Stoic Sext: Thursday, July 9, 2026

The Enchiridion of Epictetus

Remember that desire demands the attainment of that of which you are desirous; and aversion demands the avoidance of that to which you are averse; that he who fails of the object of his desires is disappointed; and he who incurs the object of his aversion is wretched. If, then, you shun only those undesirable things which you can control, you will never incur anything which you shun; but if you shun sickness, or death, or poverty, you will run the risk of wretchedness. Remove [the habit of] aversion, then, from all things that are not within our power, and apply it to things undesirable which are within our power. But for the present, altogether restrain desire; for if you desire any of the things not within our own power, you must necessarily be disappointed; and you are not yet secure of those which are within our power, and so are legitimate objects of desire. Where it is practically necessary for you to pursue or avoid anything, do even this with discretion and gentleness and moderation.

The Enchiridion of Epictetus - translated by Thomas Wentworth Higginson

Examination of Conscience

If this is your last Hour you plan to follow today, the now is a good time for the Examination of Conscience.

Also do this if it is the first Hour you are following today you forgot to do yesterday's Examination of Conscience - now is a good time to do that, as it is better late than never.

Examination of Conscience can be done in the form of a journal - but that is not the only way to do it. You can do it mentally -- as long as you can make sure, without any external actions, that you are in fact doing it. Also - for practice sake, it can be done in dialogue with a mentor. But doing it with a mentor is only recommended for practice sake - and may not even be available to everyone at all.

Above all -- remember that the Examination of Conscience done here is the Stoic version of the concept and none other.

If—

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,

And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch;

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run—

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Poem by Rudyard Kipling - obtained from poets.org

Stoic Sext for Thursday, July 9, 2026