D

August 20th

WHERE IT COUNTS

“Inwardly, we ought to be different in every respect, but our

outward dress should blend in with the crowd.”

—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 5.2

iogenes the Cynic was a controversial philosopher who wandered the
streets like a homeless person. A few thousand years later, his
utterances still make us think. But if most of us had seen him at the time,
we’d have thought: Who is that crazy guy?
It’s tempting to take philosophy to extremes, but who does that serve? In
fact, rejection of the basics of society alienates other people, even threatens
them. More important, outward transformation—in our clothes, in our cars,
in our grooming—might feel important but is superficial compared with the
inward change. That’s the change that only we know about.