THE WILL POWER OF A TRUE STOIC.

THE WILL POWER OF A TRUE STOIC. The Sidestep blog posted here on a good example of the will power of a Stoic for whom an exception to a principle is unthinkable. The example comes from A MAN IN FULL by Tom Wolfe. Wolfe’s character says, “To a Stoic there are no dilemmas. They don’t exist.” Wolfe’s character then tells a story about a Stoic named Aggripinus. A frightened historian rushes in to see Aggripinus and says:
“The most terrible thing has happened. I’ve been summoned to appear in one of Nero’s plays. If I do it, I’ll be humiliated before everybody in Rome that I care about. If I don’t I’ll be killed.”
“I’ve received the same summons,” says Agrippinus.
“My God,” says the historian, “you, too! What do we do?”
“You go ahead and act in the play,” says Agrippinus. “I’m not going to.”
“Why me and not you?” says the historian.
“Because you’ve considered it.”