The ending of each thing
Meditations, Notebook 8
Remember that, just as it would be shameful to be surprised if a fig tree bears figs, it would be equally shameful to be surprised if the universe produces things, like this, that are its natural products. It would also be shameful if a doctor was surprised by a patient’s fever or a helmsman by a contrary wind.
Marcus writes this in §15 of Notebook 8 in his Meditations. We’re seeing here a return to a familiar theme in the Meditations: death.
The thought continues a few paragraphs later:
The ending of each thing is intended by nature no less than its beginning and its trajectory in between, just like someone tossing a ball. For the ball, is there anything good in its upward motion or bad in its downward motion, or even in its having struck the ground? Is there anything good for a bubble in its formation or bad in its bursting?
We could try to explain Marcus’ reasoning in more detail – understanding the physics that Marcus assumes about the world, delving into oblique references to an almost mystical view of death in an early paragraph, and so on – but for modern readers this would be a distraction.
What Marcus is doing in this part of the notebook is simple: he is training himself to be able to accept death, illness, pain, and so on. That’s the lesson we need to take away.
All of this goes back to the first paragraph of Epictetus’ Enchiridion. Some things are up to us — and other things are not up to us. We do not get to decide if someone we know will die. We do not get to decide if we will remain in good health. What we can decide is how we will react.
I interviewed
several months ago as I was working on a video (linked down below). We talked for a bit about thinking about our children dying. As a new father, it is not a comfortable subject. Even pondering it for a minute makes my stomach churn. But Pigliucci put it well when he said that the point was not just to accept this potential tragedy but to endure it.The Stoic idea that we must accept what we cannot control – include personal tragedies – is often portrayed as a kind of cold distance from the world. But it does not have to be this way. We can instead view it as a kind of training for inevitable tragedy. We are trying our best to prepare ourselves for the unfortunate circumstances of life.
Marcus argues that there is nothing bad in death; death cannot be bad because it is in our nature to eventually die. It is like a bubble bursting — it is bound to happen. Many of us find this inference difficult to accept. One, we are less prone to accept the inference that something is good because it is in our nature to do so. Two, even if we can see its validity from the point of view of Stoic metaphysics, we will still struggle to feel the conclusion. Thus, when death comes knocking, we’ll still struggle to accept it.
But maybe, as modern readers of the Stoics, we don’t have to accept the inference. We can instead say this: death is inevitable. Even if it is horrible, the death of loved ones is something I will have to be able to endure. They would want me to be able to continue to live a good and happy life after they have passed (though it is natural, and I would say good, to go through the proper mourning process). So how can I prepare myself for this inevitability?
There are a few answers. Training yourself to accept things for as they are will help. But most likely in that scenario, you’ll want to think about what you can do, right then and right there, to help others. Perhaps they are not as prepared for the inevitable. Perhaps they will need a helping hand. By making yourself ready, you make yourself available to them.
A Stoic’s Guide to Happiness
I released this video yesterday. I talk about what the Stoics say about living a happy life, with a focus on the virtues of moderation, courage, justice, and wisdom.