The World of Epictetus

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The world of

Epictetus

by James Stockdale

foreword by Os Guinness

T h e T r i n i T y F o r u m r e a d i n g



HE WORLD OF EPICEUS Vice Adirl Jes Bod tockdle (1923–2005).eprited fro the Atlantic Monthly, April 1978, perissio of the uthor.

© 1993, 2006 Te riit oru. All rihts reserved.

PERmISSIOn IS HEREby gRanED to ke electroic or echicl copies of thisdocuet for use i clssroos or sll roup studies UnDER HE FOLLOWIngERmS: (1) ol the etire docuet c e copied; (2) text d fortti uste uched; (3) this copriht otice ust e icluded. ritte perissio isrequired for other use.

rited i the ited ttes of Aeric.N 1062-2527

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Foreword

RIgH UP O HE ed of the ieteeth cetur, the ost ipor-tt course i studet’s collee creer ws orl philosoph,or wht we tod cll ethics. Te course ws lws tke s the

crowi uit i the seior er, usull tuht the collee presidet.od people suest tht the tiowide resurece of iterest i eth-

ics shows tht we re oi ck to tht orll roust er. A surve the stis eter clis tht the ited ttes ow oers over eleve

thousd courses i pplied ethics. Tese courses tckle ll er of ethicl proles i usiess, politics, edicie, sciece, eieeri, dsocil work, d re cked soe steril eerous cil rts,dozes of jourls, hudreds of textooks, d thousds of experts.

Yet this resuret iterest i ethics is ot etirel cuse for cortul-tio. here the reewed iterest is ot sipl fshiole or trsiet, ret del of it is “prevetio ethics” rther th pricipled ethics. t is

cocered ore with “ot ei cuht” (or sued or exposed i the press)rther th with doi riht. ve where ood ethics is tuht i oodw, it is usull ore socil th persol. Te issues hve to do withcorportios, schools, courts, d overets—ot with the idividul’svirtue d resposiilit tht uderlies these other issues. orst of ll, thecurret ethics is ofte tuht with shllow view of hu ture d eve shllower view of evil i hu societ.

Te se deciecies re lso evidet i the wider clor out “vl-

ues” tht hs ee so proiet i pulic detes i the lst two decdes.“ thik we c ll ree,” the coservtive itellectul rvi Kristol hs



writte, “tht the ited ttes is experieci crisis i vlues.” But people disiss the ver suestio of crisis with sort. Vlues,the isist, re pprecited, reserched, d discussed ore th ever.

But oce i we should ot e lulled ito coplcec ll the tlkof vlues. or oe thi, cosequeces rther th covictios hve ecoepivotl i decidi tod’s vlues. or exple, it ws ofte istructive tosk supporters of 1980s “trditiol vlues” suppleetr questio: his it tht ou d our childre should led the orl life? Te swers werereveli. ivorce is hssle. roiscuous sex hs its coplictios. ver-eti is prove cuse of hert ttck. Te ppel, i other words, ws tocosequeces, ot covictios d to self-iterest, ot idels. heres thessocitio of sex d si propts ol sirk, the ssocitio of sex ddeth triers ctio—throuh fer. But iduced this w, chstit is oloer idel. t is ol isurce, the old fer of “coceptio, ifec-tio, d detectio,” ut i ltered uise.

or other thi, the lue of edicie, pscholo, d tech-ique hs replced the lue of orls i uch Aeric discourse.“helth” d “lcki i self-estee” hve replced “wro” d “d.”

Morlit i pulic life is too, ut orlizi out pulic helth dpscholoicl well-ei is ive free rei. As the ureo Geerl hsckowleded recetl, “e hve hd driver’s ed for our kids. e’ve tuhtthe wht to do i the frot set of the cr, ut ot wht to do i the ckset of the cr.” r i, there is less cocer tod with the sustceof vlues d ore cocer with stle. the hed of the “Just No”cpi, Vogue wrote, “Givi t p hs ecoe fshio stteet.”

ill, it is pli tht predoit cocer i reserchi vlues is

with the rket d ot orlit. d whe pschorphics is replc-i old-fshioed deorphics, surves i vlues re s idispesle forrketi politicis s for products. derstdi the otto lie isthe otto lie—cosuer vlues, ot vlues.

cotrst to these deciecies i the curret discussio, the so-clled“virtue trditio” (which lso icludes ephsis o the vices) is deeper,older, d fr ore solid. t hs oth hih view of hu ture d deep view of the presece d power of evil. Before ski “ht sortof ctio should tke?” it sks “ht sort of perso should e?” orei orl is ore th erel leri wht is riht. ve pschopths



F o r e w o r d

well kow wht is riht d wro, ut ecuse of their sic lck of hu spth, the sipl do ot cre eouh to do it.

