What did the philosopher Marcus Aurelius mean when he wrote: "Receive without pride, let go without regrets"
There have been many philosophers throughout history. What is no longer so common is to meet someone who also served as one of the most powerful figures of his time. This double dimension occurred almost 2,000 years ago in what is probably one of the classic thinkers. most popular and cited today: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD). If his status as a learned emperor were not enough to make him stand out, Marcus is also one of the great names of Stoicism, a school that enjoys a renewed youth. Among his many reflections collected in ‘Meditations’ There is one that stands out, both for its expressive force and for capturing a large part of Stoic ethics: “Receive without pride the goods of fortune, lose them without regrets.” Rereading the emperor. If Marcus Aurelius is a peculiar philosopher, his ‘Meditations’ are no less so. As the philologist Carlos García Gual recalls in the edition Published in the 70s by Gredos, the work is basically composed of “personal notes”, notes that the philosopher king was preparing during the last years of his life. Throughout the 12 volumes into which the work is fragmented there are profuse reflections. And there are brief ones, like the one we are dealing with here. Beyond their form, they all have something in common: they are a reflection of Marcus Aurelius himself “stripped of rhetorical artifices, concise and austere.” “We moderns would have liked to know what this or that paragraph of disgust or admiration refers to, and at what time of the night or in front of what cold Danubian landscape this or that meditation had been written. But, in his contempt for the mundane and the corporeal, Marcus Aurelius only notes the essential: the naked reasoning of the accessory and the moral incitement,” continue García Gual in his essay. A best-seller of almost 20 centuries. ‘Meditations’ probably has another merit. Few philosophical works are so cited today, both in media as in social networks and anthologies. It makes quite a bit of sense. First because of the popularity of Marcus Aurelius. Second for its format, brief, expository. And third because stoicism lives in a true rebirthrefloated by a wave that dates back to the last decades of the last century and has been growing hand in hand with a wide spectrum of voices that includes everything from gurus and cryptobros to solvent authors. What is the reason for this interest? Largely due to its practical dimension and its appeal to contemporary eyes. What Marcus Aurelius offers us, Seneca (tutor of another emperor, by the way) or any other of the many followers of the old school of Zeno of Citium It is a life guide to enjoy a good life, the eudaimonia. In other words, a formula to transform passions and appetites into a placid current of inner calm. Book VIII. 33. We said it before. The ‘Meditations’ They are full of deep reflections, but there is one in particular that is especially suggestive. We find it in point 33 of Book VIII and in it the philosopher king exhorts us to the following: “Receive without pride the goods of fortune, lose them without regrets.” Other versions translate it somewhat differently: “Receive without pride, let go without attachment” Why does that phrase stand out precisely, beyond its form and tone? Because it condenses many of the elements of Stoic ethics. In six words the author invites us to practice detachment, serenity and assume that there are circumstances that are beyond our control, but we can always decide how to face them. What does it mean exactly? To analyze the phrase you have to divide it into two parts. In the first (“Receive without pride the goods of fortune”) the philosopher encourages us to flee from pride and seek calm, a state of mental balance (ataraxia) away from passions and desires that clears the path to happiness. “Let serenity dwell within you, the absence of the need for external help and the tranquility that others seek. It is advisable to stay straight, not upright,” advises the philosopher in another passage of ‘Meditations’. His invitation connects with another fundamental concept of Stoicism, the apathythe liberation of passions that allows us to achieve that state of calm and inner peace. In Xataka Humanity has started 2026 wondering whether or not nihilistic penguins exist. And it makes perfect sense And the second half? The second part of the reflection (“Lose (the goods of fortune) without regrets”) links to another equally crucial idea: detachment and the dichotomy between what we can control and what escapes our reach. One of the pillars of Stoic thought, which goes back to its most basic roots, consists in fact of clearly distinguishing between both realities. “Of what exists, some things depend on us, others do not depend on us,” clarifies the philosopher Epictetus in his work ‘Enchyridion’. “If you consider what is slave by nature free and what is foreign your own, you will suffer impediments, you will suffer, you will be disturbed, you will make reproaches to the gods and to men.” With small print. What Marcus Aurelius invites us to do is to practice detachment, accept change and assume that not everything depends on us. As explains philosopher Jonny Thomson, this vital approach (which is by no means exclusive to Stoicism) is powerful, but it must also be handled with some caution. The reason? Avoid distortions that would adulterate your message. In an article published in Big Think Thompson asks himself a question: Is it always right to practice detachment and control pride? Let’s imagine that we suffer a very painful loss (a family member dies), isn’t it normal that we find it difficult to accept it? What’s more, wouldn’t it be harmful in some way to act as if nothing had happened? The answer lies in the nuances and in not missing the focus. {“videoId”:”x80pv1e”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”INSERT COIN with ANTONIO DIEGUEZ Philosophy and TRANSHUMANISM”, “tag”:”Philosophy”, “duration”:”1973″} “Spiritual escape”. Thomson remember that the … Read more
