Stoic Compline for Sunday, July 19, 2026

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The Enchiridion of Epictetus
XXXVI

As the proposition, “either it is day or it is night,” has much force in a disjunctive argument, but none at all in a conjunctive one, so, at a feast, to choose the largest share is very suitable to the bodily appetite, but utterly inconsistent with the social spirit of the entertainment. Remember, then, when you eat with another, not only the value to the body of those things which are set before you, but also the value of proper courtesy toward your host.

The Enchiridion of Epictetus - translated by Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Examination of Conscience
As Compline is the last Hour of the day, now is a good time to do this evening's Examination of Conscience.
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.
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