Vice Adirl Jes tockdle revives these cocers of the virtue

trditio i his peetrti rticle, “Te orld of pictetus,” rst pu-lished i the Atlantic Monthly i 1978. Bor i lliois i 1923, tockdle is rdute of the Nvl Acde who served o ctive dut i the Nvfor thirt-seve ers. After two ers s seior vl wi coderi Viet, he ws shot dow over North Viet i 1965 d spet eihters s prisoer of wr i oi—tortured ftee ties, i le iros fortwo ers, d i solitr coeet for four ers.

tockdle retired erl fro ilitr life, phsicll disled frocot wouds, ut uch decorted. Besides the oressiol Medlof oor, his decortios iclude two istiuished li rosses, threeistiuished ervice Medls, four ilver tr Medls, d two urpleerts. ice levi the Nv, he hs ee collee professor d colleepresidet, d is ow i his twelfth er s eior eserch ellow t theoover stitutio, tford iversit. Ao his ooks re A Vietnam

Experience d In Love and War. 1992, Adirl tockdle ws ide-

pedet cdidte for Vice residet of the ited ttes s ruite for oss erot.Te cetrl thee of ll tockdle’s writis is how hu eis c

rise with diit to previl i the fce of dversit. “Te orld of picte-tus” tells of the resources tockdle foud i hiself i order to survivethe ordel i oi with his sese of self-respect itct. Not ll his fellowprisoers were s iterll resourceful. tockdle reports tht he owed ret del to clssicl eductio tht ve hi ivlule perspec-

tive o his situtio. e lered fro literture d fro the Bile (Jobespecill) tht life is ot fir. Te Enchiridion of pictetus tuht hi tococer hiself ol with wht ws withi his power. As prisoer he wsphsicll powerless, d hd to ler to cotrol d strethe his will.e lered tht iterit ws fr ore vlule th sleep or food if theltter were otied fro his cptors t the price of loss of self-respect. elered tht persos of little leri or philosoph were ore vulerleto riwshi d the wekess tht leds to tresole etrl of fel-low prisoers. As result, tockdle recoeds trii i histor d



philosoph for professiol soldiers. “ stress situtios, the fudetl,the hrd core clssicl sujects, re wht serve est.”

A ke prt of Adirl tockdle’s rticle ceters o the thouht of

pictetus, the iuetil d ppeli toic techer who lived c. a.D. 50–130. Bor of slve wo d slve hiself for soe ers, pictetusws ished fro oe the peror oiti ut thered roudhi ourishi school. e ws evidetl of ret sweetess dsiplicit. Aove ll, he ws kow for his toic trquilit, or ot of resitio ut itese orl disciplie. veroe, pictetus elieved, isfree to old his or her ow proper chrcter d olied to displ it oceolded.

Te toic ethic hs lws hd ole ppel with close it to Jew-ish d hristi ttitudes, for ll its decisive diereces fro the i theed. But rerdless of such diereces, tockdle’s reectios o his expe-riece uderscore the cetrl plce of chrcter i ethics d of the ipor-tce of the virtues d vices i chrcter. is ess is rci chlleeto ech of us, oth persoll d pulicl. oes the Aeric repulictod ive to chrcter d virtue the relistic plce oce ive the fr-

ers? ill the preset preoccuptio with ethics d vlues ke lsticotriutio if it is ot rooted i solid uderstdi of chrcter, virtue,d vice? Are we ech coitted to rowi i chrcter d to deepeii the clssicl wisdo d experiece of virtue d vice? oes the ques-tio “ht sort of perso should e?” precede “ht sort of ctio shll tke?” let loe “ow will e see?” Ad where c perso’s chrcter,virtue, d vice e rooted if ot i his or her fith?

Te world of oder ledership, it iht see, is closer to the coforts

of the itz-rlto d the ldorf Astori rther th the oies of theoi ilto. But, i fct, the rel chllee of life is etter illuited the hrsh oudr experieces of which tockdle writes rther th thetrivil coplcecies of our d-to-d world. At the ver lest, Adirltockdle’s lessos fro priso re shrp spur towrd the iterit of fith d chrcter tht ore es-oi w of life rrel provides.

s Guiess is fouder d the rst eior ellow t Te riit oru. A writer dspeker, he lives i Mce, Virii. Ao his ooks re Te Call (ord 1998) dLong Journey Home (ouled 2001).



The World of Epictetus

In 1965 WaS fort-oe-er-old coder, the seior pilot of Air

i 16, i cot issios i the re just south of oi frothe ircrft crrier Oriskany. B epteer of tht er hd row

quite ccustoed to rie dozes of pilots d ledi the o dil irstrikes; hd ow erl 200 issios self d kew the coutrsideof North Viet like the ck of hd. the ith of tht oth led out thirt-ve irples to the Th o Bride, just west of thtcit. Tt ride ws touh; we hd ee ouci 500-pouders o it forweeks.

