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"People who are excited by posthumous fame forget that the people who remember them will soon die too. And those after them in turn. Until their memory, passed
by everdrive 7y ago
"People who are excited by posthumous fame forget that the people who remember them will soon die too. And those after them in turn. Until their memory, passed from one to another like a candle flame, gutters and goes out.
But suppose that those who remembered you were immortal and your memory undying. What good would it do you? And I don't just mean when you're dead, but in your own lifetime. What use is praise, except to make your lifestyle a little more comfortable?"
- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
- sullyj3 7y agoIronic that that quote comes from someone who died in the year 180. If I got 2000 years of fame, I'd be pretty satisfied.
- ak39 7y agoMarcus Aurelius is asking exactly how will that be of _use_? (Even when you’re alive)
- WilliamEdward 7y agoFeeling better about yourself is not useful? Influencing a large number of people is not useful?
- everdrive 7y agoFeeling better about yourself must never be a primary concern. It's true that you can't help but feeling good about your actions if they do good, but your ego should be be supressed as much as possible.
- beaconstudios 7y agoMarcus Aurelius being a writer on stoicism, I feel I have to point out that stoicism would suggest that you control how you feel about yourself and are only tying your feelings to external factors. You can feel good about yourself without external validation. Influencing others is only practically useful in your lifetime, so posthumous fame doesn't really do you anything.
- throwawayhhakdl 7y agoHow this reads to me: “You can feel good about yourself eating tasteless food. Eating delicious food is only useful while you’re eating it, so once it’s consumed it doesn’t really do you anything”.
- WilliamEdward 7y agoBut it does other people good after i die, and i care about other people even after i die.
- beaconstudios 7y agobut that's a different perspective - stoicism addresses the hedonism treadmill and how to get off of it (as well as how to respond to misery) - it isn't in opposition to charity or altruism. It's a totally different thing to try to have a great influence for posthumous fame and recognition, versus just trying to help people whether they know it was you or not.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- throwawayhhakdl 7y agoI don’t think the quote is particularly insightful. It’s nice to be praised and respected. This one always felt on the mark to me http://smbc-comics.com/comic/stoicism http://smbc-comics.com/comic/stoicism
- thathndude 7y agoWhoosh
- ajdegol 7y ago"If I got 2000 years of fame, I'd be pretty satisfied." Actually, you'd wouldn't... be.
- WilliamEdward 7y agoFrankly, a stupid quote. "What good is praise except to make your lifestyle a little more comfortable" That sounds pretty darn good to me. And the fact that your memory and work can be passed down and influence a theoretically infinite number of people.
- AQuantized 7y agoWhat good will that influence do you?
- goatinaboat 7y agoRight. It’s like some companies tell you they can’t pay you but it will be great “exposure” or whatever. At some point you need to convert whatever that is into something you can actually use.
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoDepends. If I care about others, and my influence does them good, that increases my happiness/joy/contentment/whatever, while I'm alive.