Sales of works by ancient Roman Marcus Aurelius have seen a sharp uptick in recent months. Which makes calm sense
‘Be like the rocky headland on which the waves constantly break. It stands firm, and round it the seething waters are laid to rest. ‘It is my bad luck that this has happened to me.’ No, you should rather say: ‘It is my good luck that, although this has happened to me, I can bear it without pain, neither crushed by the present nor fearful of the future.’”
Is that Gal Gadot, roused from lockdown to offer another snippet of comfort to her followers? No, it’s Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, reflecting on his life in the second century AD in what came to be known as his Meditations. It’s just one Stoic text that has seen a “noticeable uplift” in sales during the coronavirus pandemic, alongside Letters from a Stoic by Seneca.
Until we have begun to go without them, we fail to realise how unnecessary many things are
Related: Lessons in Stoicism by John Sellars review – what ancient philosophers teach us about how to live
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