Te epteer 9 rid held specil ei for Oriskany pilots ecuseof specil o lod we hd iprovised; we were oi i with our i-est, the 2000-pouders, hu ot ol o our ttck ples ut o our -8hter-oers s well. Tis icrese i ride-usti cpilit cefro the iovtive ri of jor i with Mrie hter squd-ro. e hd ured out how we could jur-ri soe switches, h the ios, pup out soe of the fuel to st withi tkeo weiht liits, d

the top o our tks fro our irore refuelers while e route to thetret. Althouh the pilot hd to throw severl switches i sequece to etrid of his os, procedure requiri ove-vere cockpit ilit, weroutiel operted o the preise tht ll pilots of Air i 16 were ovevere. test-ew the ew lod o issio, thouht it over, d pprovedit; tht’s the w we did usiess.

ur spirit ws up. Tt ori, the Oriskany Air i ws lloi to drop the ride tht ws ecoi North Vietese sol of

resistce. You c iie our dis whe we crossed the cost d thewether scout hd set o hed rdioed ck tht ceili d visiilit



J a m e s s t o c k d a l e

were zero-zero i the ride re. the ti cockpit of A-4 t the frotof the pck, pushed the utto o the throttle, spoke ito the rdio ikei oxe sk, d told the fortio to split up d proceed i pirs

to the secodr trets hd specied i cotiec rie. ht letdow.

Te drelie stopped owi s wi d roke left ddow d strted suteri lo towrd our “ilk ru” tret: oxcrso rilrod sidi etwee Vih d Th o, where the k wsliht. escedi throuh 10,000 feet, uspped oxe sk dlet it dle, ivi piched fce rest—o reso to st ucofort-le o this ru.

As lided towrd tht es tret, ’ sure felt totll self-stised. hd the top cot jo tht Nv coder c hold d ws itue with eviroet. ws codet— kew irples d iiside out. ws cofortle with the people worked with d kew thetrde so well tht ofte iprovised vritios i ccepted procedures decoured others to do so uder wtchful ee. ws o top. thouht hd foud ever ke to success d hd o dout tht Acde d

test-pilot schooli hd provided e with everthi eeded i life. pssed dow the iddle of those oxcrs d siled s sw the resultsof istictive tii. A et ptter—perfectio. ws just pulli outof dive low to the roud whe herd oise hd’t expected—the

boom boom boom of 57-illieter u—d the sw it just ehid witip. ws hit—ll the red lihts ce o, cotrol sste ws oiout—d could rel keep tht ple fro i ito the roud while ot tht ded oxe sk up to outh so could tell wi

tht ws out to eject. ht rotte luck. Ad o “ilk ru”!Te descet i the chute ws quiet except for occsiol rie shots fro

the streets elow. M id ws cler, d sid to self, “ve ers.” kew we were ki ess of the wr i outhest Asi, ut did’tthik it would lst loer th tht; ws lso ive out the resources would eed i order to survive leth period of cptivit.

Te urts hve sid tht culture is thi d frile veeer tht super-iposes itself o kid. or the rst tie ws o ow, withoutthe veeer. ws to sped ers serchi throuh d rei of



t h e w o r l d o F e p i c t e t u s

eories, looki for useful tools, this of vlue. Te vlues were there,ut the were ll ixed up with techolo, ureucrc, d expediec,d hd to e rouht up ito the ope.

ductio should tke cre to illuite vlues, ot ur the ostthe trivi. Are our studets etti the esse tht without persoliterit itellectul skills re worthless?

terit is oe of those words which people keep i tht deskdrwer leled “too hrd.” t’s ot topic for the dier tle or the cocktilprt. You c’t u or sell it. he supported with eductio, perso’siterit c ive hi soethi to rel o whe his perspective sees tolur, whe rules d priciples see to wver, d whe he’s fced withhrd choices of riht or wro. t’s soethi to keep hi o the rihttrck, soethi to keep hi ot whe he’s drowi; if ol for prcti-cl resos, it is ttriute tht should e kept t the ver top of ouperso’s cosciousess.

Te iportce of the ltter poit is hihlihted i priso cps, whereeverd hu ture, stripped re, c e studied uder ifilss i ccelerted tie. essos spotlihted d sored i tht lor-

tor shrpe oe’s ee for their struse ut hihl relevt pplictios ithe “rel tie” world of ow.

the ers sice ’ve ee out of priso, ’ve prticipted severl ties ithe process of selecti seior vl ocers for prootio or iporttcod ssiets. dout tht the experiece is siictl dier-et fro tht of executives who sit o “selectio ords” i lre hier-rch. Te sste ust e forl, ojective, d fir; if ou’ve see oe,

ou’ve prol see the ll.Nv selectio ord proceedis o soethi like this. Te rst tie

ou kow the idetit of the other eers of the ord is whe ou wlkito ordroo t eiht o’clock o ppoited ori. Te rst orderof usiess is to std, rise our riht hd, put our left hd o theBile, d swer to ke the est judet ou c, o the sis of erit,without prejudice. You’re swor to codetilit rerdi ll ordeers’ rerks duri the proceedis. Bord eers re chosefor their experiece d uderstdi; the ofte hve kowlede of theprticulr idividuls uder cosidertio. Te ust feel free to spek



1 0 J a m e s s t o c k d a l e

their ids. Te red d rde dozes of dossiers, d ech cdidteis discussed extesivel. At voti tie, eer csts his vote select-i d pushi “percet codece” utto, visile ol to hiself, o

cosole ttched to his chir. he the lst eer pushes his utto, totlizer displs the uericl vere “codece” of the ord. No oekows who voted wht.

