40 ["Pre-meditation of misfortunes"
Trans. I On the /m1t111tdit11ti11 "'"'"'""'• 11cc R11bhow, Srtlrr(/lilir1111R, l'I'· 1 '111 70; I . I l11Ll111 , St'1t1l'tl, p11. (J() I .
Spiritual Exercises
1 13
41 See above.
42 See above.
43 Cf. lngenkamp, Plutarchs Schufien, pp. 99- l OS; Rabbow, Seelenfohrung, pp. 1 48, 340-2.
44 Cf. Galen, Galen On the Passions and E"ors of the Soul, l, S, 24, p. 18, 1 2
Marquardt: "As soon as we get u p in the morning, w e must consider i n advance, with regard to the various acts we will perform throughout the day, whether it is better to live as a slave of our passions, or to utilize reason against all of them ."
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2, 1 , I : "At the break of dawn, say to yourself: 'I'm going to come across a nosy person, an ingrate, a thug, a cheat, a jealous man, and an anti-social man. AU these defects have affiicted them because of their ignoram.."C of what is truly good and evil.' " Cf ibid, S, I , I : "In the morning, when you have trouble getting up, have this thought at hand [procheiron]: 'I'm getting up to do a man's work.' "
4S On the examination of the conscience, see Rabbow, Seele11fiilirung, pp. 1 80-8, 344-7; I. Hadot, Seneca, pp. 68-70; Hijmans, AIKEIII, p. 88.
46 Cf. Plutarch, Honi One may K1101P One is Making Progress i'1 Virtue, §1 2, 82F: "It was Zeno's belief that everyone could, thanks to his dreams, have knowledge of what progress he was making. One has made real progrc.<;s if he no longer dreams that he is giving in to some shameful passion, or giving his consent to something evil or unjust - or even committing it - and if, instead, the soul's faculties of representation and afTectivity, relaxed by reason, shine as if in an ocean of diaphanous serenity, untroubled by waves.''
47 See below.
48 This is the domain of spiritual guidance; sec I. Hadot, Senm1, pp. S-97.
Note especially Galen, Galen 011 the Passio11s and Errors of the Soul, I , 7, 36, p. 27, 22 Marquardt: we are to ask an older man to tell us frankly about our defects.
49 Cf. Rabbow, Seeletifiilirung, p. 3 1 1 , n. 64; I. Hadot, Smeca, p. S9. Marcus Aurelius' Meditations are, of course, the example par eJ.·cel/e11u of this. Note also Horace, Satires, l, 4, 1 38: "When I have some spare time, l amuse myself by writing these thoughts down on paper."
SO The phrase is Descartes', but it gives good expression to the St�ic ideal of inner coherence. [This is the third of Rene Descartes' well-known "four laws" which he exposes in Part 2 of his Discourse 011 the Method. - Trans.]
SI On this subject, sec P. Lain Entralgo, "Die platonische Rationalisienung .der Bcsprechung (Etnf18q) und die Erfindung dcr Psychotherapie durch das Wort,"
Hermes 68 (19S8), pp. 298-323; P. Lain Entralgo, The Therapy of the Word in
' Clt1ssica/ Atlliqui()', New Haven 1 970; and the review of this latter work by F.
Kudlien, G11omo'1 4S ( 1 973), pp. 410-12.
S2 ["Collections of aphorisms" - Trans.] Cf. Rabbow, Sulenfiihrung, pp. 2 1 S-22,
.1S2-4; G.A. Gerhard, Plioi11i.\' von Ko/op/ion, Leipzig 1909, pp. 228-84; I.
1 ladot, Se,,eca, pp. 1 6- 1 7. Sec also Seneca, lttter, 94, 27; 43; 98, S; 108, 9. On collections of poetical and philosophicnl aphorisms, see W. Spocrri, "Gnome," in
!>tr Nmtt /111111)•, \'ol. 2 , 1 %7, col11 H22 9; C:hndwick, Smttnces t1f Se.\·t11s;
1 14
Spiritual Exercises
T. Klauser, "Apophthcgma," Rea/le:i:icon for Antike und Christemun I ( 1950), pp. 545-50. Sec also P. Wendland, Ana:i:imenes 11on Lampsakos, Berlin 1905, pp. l OOff.
