Cardinal Virtues

The movie The Gladiator tells the story of "The general who became a slave. The

slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor." Terrific as

it is, the tale is but one manifestation of a recurring theme, which I have

observed since coming to the west in 1999, and especially since acquainted

through their writings with a few Greek and Roman sages. The "true" emperor in

the film, Marcus Aurelius, was one of them.

 

When I am happy and smug, I don't need the Stoics. It is always

when I am in fear, gloom, despair, or otherwise stressed that I consult them. 

Like old friends, they don't beat around the bush or confuse to profit but give

it to me straight. They state the truth and tell me what to do about it. In the

movie, Maximus quotes Marcus as saying "Death smiles at us all. All that man can

do is smile back." I can't imagine better instructions on death. They called

teachings like this philosophy.

 

The four virtues according to Marcus are wisdom, justice, fortitude, and

temperance. The American Heritage Dictionary 4th ed defines the phrase

'cardinal virtue' as

        One of the four paramount virtues in classical philosophy:

        justice, prudence, fortitude, or temperance.

And the thesarus (an Apple Inc. app, version 2.3.0-268) lists wisdom as the

first synonym of prudence. Therefore, like the 仁义礼智信 for the Chinese, for

thousands of years the virtues have stayed in the western conciousness.

 

It was in another bout of depression when I opened Marcus's "Meditations" and

before reaching the text, met in the introduction the phrase "virtue above 

pleasure." Now that I know what he meant by a virtue, the instruction is clear.

 

[7grizzly]

Thank you, 暖冬, for reading and your kind comments.

The other day, I re-read your collection of conversations between you couple
and couldn't help laughing again.

The author Sebastian Junger refused to take medication for his depression
because it was his. He _wanted_ to experience it and his life was enriched by it.
I take the same view.

Have a great weekend!

[暖冬cool夏]

And the thesaurus lists wisdom as the first synonym of prudence.
+1, I just tried online, and saw that too.
The word "prudent" means "acting with or showing care and thought for the future". On surface, it is not "wisdom". but I guess wise people at least don't squander :)
These days as Covid becomes rampant and we stay at home, we are easily inclined to be depressed. Life is short, and with prudence, we are certain to have a better future.:)) Enjoy the life, and have a great weekend!