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September   2nd

THE PHILOSOPHER’S   SCHOOL  IS  A   HOSPITAL

“Men,   the philosopher’s   lecture-hall    is  a   hospital—you    shouldn’t   walk    out of  it  feeling pleasure,

but pain,   for you aren’t  well    when    you enter   it.”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.23.30

ave you ever been to physical therapy or rehab? No matter what the name implies or how many
people you see lying about, getting massages, it’s not a fun place to be. It turns out that healing hurts.
The trained experts know exactly where to exert pressure and what to subject to stress so that they can
strengthen where the patient is weak and help stimulate the areas that have atrophied.
Stoic philosophy is a lot like that. Some observations or exercises will touch one of your pressure
points. It’s nothing personal. It’s supposed to hurt. That’s how you’ll develop the will to endure and
persevere through life’s many difficulties.