53 The term akroasis as used by Philo could designate, among other things, attending a course in philosophy; cf. Epictetus, Discourses, 3, 23, 27; 38. Normally, the course included the reading, with commentary, of a philosophical text (anagnosis}, often done by the disciple and criticized by the master (cf. Epictetus, Discourses, l, 26, l; Porphyry, Lij( of Plotinus, ch. 14). See also I. Bruns, De si:hola Epirlelc, Kiel 1897. This does not, of course, exclude the individual reading of philosophical texts; cf. Epictetus, Discourses, 4, 4, 14-1 8 (where Epictetus reproaches his disciples for reading texts without putting them into practice). After the reading with commentary, a philosophy class would normally include a discussion (diatribe) with the audience, as well as individual discussions (cf. I. Hadot, Se11eca, p. 65). For the listener, this entire ensemble could be a spiritual exercise. With regard to reading, we should add that exegesis, whether literal or allegorical, was one of the most important spiritual exercises at the end of antiquity, among both pagans and Christians.
54 On the educational program in Hellenistic schools, with its transition from aphorisms to epitomai (summaries of basic principles), and finally to full-scale treatises, sec I. Hadot I 969a, pp. 53-6; 1 969b.
55 On the exercise of definition, sec below.
56 On this exercise, sec Rabbow, See/mfiihrung, pp. 42-9.
57 Philo's expression "indifference to indifferent things" corresponds exactly to the spiritual exercises mentioned by Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 1 1 , 16: "Our soul finds within itself the power to live a perfectly happy life, if we can remain indifferent towards indifferent things." This formula seems to be a reminiscence of the definition of the goal of human life according to Aristo of Chios (SVF, 1, §360, = Clement of Alexandria, Stromatfl, 2, 2 1 , 129, 6, p. 183, 1 4- 1 6 Stiihlin): "And why should I mention Aristo? He said the goal was indifference, but he leaves 'the indifferent' as simply 'the indifferent.' " On this theme, see below. We must bear in mind that here "indifference" does not mean a lack of interest, but rather equal love for each of life's instants; that is, we are not to make any "difference" between them.
58 See Rabbow, Su/enfiihr11ng, pp. 223-49; Ingcnkamp, Plutarclls Sd1iifien, pp. 1 05-1 8. The technical term for this process is e1/1ismos.
59 Epicurus, Gnomo/ogium Vaticanum, §64. Cf. also Leiter to Metwecus, §1 22: "No one can come too early or too late to secure the health of his soul."
60 Epicurus, Ratae Senlenliae, §1 1 : "If we were not troubled by our suspicions of the phenomena of the sky and about death, fearing that it concerns us, and also by our failure to grasp the limits of pains and desires, we should have no need of natural science [physioloxia]." On Epicurean theology, sec Schmid, "Epikur"; D. Lemke, Die Theologie Epikurs, Munich 1 973.
6 1 Epicurus, Rtittle Selllmtiae, §29; Epicurus, Lmer 111 Me11<1ttm, § 1 27.
62 Epicurus, Gn()ln. V111. §33. Cf. A.-J. Fcstugicrc:, /!'pirnre et m tl1t11.\', 1'11rh1 1 94(1, p. 44.
Spiritual Exercises
1 1 5
63 Epicurus Fr. 469, p. 300, 26ff Usener.
64 On these Epicurean exercises of meditation, see Schmid, "Epikur," p. 744; Rabbow, Seelmfohrung, pp. 1 29, 336-8; I. Hadot, Seneca, pp. 52L3. Cf. Epicurus, Leiter lo Menoenu, §135, 5-8: "Meditate therefore on these things and things like them night and day by yourself, and with someone similar to yourself, and you shall be disturbed, either awake or asleep, but you shall live like a god among men." Ibid, §123, 1-2: "That which I used constandy to recommend to you, put it into practice and meditate upon It [me/eta], considering them to be the elements of the living well." Ibid, § 1 24, 7-8: "Become accustomed [sunethi.ze] to considering that death is nothing to us."