Gary Childress
2004-09-13 01:25:54 UTC
"When you are about to take something in hand, remind
yourself what manner of thing it is. If you are going to
bathe put before your mind what happens in the bath--
water pouring over some, others being jostled, some
reviling, others stealing; and you will set to work more
securely if you say to yourself at once: 'I want to bathe,
and I want to keep my will in harmony with nature,' and
so in each thing you do; for in this way, if anything turns
up to hinder you in your bathing, you will be ready to say,
'I did not want only to bathe, but to keep my will in
harmony with nature, and I shall not so keep it, if I lose
my temper at what happens'." (Epictetus, Enchiridion, 4,
trans. P. E. Matheson)
I found this translation in a compilation titled _Classics of Western
Philosophy_, edited by Steven M. Cahn, and, so far, like it better than the
George Long translation I've been reading in the Prometheus Books edition of
the Enchiridion.
This looks to me like a perfectly good example of the Internet, assuming that
when Epictetus refers to taking a bath he is refering to the public bath houses
where the Romans gathered in numbers--probably the younger ones splashing
around, getting in fights, making a lot of noise. When you are bathing in a
public bath house in Ancient Rome, or chatting on the Internet, like I am in
this newsgroup, a lot will go on around me, including some things I don't
approve of. Instead of loosing my temper as I have done (and, no doubt, others
loose of me), I should seek to "keep my will in harmony with nature."
But what does he mean by "harmony with nature"? Does he mean keep a sort of
inner peace and tranquility in the middle of all the chaos going on around you?
That's sort of the way I interpret it, although he doesn't really explicate,
at least not here, what is mean't by "harmony with nature". If that is the
case, how do you do that? He doesn't seem to explicate that either, other than
telling us to sort of remind ourselves that we "want to bathe, and...want to
keep [our] will in harmony with nature." Perhaps reminding ourselves, to
ourselves, when necessary, that we want to "keep our cool", is the way to "keep
our cool".
But here I am throwing my theorems out there for everyone to see, including the
"uninstructed". For Epictetus also says:
"...even sheep do not vomit up their grass and show to
the shepherds how much they have eaten; but when they
have internally digested the pasture, they produce
externally wool and milk. Do you also show NOT [my
emphasis] your theorems to the uninstructed, but show
the acts which come from their digestion." (Enchiridion,
XLVI, trans. George Long)
Aaaaaaargh.
Gary the Philologizer
Single, white, male, receptionist, 37 years old, former university philosophy
major, no degree, hedonist, addicted to computer games, mentally ill but stable
on meds, living with parents in Florida USA.
yourself what manner of thing it is. If you are going to
bathe put before your mind what happens in the bath--
water pouring over some, others being jostled, some
reviling, others stealing; and you will set to work more
securely if you say to yourself at once: 'I want to bathe,
and I want to keep my will in harmony with nature,' and
so in each thing you do; for in this way, if anything turns
up to hinder you in your bathing, you will be ready to say,
'I did not want only to bathe, but to keep my will in
harmony with nature, and I shall not so keep it, if I lose
my temper at what happens'." (Epictetus, Enchiridion, 4,
trans. P. E. Matheson)
I found this translation in a compilation titled _Classics of Western
Philosophy_, edited by Steven M. Cahn, and, so far, like it better than the
George Long translation I've been reading in the Prometheus Books edition of
the Enchiridion.
This looks to me like a perfectly good example of the Internet, assuming that
when Epictetus refers to taking a bath he is refering to the public bath houses
where the Romans gathered in numbers--probably the younger ones splashing
around, getting in fights, making a lot of noise. When you are bathing in a
public bath house in Ancient Rome, or chatting on the Internet, like I am in
this newsgroup, a lot will go on around me, including some things I don't
approve of. Instead of loosing my temper as I have done (and, no doubt, others
loose of me), I should seek to "keep my will in harmony with nature."
But what does he mean by "harmony with nature"? Does he mean keep a sort of
inner peace and tranquility in the middle of all the chaos going on around you?
That's sort of the way I interpret it, although he doesn't really explicate,
at least not here, what is mean't by "harmony with nature". If that is the
case, how do you do that? He doesn't seem to explicate that either, other than
telling us to sort of remind ourselves that we "want to bathe, and...want to
keep [our] will in harmony with nature." Perhaps reminding ourselves, to
ourselves, when necessary, that we want to "keep our cool", is the way to "keep
our cool".
But here I am throwing my theorems out there for everyone to see, including the
"uninstructed". For Epictetus also says:
"...even sheep do not vomit up their grass and show to
the shepherds how much they have eaten; but when they
have internally digested the pasture, they produce
externally wool and milk. Do you also show NOT [my
emphasis] your theorems to the uninstructed, but show
the acts which come from their digestion." (Enchiridion,
XLVI, trans. George Long)
Aaaaaaargh.
Gary the Philologizer
Single, white, male, receptionist, 37 years old, former university philosophy
major, no degree, hedonist, addicted to computer games, mentally ill but stable
on meds, living with parents in Florida USA.