The Island-Fish

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  “O ye passengers, whom may God preserve! come up quickly in to the ship, hasten to embark, and leave your merchandise, and flee with your lives, and save yourselves from destruction; for this apparent island, upon which ye are, is not really an island, but it is a great fish that hath become stationary in the midst of the sea, and the sand hath accumulated upon it, so that it hath become like an island, and trees have grown upon it since times of old; and when ye lighted the fire upon it, the fish felt the heat, and put itself in motion, and now it will descend with you into the sea, and ye will all be drowned: then seek for yourselves escape before destruction, and leave the merchandise.—The passengers, therefore, hearing the words of the master of the ship, hastened to go up into the vessel, leaving the merchandise, and their other goods, and their copper cooking-pots, and their fire-pots; and some reached the ship, and others reached it not. The island had moved, and descended...

Enchiridion 45, (Supplimental): Perception

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Yesterday a few short comments were posted regarding Enchiridion 45, but the post was incomplete. Please consider this supplemental: 


"Does anyone bathe in a mighty little time? Don't say that he does it ill, but in a mighty little time. Does anyone drink a great quantity of wine? Don't say that he does ill, but that he drinks a great quantity. For, unless you perfectly understand the principle from which anyone acts, how should you know if he acts ill? Thus you will not run the hazard of assenting to any appearances but such as you fully comprehend." (Epictetus, Enchiridion 45)

Couched within these words is the Stoic principle of "calling a thing what it is." This is an exercise in perception. Epictetus makes you think about what you see: a person takes a quick bath--what do you say about it? "You did that wrong"? Or someone drinks too much. Do you pass judgement about it and say that what the person does is wrong? Instead you should say, "that was a short bath" or "that guy drinks alot." This is not passing judgment, but calling an act what it is.

Consider the example of Marcus Aurelius: when your food is presented before you, call it what it is--dead fish, dead bird, dead pig, grape juice, etc. Look at your clothes: sheep's wool dyed with blood of a shell-fish. See things as they are. Call things what they are. 

In checking your perception, you reserve judgement for things that actually matter. If you say (for example) that taking a short bath is wrong or bad, then what do we say when a person actually does something morally wrong or bad? Do you make bathing a moral act? No. So why judge them equally? Marcus Aurelius instructs to make proper use of reason, to be careful with language. 

One place this becomes helpful is during periods of suffering. The story is told of Epictetus being beat by his master. In so many words, Epictetus warned his master, "keep doing that and you will break my leg." His master did not relent and broke Epictetus' leg. His response? "Now you've done it." 

There is strength in calling a thing what it is. It keeps one grounded to reality. 

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