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To Train Both of These
Betwixt Philosophy
April 05, 2024
📜 Friday’s Quote of the Day 📜
“We will train both soul and body when we accustom ourselves to cold, heat, thirst, hunger, scarcity of food, hardness of bed, abstaining from pleasures, and enduring pains.
Through these methods and others like them, the body is strengthened, becomes injured to suffering, and strong and fit for every task; the soul is strengthened as it is trained for courage by enduring hardships and trained for self-control by abstaining from pleasures.”
Through the decisions we make and the circumstances we face, we have the ability to practice our mental fortitude and implement the teachings of Stoicism. Certain circumstances, however, allow us to utilize both physical and mental capacities to strengthen us.
Musonius Rufus stated that although the soul is worth more paying attention to, the body is a component that a Stoic should not neglect - for a human is not comprised of a body or soul alone. As a result, we should strive to undergo tasks that strengthen both components.
By training through cold, heat, lack of food, and hardness of bed, we will be physically resilient. We will be able to withstand physical challenges that may have otherwise posed difficulty if we hadn’t trained. We will become healthy for the days to come.
By training through cold, heat, lack of food, and hardness of bed, we will also be developing our practice of the virtues. We will have courage through enduring hardships and obstacles. We will have self-control by abstaining from instant gratification and mindless pleasure. We will have gratitude by voluntarily putting ourselves through discomfort.
A strong body will correspond to a strong mind.
Cheers,
Adam