’ lws ipressed the fct tht ever eort is de to e firto the cdidte. oe re clerl out, soe re clerl i; the orderliecses re the touh oes. You o over d over those i the “iddle pile”d usull ou vote d revote util lte t iht. ll the ords ’ve sto, o iferece or stteet i “jcket” is s sure to ported low co-dece score o the vote s evidece of lck of directess or rectitude of cdidte i his delis with others. A hit of orl turpitude rellturs people o. he the cruch coes, the prefer to work with forth-riht plodders rther th with devious eiuses. do’t elieve tht thispreferece is uique to the ilitr. hierrch where people’s ftesre decided coittees or ords, those who lose crediilit with theirpeers d who cuse their superiors to dout their directess, hoest, or

iterit re ded. ecover is’t possile.

Te like of e’s ethics, reputtios, d ftes c e studied i eveore vivid detil i priso cp. tht rutll cotrolled eviroet perceptive ee c et his hooks ito the slihtest chik i ’sethicl ror d ccelerte his dowfll. Give the riht opei, theriht orl wekess, certi susceptiilit o the prt of the prisoer, clever extortioist c drive his victi ito dowhill slide tht will rui

his ie, self-respect, d life i ver short tie.Tere re soe uchrted spects to this, soe trits of susceptiilit

which do’t thik pscholoists et hve words for. thiki of thetred tht c efll perso who hs such eed for love or ttetiotht he will sell his soul for it. use tred with the riorous deitioAristotle pplied to it: the stor of ood with w who coes to ujustied d ed. Tis is rther delicte poit d oe tht wtto ephsize.

e hd ver ver few collortors i priso, d coprtivel fewAristoteli tredies, ut the stor d fte of oe of these ood e



t h e w o r l d o F e p i c t e t u s 1 1

with w iht e istructive. e ws hdsoe, srt, rticulte, dsooth. e ws lost sicere. e ws osessed with success. he theoi ot touh, he decided expediec ws preferle to priciple.

Tis ws clssicl opportuist. e efrieded d worked forthe ee to the detriet of his fellow Aerics. e de tcit del;oreover, he ccepted fvors ( violtio of the code of coduct). tie,out of fer d she, he withdrew; we could ot et hi to couictewith the Aeric prisoer oriztio.

could’t ler wht de the tick. e of est frieds ipriso, oe of the wisest persos hve ever kow, hd oce ee i squdro with this fellow. prisoers’ code tpped questio to philosophicl fried: “ht i the world is oi o with tht k?”

“You’re oi to e surprised t wht hve to s,” he eticulousltpped ck. “ squdro he pushes hiself forwrd d doites thescee. e’s cotiul fouti of ifortio. e’s the perso everodrelies o for iside dope. e works like d; ofte ies ore hops thothers. t drives hi crz if he’s ot liked. e teds to rovel d irti-te hiself efore others. did’t relize he ws rell pthetic util ws

sitti roud with hi d his wife oe iht whe he ws spii hisrs of delusios of rdeur, telli of his ret successes d his ped-i scesio to the top. is wife kew hi etter th od else; sheshook her hed with euie spth d sid to hi: ‘Gee, ou’re just pho.’ ”

priso, this hd soehow reched the poit where he ws will-i to sell his soul just to stisf this eed, this iturit. Te ol whe could et the ttetio tht he deded fro uthorit ws to rovel

d irtite hiself efore the ee. As soldier he ws iserlefilure, ut he hd ot crossed the oudr of willful treso; he ws otwritte o s irrevocle loss, s were the two ptet collortors withwho the Vietese soo rred tht he live.

