【每日斯多葛】7月24日

July 24th

SOMEWHERE SOMEONE’S DYING

“Whenever disturbing news is delivered to you, bear in mind that no news can ever be relevant to your reasoned choice. Can anyone break news to you that your assumptions or desires are wrong? No way! But they can tell you someone died—even so, what is that to you?”—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.18.1–2

A well-meaning friend might ask you today: “What do you think about [insert tragedy from the other side of the world]?” You, in your equally well-meaning concern, might say, “I just feel awful about it.”

In this scenario, both of you have put aside your reasoned choice without doing a single thing for the victims suffering from the actual tragedy. It can be so easy to get distracted by, even consumed by, horrible news from all over the world. The proper response of the Stoic to these events is not to not care, but mindless, meaningless sympathy does very little either, and comes at the cost of one’s own serenity, in most cases. If there is something you can actually do to help these suffering people, then, yes, the disturbing news and your reaction to it have relevance to your reasoned choice. If emoting is the end of your participation, then you ought to get back to your own individual duty—to yourself, to your family, to your country.

7月24日

某处正有人死去

“每当听到令人不安的消息时，请记住，任何消息都与你理性的选择无关。有人能告诉你你的假设或愿望是错的吗？当然不可能！但他们可以告诉你有人去世了——即便如此，这又与你何干？”——爱比克泰德，《论说集》，3.18.1–2

今天，一位出于好意的朋友可能会问你：“你怎么看待［填入世界另一端的某场悲剧］？”你同样出于好意和关切，可能会说：“我为此感到非常难过。”

在这种情境中，你们两个人都把自己的理性选择放到了一边，却没有为真正遭受悲剧之苦的受害者做任何一件事。来自世界各地的可怕新闻，很容易让人分心，甚至被它吞没。斯多葛派对这些事件的恰当回应，并不是不关心；但无意识、无意义的同情也几乎起不了什么作用，而且在多数情况下，还要以牺牲自己的宁静为代价。如果你确实能够做些什么来帮助这些受苦的人，那么，是的，这个令人不安的消息以及你对它的反应，就与你的理性选择有关。如果表达情绪就是你参与的终点，那么你就应该回到你自己的个人职责上——对你自己、对你的家庭、对你的国家的职责。