Full Quote:
> "The universal cause is like a winter torrent: it carries everything along with it. But how worthless are all these poor people who are engaged in matters political, and, as they suppose, are playing the philosopher! All drivellers. Well then, man: do what nature now requires. Set thyself in motion, if it is in thy power, and do not look about thee to see if any one will observe it; nor yet expect Plato’s Republic: but be content if the smallest thing goes on well, and consider such an event to be no small matter. For who can change men’s principles? and without a change of principles what else is there than the slavery of men who groan while they pretend to obey? Come now and tell me of Alexander and Philippus and Demetrius of Phalerum. They themselves shall judge whether they discovered what the universal nature required and trained themselves accordingly. But if they acted like tragedy heroes, no one has condemned me to imitate them. Simple and modest is the work of philosophy. Draw me not aside to insolence and pride." (Meditations 9.29).
I'm specifically curious about Marcus calling people involved in political matters "drivellers" who are "playing the philosopher."
Marcus was a noted Stoic Philosopher himself. Should we imagine that these foolish people are in his court, pretending to be philosophers to suck up to him?
I understand the reference to Plato's Republic: Plato wanted his republic to a realm of philosophers ruled by a philosopher King.
So in part, Marcus is telling himself to not beat himself up if he doesn't rule over such a paradise, but to be content to improve his realm in even small ways.
But what of the first part?
What is the universal cause carrying everything along with it like a winter torrent?
Who are the phoney philosophers?
I don't live with my kids, and even though I see them on a regular basis, I definitely don't see them as much as I would like. Tonight, my 11 yo son, my 18 yo daughter and me got to play together and we had a blast! There was laughing, PG13 potty mouth, and virtual high fiving! Here's a screengrab of me watching over the precious murderous cherubs on our way to 2nd straight VR in trios:
https://imgur.com/gallery/PJiKAUO
The channel is The List and not only was it critical of Markle, all but one of the comments were saying the same things new members here say; they all are so happy to have found others who don’t believe any of the 💩 that SS puts out! Check out the comments too and maybe anyone who has an account, can comment to tell them about us! ;) https://youtu.be/O6nEbJtxZ0M
I've flown with Spirit Airlines for years and have never had an issue. It's perfect no-frills flying. Mass flight cancellations have happened with multiple airlines and are not a characteristic of Spirit specifically. I have the same opinion about modern travel by bus. Many bus lines have nice coach buses you might remember from long distance school field trips. You can even choose your own seat on the bus for a couple bucks and pay extra (I'm talking $5 max) to avoid sitting next to anyone. You can get from Baltimore to NYC for $17.
I am convinced other airlines perpetuate these classist myths so they don't have to consider Spirit a competitor and lower their own prices. The same goes for train vs bus.
https://twitter.com/aaronbastani/status/1475162577110016010?s=21 For context 14 billion is how much money is needed to renovate the houses of parliament. A better future is possible for everyone, the establishment just always ensures money is spent on their priorities instead rather than the majorities
Every few years you have the Tories and the Labour party or the Republicans and Democrats announcing the start of the "election of our lifetimes" which will fundamentally alter our lives. They pretend that there's substantial difference between them, while offering the same utterly repulsive platform. They accuse the opponent of being the devil incarnate while they present themselves as angels. The biased media only features them and never gives any air time to a real oppositional figure outside their repulsive ivory tower bubble. Their supporters make sure to intimidate and frighten all those who dance out of line, sometimes through outright violence. The way they debate each other on TV is more akin to a badly produced sitcom. They are setting very low standards and insulting the intelligence of the voter. I am supposed to feel bad for having high standards and actually expecting more than this horrible circus. I will never give credence to an election which insults me as a citizen. The partisan hacks from the Tory, Republican, Democratic and Labour parties are utterly bankrupt and devoid of logic.
If I ever voted in the future it would be solely based on whether I can identify with a particular candidate and his conservatism. I'll never vote for a "conservative" party with whose membership and platform I totally disagree with for the sake of " family tradition".
So the party is sneaking through a royal palace for whatever reason, and they come across a scene where some young lord is trying to woo the princess in a cheesy rendition of Romeo and Juliet. Now the party needs to make their way through the garden but cant do so without being seen, but surely this guy wont take too long right? Wrong. I have pages upon pages of the most inane cringiest worst romantic poetry ever written and will keep this going on and on and on... until someone finally complains about it, hopefully in character. The second they say anything of impatience or insulting towards the young lord, a voice whispers from behind them "I agree, lets put him out of our misery", and the young lord is felled by a well placed shot from this assassin who will be skilled enough to avoid capture if the PCs attempt it.
So not only do I get to torture the PCs with my Vogon level poetry, but they leave the encounter feeling like it was their fault for triggering the event with the timing of what they said against him :)
