,Indeed, the only ones even to auempl to do so are philosophers. Beneath all their diverse conceptions of death, one common virtue recurs again and again: lucidity. For Plato, he who has already tasted of the immortality of thought cannot he frightened by the idea of being snatched away from Nensible life For the Epicurean, the thought of death is the same as the
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conNcimumcHN of t he finite muurc of cxiHtence, and it is this which gives an infinite v11luc lo c11t�h inNtnnt. l.•:nch of lifi:'N momcn111 surges forth laden with
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incommensurable value: "Believe that each day that has dawned will be your last; then you will receive each unexpected hour with gratitude." 1 19
In the apprenticeship of death, the Stoic discovers the apprenticeship of freedom. Montaigne, in one of his best-known essays, That Philosophizing is Learning how to Die, plagiarizes Seneca: "He who has learned how to die, has un-learned how to serve." 120 The thought of death transforms the the tone and level of inner life: "Keep death before your eyes every day . . . and then you will never have any abject thought nor any excessive desire." m This philosophical theme, in turn, is connected with that of the infinite value of the present moment, which we must live as if it were, simultaneously, both the first moment and the last. 122
Philosophy is still "a training for dt.-ath" for a modern thinker such ao; Heidegger. For him, the authenticity of existence consists in the lucid anticipation of death, and it is up to each of us to choose between lucidity and diversion. 123
For Plato, training for death is a spiritual exercise which consists in changing one's point of view. We are to change from a vision of things dominated by individual passions to a representation of the world governed by the universality and objectivity of thought. This constitutes a conversion (metastrophe) brought about with the totality of the soul. 124 From the perspective of pure thought, things which are "human, all too human" seem awfully puny. This is one of the fundamental themes of Platonic spiritual exercises, and it is this which will allow us to maintain serenity in misfortunes: The rational law declares that it is best to keep quiet as far as possible in misfortune, and not to complain, because we cannot know what is really good and evil in such things, and it does us no good for the future to take them hard, and nothing in human life is worthy of great concern, and our grieving is an obstacle to the very thing we need to come to our aid as quickly as possible in such cases.
What do you mean?
To deliberate, I said, about what has happened to us, and, as in dice-games, to re-establish our position according to whatever numbers turn up, however reason indicates would be best, and . . . always accustom the soul to come as quickly as possible to cure the ailing part and raise up what has fallen, making lamentations disappear by means of its therapy.125
One could say that this spiritual exercise is already Stoic, 126 since in it we can see the utilization of maxims and principles intended to "accustom the soul,"
and liberate it from the passions. Among these maxims, the one affirming the unimportance of human affairs plays an important role. Yet , in i111 turn, 1hi11
maxim is only the consequence of the movement dt•11crihcd in t he l'l1twln,
Spirilual E.wrcises
97
whereby the soul, moving from individuality to universality, rises to the level of pure thought.
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The three key concepts of the insignificance of human affairs, contempt for death, and the universal vision characteristic of pure thought are quite plainly linked in the following passage:
there is this further point to be considered in distinguishing the philosophical from the unphilosophical nature . . . the soul must not contain any hint of servility. For nothing can be more contrary than such pettiness to the quality of a soul which must constantly strive to embrace the universal totality of things divine and human . . . But that soul to which pertain grandeur of thought and the conlemplation of the totality of time and of being, do you think that it can consider human life to be a matter of great importance? Hence such a man will not suppose death to be terrible. 127
Here, "training for death" is linked to the contemplation of the Whole and elevation of thought, which rises from individual, passionate subjectivity to the universal perspective. In other words, it attains to the exercise of pure thought. In this passage, for the first time, this characteristic of the philosopher receives the appellation it will maintain throughout ancient tradition: greatness of soul.128 Greatness of soul is the fruit of the universality of thought. Thus, the whole of the philosopher's speculative and contemplative effort becomes a spiritual exercise, insofar as he raises his thought up to the perspective of the Whole, and liberates it from the illusions of individuality (in the words of Friedmann: "Step out of duration . . . become eternal by transcending yourself").
From such a perspective, even physics becomes a spiritual exercise, which is situated on three levels. In the first place, physics can be a contemplative activity, which has its end in itself, providing joy and serenity to the soul, and liberating it from day-to-day worries. This is the spirit of Aristotelian physics:
"nature, which fashioned creatures, gives amazing pleasure in their study to all who can trace links of causation, and are naturally philosophers. "129 As we have seen, it was in the contemplation of nature that the Epicurean Lucretius found "a divine delight." 13° For the Stoic Epictetus, the meaning of our existence resides in this contemplation: we have been placed on earth in order to,contemplate divine creation, and we must not die before we have witnessed its marvels and lived in harmony with nature.131
Clearly, the precise meaning of the contemplation of nature varies widely from one philosophy to another. There is a great deal of difference between A ristotelian physics, for example, and the feeling for nature as we find it in Philo of Alex11ndrin nnd Plutnrch. It is nevertheless interesting to note with wh11t t.•11 t h11NinN1t1 these t wo 11uthors 1tpe11k nbout their imap;inative physics:
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Those who practice wisdom . . . are excellent contemplators of nature and everything she contains. They examine the earth, the sea, the sky, the heavens, and all their inhabitants; they are joined in thought to the sun, the moon, and all the other stars, both fixed and wandering, in their courses; and although they are attached to the earth by their bodies, they provide their souls with wings, so that they may walk on the ether and contemplate the powers that live there, as is fitting for true citizens of the world . . . and so, filled with excellence, accustomed to take no notice of ills of the body or of exterior things . . . it goes without saying that such men, rejoicing in their virtues, make of their whole lives a festivat. •n These last lines are an allusion to an aphorism of Diogenes the Cynic, which is also quoted by Plutarch: "Does not a good man consider every day a festival?" "And a very splendid one, to be sure," continues Plutarch, if we are virtuous. For the world is the most sacred and divine of temples, and the one most fitting for the gods. Man is introduced into it by birth to be a spectator: not of artificial, immobile statues, but of the perceptible images of intelligible essences . . . such as the sun, the moon, the stars, the rivers whose water always flows afresh, and the earth, which sends forth food for plants and animals alike. A life which is a perfect revelation, and an initiation into these mysteries, should be filled with tranquillity and joy .133