TITLE: A State Conformable to Nature
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: February 20, 2007 11:58 PM
DESC: 
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BODY:
In the beginning, I blogged on the
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2004-08.html#e2004-08-30T10_54_02.htm">
   danger of false pride</A>
and quoted the Stoic philosopher
<A HREF="http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/epictetu.htm">
   Epictetus</A>.
Now I have encountered another passage from Epictetus, at
the mind hacker site
<A HREF="http://www.hackszine.com/blog/archive/2007/02/everyday_stoicism.html">
   Hacks</A>

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
 When you are going about any action, remind yourself what nature
 the action is.  If you are going to bathe, picture to yourself
 the things which usually happen in the bath: some people splash
 the water, some push, some use abusive language, and others steal.
 Thus you will more safely go about this action if you say to
 yourself, "I will now go bathe, and keep my own mind in a state
 conformable to nature."  And in the same manner with regard to
 every other action.  For thus, if any hindrance arises in bathing,
 you will have it ready to say, "It was not only to bathe that I
 desired, but to keep my mind in a state conformable to nature;
 and I will not keep it if I am bothered at things that happen."
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

The notion of a "state conformable to nature" was central to
his injunction against false pride, and here it remains the
thoughtful person's goal, this time in the face of all that
can go wrong in the course of living.  This quote also resonates
with me, because, just as I am inclined toward a false pride,
I have a predisposition toward letting small yet expectable
hindrances interfere with my frame of mind.  Perhaps predisposition
is the wrong word; perhaps it's just a bad habit.

As is often the case for me, after a second or third positive
reference is all I need to commit to reading more.  In the coming
weeks, I now plan to read the
<A HREF="http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/epictetu.htm#SH2a">
   Discourses</A>
of Epictetus.  We even have a copy on our bookshelf at home.
(My wife's more classical education proves useful to me again!)
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