【每日斯多葛】9月15日

September 15th

A GARDEN IS NOT FOR SHOW

“First practice not letting people know who you are—keep your philosophy to yourself for a bit. In just the manner that fruit is produced—the seed buried for a season, hidden, growing gradually so it may come to full maturity. But if the grain sprouts before the stalk is fully developed, it will never ripen. . . . That is the kind of plant you are, displaying fruit too soon, and the winter will kill you.”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.8.35b–37

After all you’ve read, it might be tempting to think: This stuff is great. I get it. I’m a Stoic. But it’s not that easy. Just because you agree with the philosophy doesn’t mean the roots have fully taken hold in your mind.

Fooling with books so you can sound smart or have an intimidating library is like tending a garden to impress your neighbors. Growing one to feed a family? That’s a pure and profitable use of your time. The seeds of Stoicism are long underground. Do the work required to nurture and tend to them. So that they—and you—are prepared and sturdy for the hard winters of life.

9月15日

花园不是用来炫耀的

“首先，要练习不让别人知道你是谁——暂时把你的哲学留给自己。果实正是以这样的方式生长出来的：种子在地下埋藏一个季节，隐藏起来，慢慢生长，直到能够完全成熟。但如果谷物在茎秆尚未充分发育之前就发芽，它就永远不会成熟……你现在就像这样的植物，过早地展示了果实，而冬天会把你杀死。”

——爱比克泰德，《论说集》，4.8.35b–37

读了这么多之后，你也许很容易产生这样的想法：这些东西太棒了。我懂了。我已经是一个斯多葛主义者了。但事情并没有那么简单。你认同这种哲学，并不意味着它的根已经在你的心中牢牢扎下。

摆弄书本，只为了让自己显得聪明，或者拥有一间让人望而生畏的藏书室，就像打理一个花园只是为了给邻居看。可如果种一个花园是为了养活一家人呢？那才是对时间纯粹而有益的利用。斯多葛主义的种子需要长时间埋藏在地下。去做那些必要的工作，培育它们、照料它们。这样，当人生严酷的寒冬到来时，它们——以及你自己——才能做好准备，足够坚韧。