Feeling Philosophical:
The Practicing Stoic: A Philosophical
User's Manual by Ward Farnsworth - Notes and Quotes
Sixth in a series of book reviews by The Froogal Stoodent
I wasn't planning to do a review for the blog on this one. An overview of the philosophy of some ancient Greeks and Romans seems a little heavy and off-topic for this forum.
But it turns out that plenty of what I read is applicable to personal finance. Moreover, some of these quotes are too great not to share!
Hey, it's my blog, so I get to decide what to include. Deal with it:
That gif always makes me smile :)
Anyway, Ward Farnsworth does a good job of making the thoughts of some ancient philosophers very accessible. He talks about - and sort of waves away - some possible academic objections to his overview, since he wasn't writing an academic text. But it seemed to me that Farnsworth clearly has a strong understanding of the Stoic philosophers, insofar as he's able to anticipate objections from experts in the field.
Not that I'm one of them.
Aside from my lack of familiarity with Stoic philosophy, I found this volume useful. Slow reading, and occasionally even boring, but highly useful. It certainly gave me plenty to think about!
And I think the Stoic approach to life could serve many investors well. Read my favorite quotes and judge for yourself:
"Men do not care how nobly they live, but only how long,
although it is within the reach of every man to live nobly, but
within no man's power to live long."
--Seneca, Epistles,
22.17, as cited in The Practicing Stoic, Ward Farnsworth, page
66
"If you wish to make Pythocles rich, do not add to his store
of money, but subtract from his desires."
--Epicurus,
quoted in Seneca, Epistles 21.7, as cited in The Practicing
Stoic, Ward Farnsworth, page 91
"It matters little whether you lay a sick man on a bed of
wood or a bed of gold; wherever he be moved, he will carry his
disease with him. So, too, it matters not whether a diseased mind is
set down in wealth or in poverty. The malady follows the
man."
--Seneca, Epistles, 17.11-12, as cited in The
Practicing Stoic, Ward Farnsworth, page 100
That's a deep thought, indeed.
"If you set a high value on liberty, you must set a low value
on everything else."
--Seneca, Epistles, 104.34, as cited
in The Practicing Stoic, Ward Farnsworth, page 152
Bingo!
"This is the reason why, when Nero had an octagonal tent
built, an enormous thing and a sight to be seen for its beauty and
costliness, Seneca remarked, 'You have proved yourself a poor man,
for if you ever lose this you will not have the means to procure
another like it.' And indeed it did so happen that the ship which
conveyed it was sunk and the tent lost. But Nero remembered Seneca's
saying and bore his loss with greater moderation."
--Plutarch,
On Controlling Anger 13, as cited in The Practicing Stoic, Ward
Farnsworth, page 178
Wow! What a great parable! Reminds me of a conclusion from one of my earliest posts. See, all this time, I've been purveying the wisdom of the ancients ;)
You can support this blog—at no cost to you—by buying this book on Amazon.
Or, check out my other book reviews in this series:
1. Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber
2. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
4. Principles (Life and Work) by Ray Dalio
5. When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein
6. The Practicing Stoic by Ward Farnsworth
7. Gold: The Once and Future Money by Nathan Lewis
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