【每日斯多葛】10月16日

October 16th 

SPREAD THE WORD

“Some people with exceptional minds quickly grasp virtue, or produce it within themselves. But other dim and lazy types, hindered by bad habits, must have their rusty souls constantly scrubbed down. . . . The weaker sorts will be helped and lifted from their bad opinions if we put them in the care of philosophy’s principles.”

—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 95.36–37

Stoicism is not an evangelical religion. You’re not obligated to save anyone—there’s no risk of hell if a soul remains in ignorance of the teachings of Epictetus or Marcus Aurelius.

But now that you’ve learned and studied a better path, you can be of service to others. You can share your wisdom or insight with a friend or stranger—remembering that behavior is always a better example than a lecture.

Everyone deserves to benefit from “philosophy’s principles” as Seneca put it. If you see someone who is in need of help, or has asked for guidance, provide it. You owe them that much.

10月16日 

传播智慧

“有些天赋卓越的人能够迅速领悟美德，或者在自己内心培育出美德。但另一些迟钝而懒惰的人，由于受到不良习惯的阻碍，必须不断地把他们生锈的灵魂擦洗干净……如果我们让那些意志较弱的人接受哲学原则的指导，他们就能得到帮助，摆脱错误的观念。”

——塞内卡，《道德书信》，95.36–37

斯多葛主义并不是一种热衷于传教的宗教。你没有义务拯救任何人——即使一个人始终不知道爱比克泰德或马可·奥勒留的教诲，也不会因此面临下地狱的危险。

但是，既然你已经学习并探索了一条更好的道路，你就能够为别人提供帮助。你可以与朋友或陌生人分享自己的智慧或见解——同时记住，行动永远比说教更能起到示范作用。

正如塞内卡所说，每个人都应该有机会从“哲学的原则”中受益。如果你看到有人需要帮助，或者有人向你寻求指导，就去帮助他们。这是你对他们应尽的一份责任。