In isolation, short Stoic maxims and phrases can seem too reductive to be of practical use.
You might think that a particularly profound line sounds good but can’t help you in the real world.
It’s vital to remember, however, that the Stoics used shorter summary sayings as a means of recalling more detailed concepts that they had previously spent time studying and practicing.
Seneca was one of those who saw the value in such aphorisms:
Good maxims, if you keep them often in mind, will be just as beneficial as good examples. Pythagoras says that our minds are altered when we enter a temple, see the images of the gods close at hand, and await the utterance of some oracle. And who will deny that even the most ignorant may be powerfully struck by certain sayings?
Seneca, Letters 94.42
Such maxims, of course, don’t need to come directly from Stoic texts.
As long as they provoke us to recall a particular principle, they can take whatever form you find most useful. That’s part of the reason I provide simple illustrations in my Micro Morning Meditations: I hope they can serve as a kind of memorable symbol of the larger lesson.
Another source of short sayings I enjoy drawing from is proverbs from other languages and cultures. It’s amazing how often these overlap with the core principles of Stoicism.
With that in mind, I’d like to share a few of my favorite Italian proverbs, with notes on how I interpret them from a Stoic perspective. I hope you find them memorable!
- Chi fa falla, e chi non fa sfarfalla.
- Translation: Those who act make mistakes, and those who do nothing really blunder. Stoicism is a practical philosophy; we can only shape a good character by doing good acts. Doing nothing, on the other, tends to lead only to regret.
- Sbagliando s’impara.
- Translation: By making mistakes one learns. Following on from the previous proverb, by taking action we will inevitably make mistakes. But it’s only through these experiences that we truly learn how to improve.
- Si dice sempre il lupo più grande che non è.
- Translation: The wolf is always said to be bigger than it is. As Seneca put it, there are more things likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.
- Fuggi il piacer presente, che accena dolor futuro.
- Translation: Flee the present pleasure, which hints at future pain. When you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, said Musonius Rufus, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures.
- Quando finisce la partita il re ed il pedone finiscono nella stessa scatola.
- Translation: When you finish the game the king and pawn end up in the same box. No matter how far behind or ahead of others you think you are in life, we’re all headed for the same destination. Memento mori.
