【每日斯多葛】9月30日

September 30th  

YOU CAN’T TOUCH ME

“If you lay violent hands on me, you’ll have my body, but my mind will remain with Stilpo.”

—ZENO, QUOTED IN DIOGENES LAERTIUS, LIVES OF THE EMINENT PHILOSOPHERS, 7.1.24

Zeno is not claiming magic powers but simply that while his body can be victimized, philosophy protects his mind—cultivated under his teacher, Stilpo—with an inner fortress whose gates can never be broken from the outside, only surrendered.

Look at Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, the boxer wrongly convicted of homicide who spent nearly twenty years in prison. He would say, “I don’t acknowledge the existence of the prison. It doesn’t exist for me.” Of course, the prison literally existed, and he was physically inside it. But he refused to let his mind be contained by it.

That’s a power that you have too. Hopefully you’ll never have to use this power in a situation of violence or grave injustice; however, in the midst of any and every kind of adversity, it is there. No matter what’s happening to your body, no matter what the outside world inflicts on you, your mind can remain philosophical. It’s still yours. It’s untouchable—and in a way, then, so are you.

9月30日  

你无法触及真正的我

“如果你对我施加暴力，你可以控制我的身体，但我的心灵仍将与斯蒂尔波同在。”

——芝诺，引自第欧根尼·拉尔修《名哲言行录》，7.1.24

芝诺并不是在宣称自己拥有魔法般的力量，而只是在说：虽然他的身体可能受到伤害，但哲学保护着他的心灵——这颗在老师斯蒂尔波的教导下培养起来的心灵，拥有一座内在的堡垒。这座堡垒的大门永远无法从外部被攻破，除非他自己主动交出它。

看看鲁宾·“飓风”·卡特吧。这位拳击手曾被错误地判定犯有杀人罪，在监狱里度过了将近二十年。他曾说：“我不承认监狱的存在。对我来说，它根本不存在。”当然，监狱实际上确实存在，而且他的身体也确实被关在里面。但他拒绝让自己的心灵也被囚禁其中。

你同样拥有这种力量。希望你永远不必在遭受暴力或严重不公的情况下运用它；然而，在任何一种逆境之中，这种力量始终都在。无论你的身体正在经历什么，无论外部世界对你施加什么，你的心灵都可以继续保持哲学的态度。它仍然属于你。它是不可触及的——而从某种意义上说，你也是如此。