Words familiar in olden times are now archaisms; so also the names of those whose praises were hymned in bygone days are now in a sense archaisms; Camillus, Caeso, Volesus, Dentatus; a little after, Scipio too and Cato; then also Augustus, then also Hadrian and Antoninus. For all things quickly fade and turn to fable, and quickly, too, utter oblivion covers them like sand. And this I say of those who shone like stars to wonder at; the rest, as soon as the breath was out of their bodies were “unnoticed and unwept.” And what after all is everlasting remembrance? Utter vanity. What then is that about which a man ought to spend his pains? This one thing: right understanding, neighborly behavior, speech which would never lie, and a disposition welcoming all which comes to pass as necessary, as familiar, as flowing from a source and fountain like itself.
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The excerpt I quoted from Halakhic Man, by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, is too lengthy to cite here, but I did cite it in full in my article Yom ha'Kippurim 5778: Vidui Yom ha'Kippurim.
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If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.
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Stoic texts:
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Letters from a Stoic Master (Seneca)
The Discourses of Epictetus
The Enchiridion (Handbook) of Epictetus
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