As we Aeric POWs uilt our civiliztio, d wrote our ow lws(which we leders olied ll to eorize), we lso codied certi prici-ples which fored the ckoe of our policies d ttitudes. codied thepriciples of copssio, rehilittio, d foriveess with the slo:

“t is either Aeric or hristi to repett sier to his rve.”(oe did’t like it, thouht it seeed soft o ks.) Ad so, we rell ve




this chce. ver tie, our eorts worked. After ve ers of self-idulece he ot hiself toether d strted to couicte with theprisoer oriztio. set the esse “Are ou o the te or ot?”; he

replied, “Yes,” d ce ck. e told the Vietese tht he did’t wtto pl their dirt es ore. e wted to et w fro those will-ful collortors d he ce ck d he ws ccepted, fter fshio.

wish tht were the ed of the stor. Althouh he ce ck, joiedus, d eve ece leder of sorts, he ever totll wo hiself ck.No tter how forivi we were, he ws coscious tht resetedhi—ot so uch ecuse he ws wek ut ecuse he hd roke whtwe iht cll etle’s code. ll of those ers whe he, seior o-cer, hd willil prticipted i ki tpe recordis of ti-Aericteril, he hd deepl oeded the sesiilities of the Aeric priso-ers who were forced to liste to hi. o ost of us it ws’t the rhetoric of the wr or the oodess or the dess of this or tht issue tht couted.Te oject of our hihest vlue ws the well-ei of our fellow prisoers.e hd roke tht code d hurt soe of those people. oe thouhttht s iforer he hd idirectl hurt the phsicll. do’t elieve

tht. ht idisputl hurt the ws his ot hvi the sesitivit torelize the de his opportuistic coduct would do to the orle of uch of Middle Aeric us with Middle Aeric ttitudes whichthe turll cherished. e should hve kow tht i those solitr cellswhere his tpes were piped were idelistic, direct, ptriotic fellows whowould e crushed d errssed to hve hi, seior i excel-let phsicl shpe, so oviousl ot uder torture, telli the world thtthe wr ws wro. ve if he elieved wht he sid, which he did ot, he

should hve hd the coo decec to keep his outh shut. You c sitd thik thi ou wt, ut whe ou isesitivel cut dow thosewho wt to love d help ou, ou cross lie. e seeed to sese tht hecould ever trul e oe of us.

Ad et he ws likle—prticulrl ck i civiliztio fter relese—whe tesio ws o, d ki del did ot see so iportt. eexuded chr d “hil fellow” sophistictio. e wted so to e liked ll those e he hd oce discrded i his serch for ew frieds, ewdels, ew elds to coquer i oi. Te tred of his life ws oviousto us ll. ers were shed soe of his old priso tes whe he ws




killed i ccidet tht strol reseled suicide soe oths lter.Te Greek dr hd ru its course. e ws riht out of Aristotle’s ook, ood with w who hd coe to ujustied d ed. Te w

ws isecurit: the eed to irtite hiself, the eed for love d dul-tio t price.

e reided e of ul New i Te Hustler. New could’tstd success. e kew how to ke del. e ws hdsoe, he wssrt, he ws ttrctive to everod; ut he hd to hve dultio, dtherei l the seed of tred. li hih-stkes pool ist old Mie-sot ts (Jckie Gleso), New ws well i the led, d etti orefull of hiself the hour. Geore . cott, the pool ettor, whispered tohis prter: “’ oi to keep etti o Miesot ts; this other u[New] is or loser—he’s ll skill d o chrcter.” Ad he wsriht, or loser— thik tht’s the esse.

ow c we educte to void these csulties? we es of educ-tio prevet this kid of tred? ht we prisoers were i ws oe-wlevere e i which the other side hd ll the echicl dvte.

suppose ou could s tht we ll live i levere world to soe deree; well experiece people tri to use us i oe w or other. Te dierecei oi ws the derdtio of the eds (to e used s propd etsof ee, or s iforers o our fellow Aerics), d the powerof the es (totl eviroetl cotrol icludi solitr coeet,restrit es of le-iros d hdcus, d torture). xtortioistslws o dow the se trck: the ipositio of uilt d fer for hvidisoeed their rules, followed i tur puishet, polo, cofes-

sio, d toeet (their po). ur cptors would o to ret lethsto et to coproise his ow code, eve if ol slihtl, d thethe would hold tht i their , d the ext tie et hi to o littlefurther.

oe people re pscholoicll, if ot phsicll, t hoe i extor-tio eviroets. Te re touh people who istictivel void ettisucked ito the udertows. Te ever kid theselves or their frieds; if the iss the rk the dit it. But there’s other cteor of persowho ets tripped up. e kes sll coproise, perhps rtiolizesit, d the kes other oe; d the he ets depressed, full of she,



1 J a m e s s t o c k d a l e

loesoe, loses his willpower d self-respect, d coes to tric ed.oewhere lo the lie he relizes tht he hs tured corer tht hedid’t e to tur. All too lte he relizes tht he hs ee worshippi

the wro ods d discovers the wisdo of the es: life is ot fir. sorti out the stor fter our relese, we foud tht ost of us hd

coe to cot costt etl d phsicl pressure i uch the sew. e discovered tht whe perso is loe i cell d sees the doorope ol oce or twice d for owl of soup, he relizes fter periodof weeks i isoltio d drkess tht he hs to uild soe sort of ritulito his life if he wts to void ecoi il. itul lls eed i hrd life d it’s es to see how forl church ritul rew. or lost llof us, this ritul ws uilt roud prer, exercise, d cldestie cou-ictio. Te prers sid duri those ds were prers of qulit withides of sustce. e foud tht over the course of tie our ids hd treedous cpcit for ivetio d itrospectio, ut hd the wek-ess of ei iterl prt of our odies. reeered escrtes dhow i his philosoph he seprted id d od. e tie cursed od for the w it deced id. hd decided tht would ecoe

