- Betwixt Philosophy
- Posts
- Difficulty's Purpose
Difficulty's Purpose
Betwixt Philosophy
February 28, 2024
📜 Wednesday’s Quote of the Day 📜
“Difficulties are the things that show what men are.
For the future, in case of any difficulty, remember that God, like a gymnastic trainer, has pitted you against a rough antagonist.
For what end? That you may be an Olympic conqueror, and this cannot be without toil.”
When difficulties arise whether we like it or not, Epictetus says that the way in which we handle those difficulties shows who our character is. And by handling those difficulties effectively, we simultaneously conquer the task and improve upon our character.
Following this passage, Epictetus provided an analogy that helps properly understand it in it’s entirety:
Imagine that people were randomly chosen to be messengers and that these people were sent to scout Rome to report any observations of anguish. There would be 2 types of messengers: those who let fear and fright affect their perception and those who see things for what they are.
Both face the same difficulty; however, there are two outcomes. On one hand, the frightened messenger allowed his perception to be skewed due to his uncontrolled emotion, while on the other hand, the calm messenger saw Rome pragmatically.
Although this was simply an analogy, what does this tell us? It tells us that in difficult situations, humans will resort to the virtues they hold in their character.
The difficulty may change - it doesn’t have to be about perceiving something.
The task may change - it doesn’t have to be a scout in Rome.
The virtue may change - it doesn’t have to be about control over our perception.
How we act is who we become. If we act with fear, we’ll be fearful. If we act with courage, we’ll be courageous. Our character and virtues are in accordance with our actions. How we act today is how we’ll act tomorrow - so act virtuous today.
Cheers,
Adam