How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life

by Massimo Pigliucci

THE OTHER NIGHT EPICTETUS RECOUNTED ONE OF HIS FAVORITE anecdotes, one he regularly uses to make a broader philosophical point. The story concerns Helvidius Priscus, a Roman statesman (and Stoic philosopher, as it turns out) who had the unusual stamina—and luck, until it ran out—to live under several emperors, from Nero to Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and finally Vespasian. According to our friend and guide, “When Vespasian

sent to him not to come into the Senate he answered, ‘You can forbid me to be a senator; but as long as I am a senator I must come in.’ ‘Come in then,’ he says, ‘and be silent.’ ‘Question me not and I will be silent.’ ‘But I am bound to question you.’ ‘And I am bound to say what seems right to me.’ ‘But, if you say it, I shall kill you.’ ‘When did I tell you that I was immortal? You will do your part, and I mine. It is yours to kill, mine to die without quailing: yours to banish, mine to go into exile without groaning.’ What good, you ask, did Priscus do, being but one? What good does the purple do to the garment? Just this, that being purple it gives distinction and stands out as a fine example to the rest.”