Gdhi. would hve to e crried roud o pllet d i tht stte could ot e used cptors for propd purposes. After out teds of fsti, foud tht hd ecoe so depressed tht soo wouldrisk oi ito iterrotio red to spill uts just looki for fried. tpped to the u ext door d sid, “Gosh, how wish escrtes couldhve ee riht, ut he’s wro.” e ws little slow to repl; reviewedescrtes’ deductio with hi d explied how hd discovered thtod d id re iseprle.

the positive side, discovered the treedous le-ciet volueof the hu id. You c eorize icredile out of terild ou c drw the pst out of our eor with rerkle recll esi slowl towrd the evet ou seek d ot crowdi the id tooclosel. You’ll tr to reeer who ws t our irthd prt whe ouwere ve ers old, d ou c et it, ut ol fter oths of eort. Youc rek the locks d d the swers, ut ou eed tie d solitudeto ler how to use this rvelous device i our hed which is the retestcoputer o erth.



t h e w o r l d o F e p i c t e t u s 1

f course of the this we reclled fro the pst were utterl use-less s sources of streth or prcticlit. or istce, evets rouht ckfro cocktil prties or isicere socil cotcts were lost reput

ecuse of their eptiess, their utter lck of vlue. More ofte th ot,the locks worth picki hd ee o old schoolroo doors. chool dsc e thouht of s tie whe oe is lli the iportt stcks of oe’seor lirr. or e, the olde doors were leled histor d theclssics. Te historicl perspective which eled to tke hiself w fro ll the ittio, ot ecessril to see ros lii, ut to seethe rel ture of the situtio he fced, ws trul thi of vlue.

ere’s how this historicl perspective helped e see the relit of ow situtio d thus cope etter with it. lered fro Vieteseprisoer tht the se cells we occupied hd i ers efore ee lived i of the leders of the oi overet. ro histor lessos reclled tht whe etropolit rce peritted couists i theoveret i 1936, the couists who occupied cells i Viet wereset free. rveled t the ccle of histor, ll withi eor, whichpropted itler’s rise i Ger, the led to the rise of the opulr

rot i rce, d ll vcted this cell of ie hlfw roud theworld (“erhps h V o lived here”). ce to uderstd whttouh people these were. ws willi to ht the to the deth, ut rew to relize tht htred ws idulece, ver ieciet eotio. reeer thiki, “f ou were coitted to eti the deler i li csio, would hating him help our e?” pidi lishpropd ook the urd ve e, speeches these old couistsout their priso experieces stressed how the lered to et dow the

ee ei uited. t seeed coforti to kow tht we were uitedist the couist diistrtio of o o priso just s the Viet-ese couists hd uited ist the rech diistrtio of oo i the thirties. risoers re prisoers, d there’s ol oe w to etdiistrtios. e resolved to do it etter i the sixties th the hdi the thirties. You do’t se sste-eti o thouht of politiclidelis; ou do it s copetitive thi, s expressio of self-respect.

ductio i the clssics teches ou tht ll oriztios sice the ei-i of tie hve used the power of uilt; tht ccles re repetitive; d




tht this is the w of the world. t’s ive perso who coes i d ss,“et’s see, wht’s ood d wht’s d?” Tt’s quire. You c et outof tht quire ol reclli how wise e efore ou ccoo-

dted the se diles. Ad elieve ood clssicl eductio d uderstdi of histor c est deterie the rules ou should live .Te lso ive ou the power to lze resos for these rules d uideou s to how to ppl the to our ow situtio. roder sese,ll eductio helped e. Nvl Acde disciplie d od cotctsports helped e. But the eductio which foud self usi ost wswht ot i rdute school. Te esses of histor d philosoph used were siple.

Te rst oe is this usiess out life ot ei fir. Tt is veriportt lesso d lered it fro woderful ed hiliphielder. As lieutet coder i the Nv studi politiclsciece t tford iversit i 1961, wet over to philosoph corer oed d older etle sid, “ help ou?” sid, “Yes, ’d like totke soe courses i philosoph.” told hi ’d ee i collee for six ersd hd ever hd course i philosoph. e could’t elieve it. told hi

tht ws vl ocer d he sid, “ell, used to e i the Nv. itdow.” hilip hielder ece ret iuece i life.e hd ee rvrd lwer d hd pleded cses efore the upree

ourt d the oe to wr s reserve ocer. he he ce ck hetook his doctorte t rvrd. e ws lso usic coposer, hd eedirector of eerl eductio t rvrd, de of the chool of ui-ties d cieces t tford, d the tie et hi hd choiceretured to techi i the clssroo. e sid, “Te course ’ techi

is persol two-ter fvorite—Te role of Good d vil—dwe’re strti our secod ter.” e sid the esse of his course ws frothe Book of Jo. Te uer oe prole i this world is tht people reot le to ccoodte the lesso i the ook.

