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.