Stoic Reading and Other Thoughts

On Loan

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 21:04:00 GMT

The wise man lives as one who is on loan to himself and intends to return everything without complaint when the debt is recalled

Innate Knowledge

Fri, 29 Jan 2026 01:47:00 GMT

That I had a vivid and often-repeated sense of what it is to live in accord with nature, and if I fell short of this ideal, that it is my own fault and due to my failure to observe the reminders that I've been given by the gods.

Judgments

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 17:06:00 GMT

It isn't the things themselves that disturb people, but the judgments that they form about them. Death, for instance, is nothing terrible, rather, it is in the judgment that death is terrible that the terror lies.

Cosmopolitan

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:38:00 GMT

Now, suppose one has studied the organization of the universe, and has come to understand that, 'of all things, the greatest, most important, and most all-embracing, is this society in which human beings and God are associated together. Why shouldn't one who understands this call himself a citizen of the universe? Why should he fear anything that comes about for human beings?

The Human Good

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:52:00 GMT

Now, do I want to deny you these capacities? Heaven forbid! No more than I would wish to deny you the capacity to see. All the same, if you ask me what the human good is, I can offer you no other reply than to say that it lies in a certain quality of choice.

CoS, Session 2: Death in the Death House

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 02:43:00 GMT

A session in which the group has some challenging fights, and one meets with a tragic end before the rest ultimately triumph over the possessed mansion, followed by a brief exploration of the village of Barovia and a new quest.

Ignorance and Power

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 02:02:00 GMT

Every capacity that is acquired by uneducated people of weak character tends to be dangerous for them.

Tasks

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 18:52:00 GMT

Before anything, it is imperative that a man reaches an estimate of himself, because generally we suppose ourselves to be capable of more than we are. We must next evaluate what we are proposing to undertake, for a person concerned in performing a task must always be stronger than the task; and leave alone those that expand more as you proceed and do not come to an end at the place you intend.

Logic

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 14:21:00 GMT

Is it enough to say, "Establish the truth, reject what is false, and suspend judgement when in doubt"? What else is required then but the capacity to test the arguments and distinguish the true from the false and uncertain?

Providence

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:09:00 GMT

From everything that comes about in the universe one may easily find cause to praise providence if one possesses these two qualities, the capacity to view each particular event in relation to the whole and a sense of gratitude.

Curse of Strahd, Session 1 (Spoilers)

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 19:58:00 GMT

Been awhile since I updated here (or my journal), as I have been occupied with getting everything up and running with my new pf2e campaign. So, here is an entry detailing what went down with the first session. Spoilers alert if you don't want to know what happens in the Adventure

Role Models

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 23:40:00 GMT

From Sextus: Kindness...attentiveness to friends ...unfeigned grace...tolerance to those whose opinions are not guided by philosophy...accommodating to everyone ...simultaneously impassive and yet affectionate... offering praise without making a song and dance of it ...and wearing one's learning lightly.

Progress

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Progress

So, where is progress to be found? If any of you turns away from external things to concentrate his efforts on his own power of choice...this is the person who is truly making progress.

Virtue and Discipline

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:03:00 GMT

Now, if virtue promises to enable us to achieve happiness and serenity, then progress towards virtue is surely also progress towards each of these states.

Disappointment

Tue, 05 Jan 2026 21:27:00 GMT

Diffidence drives its torments inwards, the desires, confined in a narrow space from wich there is no escape, choke one another; hence come grief and melancholy and the thousand fluctations of an uncertain mind, held in suspense by early hopes and the reduced to sandess once they fail to materialize...this causes the bitterest feelings of jealousy of other men's successes.

Aversions

Mon, 04 Jan 2026 16:32:00 GMT

Detatch your aversion from everything not up to us, and transfer it to what is against nature among the things that are up to us.

Something New

Sun, 03 Jan 2026 23:50:00 GMT

Trying something new out. I didn't really think that my prior gopher site was designed the way gopher ought be. Too many gophermaps to make links and things when it ought to focus more on text (and other) files. Another thing I wanted to change was the expectation that this was going to be updated daily. I can't even manage to update my personal journal with that kind of consistency, nevermind a blog. I'll just be posting when the spirit moves me, so to speak.