Temperance is the Most Important Virtue

Yesterday we discussed the Four Virtues, and talked about the primacy of courage. Of course, life is not so simple as to say that courage is all the counts. While everyone would admit that courage is essential, we are also all well aware of people whose bravery turns to recklessness and becomes a fault when they begin to endanger themselves and others. This is where Aristotle comes in. Aristotle actually used courage as the main example in his famous metaphor of a “Golden Mean.” On one end of the spectrum, he said, there was cowardice—that’s a deficiency of courage. On the other, there was recklessness—too much courage. What was called for, what we required then, was a golden mean. The right amount. That’s what Temperance or moderation is about: Doing nothing in excess. Doing the right thing in the right amount in the right way. In Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memoirs of Hadrian, the emperor Hadrian writes to Marcus Aurelius that “overeating is a Roman vice.” He explains that far too many of his fellow citizens “poison themselves with spice” and drown their plates in rich sauces. The result? They overwhelm their palates—and themselves. By succumbing to excess, they lose the ability to appreciate things and throw themselves off keel. To Hadrian, simple pleasures were better. He tells Marcus that “moderation has always been my delight.” And not just when it comes to dinner. Fitness, being in good fighting form to face the challenges of each day, was critical, yet working out to the point of fanaticism was a step too far. That means refraining from both indolence and overexertion, cutting the middle course between the two poles to find that Golden Mean where one is neither over nor underprepared, but simply ready. So today and every day, remember the Stoic admonition to find the middle ground. Do not adhere to one extreme or the other; make temperance your goal in every part of your life, and your future self will thank you for it. The Daily Stoic has just released our Four Virtues Medallion, featuring temperance, courage, justice, and wisdom. Everything we face in life is an opportunity to respond with these four traits. Learn more here. 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. Temperance is the most important virtue. Yesterday, we discussed the four virtues and talked about the primacy of courage. Of course, life is not so simple as to say that courage is all that counts. While everyone would admit that courage is essential, we are also all well aware of people whose bravery turns to recklessness and becomes

• 0:50Ryan Holiday?

  a fault when they endanger themselves and others. This is where Aristotle comes in. Aristotle actually used courage as the main example in his famous metaphor of a golden mean. On one end of the spectrum, he said, there was cowardice, that's a deficiency of courage. On the other, there was recklessness, too much courage. What was called for, he said, what was required was a golden mean, the right amount. And that's what temperance, the next virtue, or moderation, is about. Doing nothing in excess, doing the right thing in the right amount in the right way. In the beautiful novel Memoirs of Hadrian,

• 1:29Ryan Holiday?

  the Emperor Hadrian writes to Marcus Aurelius that overeating is a Roman vice. He explains that far too many of his fellow citizens poisoned themselves with spice and drowned their plates in rich sauces. The result? They overwhelmed their palates and themselves. By succumbing to excess, they lose the ability to appreciate things and throw themselves off keel. To Hadrian, simple pleasures were better. He tells Marcus Aurelius that moderation has always been my delight, not just when it comes to dinner, because fitness, being in good fighting form to face the challenges of the day, was critical. And yet, working out to the point of fanaticism was a step too far.

• 2:14Ryan Holiday?

  And so that means refraining from both indolence and overexertion, cutting the middle course between the two poles to find that golden mean where one is neither over or underprepared, but simply ready. And so today and every day, remember the Stoic admonition, "To find the middle ground." Do not adhere to one extreme or another. Make temperance your goal in every part of your life and your future self. Well, thank you for it. Hey, thanks for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. You can sign up to get our daily email at dailystoic.com/email. I also encourage you, if you want to take your practice of Stoicism to the next level,

• 2:56Ryan Holiday?

  to sign up for Daily Stoic Life, which is our members-only program. It's got all sorts of awesome benefits. You can check that out at dailystoiclife.com.