e recouted the stor of Jo. t strts out estlishi tht Jo wsthe ost hoorle of e. Te he lost ll his oods. e lso lost hisreputtio, which is wht rell hurt. is wife ws deri hi to dithis sis, ut he kew he hd de o errors. e ws ot ptiet ddeded to spek to the ord. he the ord ppered i the whirlwid,he sid, “Now, Jo, ou hve to shpe up! ife is ot fir.” Tt’s iter-




prettio d tht’s the w the ook eded for hudreds of ers. reewith those of the opiio tht the hpp edi ws spliced o erslter. f ou red it, ou’ll ote tht the eter ches. eople could’t live

with the oriil esse. ere ws ood who ce to uexpliedrief, d the ord told hi: “Tt’s the w it is. o’t chllee e. Tisis world d ou either live i it s desied it or et out.”

Tis ws ret cofort to e i priso. t swered the questio“h e?” t cst side thouhts of ei puished for pst ctios.oeties shred the esse with fellow prisoers s tpped throuhthe wlls to the, ut lered to e selective. t’s stro esse whichupsets soe people.

hielder lso pssed o to e other piece of clssicl ifor-tio which foud of ret vlue. the d of our lst sessio toetherhe sid, “You’re ilitr , let e ive ou ook to reeer e .t’s ook of ilitr ethics.” e hded it to e, d de hi ood-ewith ret eotio. took the ook hoe d tht iht strted to red it.t ws the Enchiridion of the philosopher pictetus, his “ul” for theo eld soldier.

As e to red, thouht to self i diselief, “oes hielderthik ’ oi to drw lessos for life fro this thi? ’ hterpilot. ’ techicl . ’ test pilot. kow how to et people to dotechicl work. pl olf; drik rtiis. kow how to et hed i professio. Ad wht does he hd e? A ook tht ss i prt, ‘t’s etterto die i huer, exept fro uilt d fer, th to live i uece dwith perturtio.’ ” reeered this lter i priso ecuse pertur-tio ws wht ws livi with. he ejected fro the irple o tht

epteer or i 1965, hd left the ld of techolo. hd eteredthe world of pictetus, d it’s world tht few of us, whether we kow itor ot, re ever fr w fro.

lo Alto, hd red this ook, ot with cotetet, ut withoce. tteet fter stteet: “Me re distured ot this,ut the view tht the tke of the.” “o ot e cocered with thiswhich re eod our power.” “ed ot tht evets should hppe sou wish, ut wish the to hppe s the do hppe d ou will o owell.” Tis is stoicis. t’s ot the lst word, ut it’s viewpoit tht coesi hd i circustces, d it surel did for e. rticulrl this




lie: “eess is ipediet to the od ut ot to the will.” Tt wssiict for e ecuse ws’t le to std up d support self o dl roke le for the rst couple of ers ws i solitr coe-

et.ther stteets of pictetus took o dded ei i the liht of

extortios which ofte e with our cptors’ cllous ples: “f ou re just resole with us we will copeste ou. You et our els, ouet to sleep, ou wo’t e pestered, ou iht eve et cellte.” Tectch ws tht ei “resole with us” our eeies et eitheir iforers, their propdists. Te old stoic hd sid, “f c etthe this eed with the preservtio of hoor d delit d self-respect, show e the w d will et the. But, if ou require e to lose ow proper ood, tht ou i wht is o ood, cosider howuresole d foolish ou re.” o love our fellow prisoers ws withiour power. o etr, to propdize, to disillusio coscietious dptriotic shiptes d destro their orle so tht the i tur would edestroed ws to lose oe’s proper ood.

ht ttriutes serve ou well i the extortio eviroet? e

lered there, ove ll else, tht the est defese is to keep our co-sciece cle. he we did soethi we were shed of, d our cp-tors relized we were shed of it, we were i troule. A little white lie iswhere extortio d ultitel lckil strt. 1965, ws crippled d ws loe. relized tht the hd ll the power. could’t see how wsever oi to et out with hoor d self-respect. Te oe thi ceto relize ws tht if ou do’t lose iterit ou c’t e hd d ou c’te hurt. oproises ultipl d uild up whe ou’re worki ist

skilled extortioist or ood ipultor. You c’t e hd if ou do’ttke tht rst shortcut, or “eet the hlfw,” s the s, or look for thttcit “del,” or ke tht rst coproise.

