The Daily Stoic - Those Who Read Little, Know Little

Episode Date: May 25, 2021

“Was there a Stoic who didn’t love reading? It’d be hard to name one. The last thing Cato did before he died was read.”Ryan explains why reading is so important, on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast.***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better.Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow Daily Stoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dailystoicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoic/Facebook: http://facebook.com/dailystoicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoicTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@daily_stoic See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stood Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wundery's podcast business wars. And in our new season, Walmart must fight off target. The new discounter that's both savvy and fashion forward. Listen to business wars on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. on music or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom every day life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of histories, greatest men and women,

for more you can visit us at dailystowac.com. Those who read little, no little, was there a stoic who didn't love reading? It'd be hard to name one. The last thing Kato did before he died was read. It's incredible, really, even as Caesar had destroyed the Republic, the Civil War was lost, and his inevitable suicide just hours away. Cato took the time to read some Plato. Twice. He was still learning up until the very end. Experience is a key component of wisdom, of course, but there are very few truly wise people out there who do not read, who are not lovers of books. There's a Latin saying, he who reads little, knows little, it's true. To become wise, we

have to open our minds to the vast accumulation of experiences that have come before us. To not read widely, as General Manus has said, is to be functionally illiterate. Crescipus loved the play, Medea so much that he quoted from it so much that he joked one of his essays was the Medea of crucifix. In fact, one can't pick up the works of Marcus Arelius, Seneca, even the sangs of Epictetus, without being struck at how intimately familiar these philosophers were with the great writing, fiction, essays, books, and histories of their time. It's an example, a tradition really, that we have to continue to follow.

Given how much wonderful writing has been published since the time of the ancient Stoics, 20 centuries of books, it is profoundly arrogant and wasteful not to take advantage of it. Marcus Aurelius would have killed to have access to the psychological research at your fingertips. If Christ's Sipus worshiped Medea, then think about what he'd think about you, having not picked up Shakespeare

besides those few begrudging pages in high school. Kato spent his last few precious minutes reading about Socrates, and you can't bear to pull yourself away from your phone. We read to learn, we read to lead. If we don't read much, we don't know much. If we don't sink wisdom, we don't know much. And if we don't sink wisdom, we won't find it. Hey, everyone. As you know, reading books is a huge part of my life. They've helped me accomplish

my goals and become a better person. Like me, you probably feel you're not getting all you can out of the books that you read. And maybe you feel like you're kind of reading the same books over and over again that you're stuck in a rut or that your reading habits could be elevated, taken to a new level. Well, we've come out with a new 13-day challenge to help you do just that. It's called Read to Lead. We've got 13 days of stoke inspired challenges to help you take your reading to the next level. Comes with exercises, a new reading list each day, and some really awesome bonus material. You can check it out at dailystoic.com slash reading.

Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to the daily stoic early and ad-free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and ad-free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts. Ah, the Bahamas. What if you could live in a penthouse above the crystal clear ocean working during the day and partying at night with your best friends and have it be 100% paid for? FTX Founder Sam Bankman Freed lived that dream life, but it was all funded with other people's money that he allegedly stole. Many thought Sam Bankman Fried was changing the game as he graced the pages of Forbes

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and its founder, Sandbackman Freed. Follow Spellcaster wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, prime members, you can listen to episodes Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today.