Courage is a pretty obvious choice for being the most important of the four Stoic virtues. It was Aristotle who said courage was the mother of all the rest. In a world that's not virtuous, it's a brave thing to go out there and do what needs to be done.
Self-discipline is another obvious choice because, well, you can't do anything without it. And—as Aristotle also pointed out—courage that isn't checked by temperance quite easily veers into recklessness.
And yet, Marcus Aurelius himself said that justice is "the source of all the other virtues." The Stoics were clear: the point of philosophy, the point of life, is to direct a person toward doing what's right. Courage in service of injustice? Discipline aimed at selfish ends? That's not what Marcus, or Epictetus, or Zeno would have called the good life.
But the fact that you can argue for any of those three as the "most important" virtue—as I (hey, it's Ryan here, breaking the fourth wall) did when announcing Courage Is Calling and said courage was the most important, or when announcing Discipline Is Destiny and said it was discipline, or Right Thing, Right Now, when I said it was justice—is precisely why the most important virtue of all, the one that guides and balances the others, is wisdom.
But what situations call for courage? When do we know to push ourselves harder or hold back from overdoing it? What's the right thing to do—and how do we even do it? Courage, discipline, and justice all descend from first knowing what's what. Wisdom gives us perspective, uncovers truth, shows us how the world works, and guides us where to go.This critical and all too rare ability—discernment— is not something anyone is born with, and yet all the virtues are born from it.
Wisdom is the most important virtue.
And this wisdom is something that is cultivated. It must be earned. Wisdom takes work.
Wisdom is not a destination. It's a method—a practice, a lifelong commitment to learning, questioning, and improving. It's acquiring knowledge from mentors, studying history, and immersing yourself in books. It's stepping outside your comfort zone and engaging in deep conversations. It's acknowledging mistakes, challenging preconceptions, and embracing humility. Most of all, it's always fighting to remain a student, no matter how old or accomplished we are.
Wisdom Takes Work is about these practices and methods, and what we can learn from those who walked this path before us.
It's been my honor and daily practice to write these emails to you each morning (I like to think it's made me a little wiser). If you've gotten anything out of them—if you've enjoyed the writing at all—I'd love for you to consider preordering my new book, Wisdom Takes Work: Learn. Apply. Repeat.
Preorders make a huge difference for authors (and bookstores), and to make it worth your while, we've put together some awesome Wisdom Takes Work preorder bonuses for you.
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