💀 Dying Every Day
Dying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project. Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) learn how to live.
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Cicero on wisdom and freedom
Welcome back to Dying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year). We’ve made it to Day 94, and we’re exploring one of the Stoic paradoxes from the Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero.
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According to Cicero (and the Stoics),
No one is free except for the wise man. But what is freedom? It is the power to live as you wish to live. The man who really lives is the man who wants nothing except to follow the right path; who finds satisfaction in his responsibility; whose way of living is well-considered and provided; who follows the laws not out of fear, but follows and defers to them because he judges them to be most conducive to the collective health; who says nothing, does nothing, and thinks nothing except what is free and volitional; whose every plan and action which he does, all follow from this and are traceable to this; and there are no other things which dominate him more than his own will and power of judgment.
+Adapted from Stoic Paradoxes
Where do you find satisfaction? Is it in following the right path? Do you know the “right” path from the wrong one? The Stoics stress that wisdom is the path to liberation. Without it, no one is truly free.
For the Stoics, “true wealth” is found in wisdom, Cicero explains, “The ‘wealth’ is the mind of man, not his bank account; even though it may be full of money, I will not think of you as rich, as long as I perceive you as empty.”
Take a moment to consider how you define wealth. Furthermore, how do you measure wealth?
In Seneca’s On Tranquility of Mind, he observed,
Everyone experiences the same problem: people are harassed by instability, boredom, and constant change of purpose who always prefer what they have left behind, and others who wilt and yawn. Add another group who toss and turn like insomniacs and change position this way and that until they find rest from sheer exhaustion.
Although counterintuitive, the lesson here is that wisdom (or virtue) is the only good. It is “true wealth” and the only path to freedom.
Reflection Prompt
Consider reflecting (or journaling) on the connection between freedom and wisdom. You could ask yourself, “How do I think about (or define) ‘true wealth’ on a consistent basis?” and/or “What does it mean to ‘follow the right path’ in modern life?”
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Thank you for listening; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
J.W.
P.S. I greatly appreciate your time, attention, and support!