom tell
you but we will quietly
stoicism was a philosophy that
flourished for 480 years in ancient
Greece and Rome and was popular with
everyone from slaves to the aristocracy
because unlike so much philosophy it was
helpful helping when we panic want to
give up despair and rage at existence we
still honor this philosophy whenever we
think of someone as brave and without
perhaps quite knowing why call them
stoic there are two great philosophers
of stoicism the first is the Roman
writer and Tudor to Nero seneca he lived
between 84 and 80 65 that's right Tudor
to Nero the infamous dictator who slept
with his own mother raped young boys and
just because he felt like it asked his
old tutor Seneca to commit suicide in
front of his own family and our other
guy - stoicism is the kind and
magnanimous Roman Emperor Marcus
Aurelius 81 to 1 to 180 who was forced
to spend most of his reign on the edges
of the Empire fighting off invincible
Germanic hordes but found time to write
one of the greatest works of philosophy
the meditations in his tent at night
there are two problems stoicism can help
us with in particular the first is
anxiety when you're feeling anxious
about something most people are
maddening they believe it's their duty
to cheer you up
however intelligent they might otherwise
be say things like it'll be okay don't
worry even cheer up the Stoics were
appalled they hated any kind of
consolation that aims to give the
listener hope hope is the opium of the
emotions and must be stamped out
conclusively for a person to stand any
chance of inner peace but this hope only
lifts you up higher for the eventual
fall the Stoics advises to take a
different path to be calm one has to
tell oneself something very dark it will
be terrible I might have to go to prison
the lump really could be malign I
probably will be fired and humiliated my
friends almost certainly will succeed
but a huge consoling stoic but one must
keep in mind that one will nevertheless
be ok ok because in the end as Marcus
Aurelius said we are each of us stronger
than we think prison won't be fun nor
will losing one's job or being made a
laughingstock but one will get through
it stoicism emboldened us against the
worst fate can throw at us and if you
really really can't take it
suicide is always an option the Stoics
mentioned this repeatedly here is Seneca
can you no longer see a road of freedom
it's right in front of you you need only
turn over your wrists to build up an
impression of one's own resilience the
stoic suggested one regularly rehearse
worst-case scenarios for example twice a
year one should take off on smart
clothes get into some dirty rags sleep
on a rug in the kitchen floor and eat
only stale bread and rainwater from an
animal's Bowl and thereby you'll make an
amazing discovery as Marcus Aurelius
booted almost nothing material is needed
for a happy life for he who has
understood existence another subject of
interest to the Stoics was anger Romans
were a bad-tempered lot the stoics
wanted to calm them down but they did so
by an unusual route by intellectual
argument they proposed that getting
angry isn't something you do by nature
because you have a Latin temper or a
somehow inherently hot-blooded it's the
result of being stupid of having the
wrong ideas about life anger stems when
misplaced hope smashes into unforeseen
reality we don't shout every time
something bad happens to us only when
it's bad and unexpected for example
you'd never shout just because it
started raining even though rain can be
horrible because you've learned to
expect rain the same should apply to
everything don't only expect rain expect
betrayal infamy sadism theft humiliation
lust greed spite one will stop being so
angry when one learns the true facts of
the misery of life the wise person
should aim to reach a state where simply
nothing could suddenly disturb their
peace of mind every tragedy should
already be priced in we're gonna leave
you with the most beautiful remark that
Seneca made just as Nero's guards were
grabbing him and shoving into a bathroom
where he was meant to take a sharp knife
and kill himself his wife Polina and two
children were panicking weeping clinging
to his cloaks the Seneca turned to them
pulled a weary smile at them and simply
said what need is there to weep over
parts of life the whole of it calls for
tears we have much to learn from the
Stoics
you