Bo North, politicl sciece professor t tford, tuht e courseclled oprtive Mrxist Touht. Tis ws ot ti-couistcourse. t ws the stud of do d thouht ptters. e red o criti-ciss of Mrxis, ol prir sources. All er we red the works of Mrx d ei. oi, uderstood ore out Mrxist theor th



t h e w o r l d o F e p i c t e t u s 1

iterrotor did. ws le to s to tht iterrotor, “Tt’s ot whtei sid; ou’re devitioist.”

e of the this North tlked out ws riwshi. A pscholo-

ist who studied the Kore prisoer situtio, which soewht prlleledours, cocluded tht three cteories of prisoers were ivolved there. Terst ws the redeck Mrie seret fro eessee who hd eihth-rde eductio. e would et i tht iterrotio roo d the woulds tht the pish-Aeric r ws strted the o withi theMaine, which iht e true, d he would swer, “b.S.” Te would showhi soethi out rcil urest i etroit. “b.S.” Tere ws o w thecould et to hi; his id ws de up. e ws striht u, red, white,d lue, d everthi else ws b.S.! e did’t ive it secod thouht.Not uch of histori, perhps, ut ood securit risk.

the ext cteor were the sophistictes. Te were the fellows whocould e told these se this out the horrors of Aeric histor dour socil proles, ut hd herd it ll efore, kew oth sides of everstor, d thouht we were o the riht trck. Te were’t shed thtwe hd roer ros t certi tie i our histor; the were wre of

the skeletos i ost civiliztios’ closets. Te could ot e eotiollivolved d so the were ood securit risks.Te oes who were i troule were the hih school rdutes who hd

eouh sese to pick up the iuedo, d et ot eouh eductio toccoodte it properl. Not of the fell, ut ost of the e thtot etled strted fro tht ckroud. Te pscholoist’s poit ispossil oversiplistic, ut thik his esse hs soe vlidit. A littlekowlede is derous thi.

Geerll speki, thik eductio is treedous defese; theroder, the etter. After ws shot dow wife, il, foud clippilued i the frot of colleite dictior: “ductio is oret iprosperit d refue i dversit.” he certil rees with e o tht.Most of us prisoers foud tht the so-clled prcticl cdeic exercisesi how to do this, which ’ told re proliferti, were useless. ’ otsi tht we should se eductio o trii people to e i priso,ut si tht i stress situtios, the fudetls, the hrdcoreclssicl sujects, re wht serve est.




Tetrics lso helped susti e. M other hd ee dr cochwhe ws ou d ws i of her pls. priso lered howto ufcture persolit d live it, crwl ito it, d hold tht role

without devitio. uri iterrotios, ’d check the resposes ot todieret kids of ehvior. Te’d et worried whe did this irrtio-ll. Ad so, ever so ofte, would pl tht “irrtiol” role d coecopletel ulued. he could tell tht pressure to ke pulic exhi-itio of e ws uildi, ’d std up, tip the tle over, ttept to throwthe chir throuh the widow, d s, “No w, Goddit! ’ otdoi tht! Now, coe over here d ht!” Tis ws risk plo, ecuseif the thouht ou were cti, the would sl ou ito the ropes dke ou scre i pi like . You could wtch their fces d redtheir ids. Te hd expected e to ehve like stoic. But woulde fool to ke their jo es ei covetiol d predictle. could feel the tide tur i fvor t tht ic oet whe their ertured to pledi: “l dow, ow cl dow.” Te po would coewhe the decided tht the risk of oi hwire i frot of soe tour-i Aeric professor o “fct-di” issio ws too ret. More

iportt, the hd reso to elieve tht would tell the truth—el,tht hd ee i solitr coeet for four ers d tortured fteeties—without fer of future cosequeces. o thetricl trii provedhelpful to e.

ou educte for ledership? thik ou c, ut the couists wouldprol s o. e d i ruet with iterrotor, sid, “Youre so proud of ei prt eer, wht re the criteri?” e sid i

urr of er, “Tere re ol four: ou hve to e sevetee ers old, ouhve to e seless, ou hve to e srt eouh to uderstd the theor,d ou’ve ot to e perso who itel iueces others.” e stressedtht fourth oe. thik pscholoists would s tht ledership is ite,d there is truth i tht. But, lso thik ou c ler soe ledershiptrits tht turll ccrue fro ood eductio: copssio is eces-sit for leders, s re spoteit, rver, self-disciplie, hoest, dove ll, iterit.

reeer ei disppoited out oth fter ws ck wheoe of ou frieds, priso te, ce rui up fter reuio




t the Nvl Acde. e sid with lee, “Tis is rell ret, ou wo’telieve how this coutr hs dvced. Te’ve prcticll doe w withplee er t the Acde, d the’ve ot coputers i the seet of

Bcroft ll.” thouht, “M God, if there ws thi tht helped uset throuh those eiht ers, it ws plee er, d if thi screwed uptht wr, it ws coputers!”



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The World of Epictetus