Is It Even A Question?

The little known Stoic philosopher Agrippinus was apparently the king of one-liners. There was the time he was informed he’d been exiled and responded, “Very well, we shall take our lunch in Aricia.” There was another time, we are told by Epictetus, that Agrippinus was asked by a fellow philosopher whether or not he should attend some banquet put on by the abominable Nero. Agrippinus told the man he should go. But why, the man asked? That’s when Agrippinus got him with another one of his brilliant barbs: Because you were even thinking about it. For me, Agrippinus said, it’s not even a question. In a way, this is a pretty good—albeit cavalier—test of the progress we are making with our character. Hemming and hawing about the right thing and then doing the right thing—now obviously that’s better than doing the wrong thing. But what we should be shooting for is developing the kind of moral compass that’s so clear and strong that we don’t even have to do that. Where doing wrong isn’t even a question. Where the right thing is just obvious. Just do the right thing, Marcus Aurelius said. Don’t think about it. Go with your gut. The rest can be sorted out later. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. 📢 Share | ⚙️ Manage Subscription

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com.

• 0:28Ryan Holiday?

  Is it even a question? The little-known Stoic philosopher Agrippinus was apparently the king of one-liners. There was the time he'd been informed that he'd been exiled and responded simply, "Very well, we shall take our lunch in Ersia." There was another time, we are told by Epictetus, that Agrippas was asked by a fellow philosopher whether or not he should attend some banquet put on by the abominable Nero. "Agrippinus told the man that he should go." "But why?" the man asked. That's when Agrippinus got him with another one of his brilliant barbs. "Because you were even thinking about it." For me, Agrippinus said, "It's not even a question." In a way, this is a pretty good, albeit cavalier, test of the progress we are making with our

• 1:12Ryan Holiday?

  character. Hemming and hawing about the right thing and then doing the right thing. Now, obviously, that's better than doing the wrong thing. But what we should be shooting for is developing the kind of moral compass that's so clear and strong that we don't even have to do that, where doing wrong isn't even a question when the right thing is obvious. "Just do the right thing," Marcus said. "Don't even think about it. Go with your gut. The rest can be sorted out later." Hey, everyone. Obviously, you're listening to this podcast. You've probably read our Daily Stoic book. Maybe you get our Daily Stoic emails. If you wanted to take some Daily Stoic wisdom with you to the office for your kitchen counter... Well, we've made a Daily Stoic page a day calendar.

• 1:57Ryan Holiday?

  It's starting with the year 2020. It doesn't take a prophet to guess that 2020 is going to be a crazy year. It's an election year in the US, start of a new decade. And I think we could all use a little guidance in the year to come. And so this daily calendar features quotes that match that page in the Daily Stoic each day. So these are our original translations of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, and many others. Each month has the same theme as the book, and each day has a quote and a theme as well. And I think this will help you live your best life throughout the year. You can check out the calendar in the Daily Stoic store, dailystoic.com/store. 2020 is starting soon, and this is the only place you can get this awesome calendar.