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Virtue and Happiness (Shambhala Calligraphy)

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Do not ask for what happens
to happen as you desire it; rather desire
that things should happen
as they happen, and you will be happy.

--Epictetus

We do not even know his name, (Epictetus means "slave") only little more than that he was owned by one of Nero's freedmen, who made him permanently lame from a savage beating. Under Roman law, a slave was not even considered human, only a 'talking tool'. (Livestock were 'semi-talking tools', while implements such as plows and hoes were 'silent tools'.) Yet from such a terrible beginning came one of the foremost exponents of the morality of Stoicism in the classical world. As with Socrates, we only know of his teaching what diligent students wrote down (and precious little of that survived).

This book consists of 24 well-chosen excerpts from the "Enchiridion" (meaning "Manual"). These are set off by beautiful reproductions of Greek-letter calligraphy done on various media and printed on the facing pages. The coated, heavy-stock paper that the book is printed on not only makes for durability, it also gives the book a rich feel that only augments the pleasure of reading it.

The message of the book is starkly simple: true happiness is to be found within and consists of cultivating an equanimity and independence of spirit. The former seeks to moderate unbalancing passions of whatever sort, while the latter works itself out in right conduct, whatever the crowd thinks or does.

For my money, such a book as this is far more helpful than the "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius in turning Stoicism from a dry philosophy to a way of life. Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome may have had affinities with the crippled slave whose hard-won wisdom is preserved here, but the true test of a philosophy is how well it holds up--and how well it helps one bear up--under the worst sort of adversity. By this measure, my inclination is to first listen to the crippled slave.