Learning is not attained by chance
"I learned to read carefully and not be satisfied with a rough understanding of the whole, and not to agree too quickly with those who have a lot to say about something.”
—Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius’s book Meditations starts with him thanking all the important people in his life. He goes through his life and lists those people and says how they influenced him.
He gives the stories of his father credit for teaching him to be humble, calm, and frugal. He thanks his grandfather for teaching him to be candid, modest, and even-tempered. He praises his mother for instilling in him the will to be generous and non-materialistic. He thanks his wife for being loving and affectionate. He also thanks his teachers for teaching him to value hard work, self-discipline, logic, practical philosophy, rationality, humor, and tolerance.
...There's a whole other lesson here about gratitude that will have to wait for another day...
One of those teachers he mentions is Quintus Junius Rusticus who taught Marcus to love true clarity and understanding. He didn't want Marcus to stop at the headline but dig deeper and learn every nuance of every subject.
This is also how Marcus was introduced to stoicism via Epictetus's lectures. He wasn’t content with a basic understanding of any subject and especially stoicism, he dug in and read every line over and over.
Abigail Adams once said-
"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardour and diligence."
With ardour that’s how Marcus read Epictetus's lectures. He picked them apart and absorbed them. He let them become part of who he was. Throughout his life, you can not only hear but you can see the teachings of Rusticus and Epictetus motivate everything he does. Even with all power of being emperor, the understanding he gained from reading the teachings of a slave kept him humble.
That kind of deep reading and study is what we need in our lives today. So whether you are reading a novel, biography, news story or just a social media post don't just stop at the headline or skim it for the gist of the story. Don't just take someone else interpretation of that story but dig in and find the meaty truth behind what you read and take this opportunity to grow your critical thinking skills.
-Jason Brown
