IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME –
May 19, 2022 – It’s one of the darkest and most sensitive subjects in Stoicism: Suicide. Cato took his own life rather than submit to Caesar. Seneca took his, under duress from Nero. The Stoics spoke of suicide as the “open door,” a choice open to us all at any moment. The Stoics may have believed that suicide was a choice we all have, but they were still pretty clear: It’s the wrong choice. Marcus Aurelius was clearly depressive by nature. He was wracked by constant pain. He dealt with profound tragedy (no one should bury a child). He had incredible burdens on his shoulders. And yet? He stuck around. He struggled through. Because he knew that life was worth it. He knew there was darkness ahead—he’d seen plenty of it—but he also knew that there would be bright spots ahead as well. Bright spots that broke up and blunted the darkness.
He probably would have also agreed with the classic observation from Hamlet:
He probably would have also agreed with the classic observation from Hamlet:
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovere’d country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
If you live in the United States and are in a suicidal crisis or emotional distress, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. For a list of suicide crisis lines in other countries, click here.
