How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool (h/t mindyourbusiness.
Today’s lesson comes from: Musonious Rufus’s Lectures
We don”t know much about Rufus’s life, he was born between 20-30 AD. By the rein of Nero he was a leading Stoic teacher. He was banished twice under different Emperors. His most famous student was Epictetus and like him, Rufus did not write any of his own lessons. The lessons and fragments that remain were written by his students. We do not now when he died, but in 101 AD Pliny mentions him as deceased.
Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.
Which is more effective, theory or practice?
1 At another time the problem arose among us whether for the acquisition of virtue practice[1] or theory is more effective, understanding that theory teaches what is right conduct, while practice represents the habit of those accustomed to act in accordance with such theory. To Musonius, practice seemed to be more effective, and speaking in support of his opinion, he asked one of those present the following question: “Suppose that there are two physicians, one able to discourse very brilliantly about the art of medicine but having no experience in taking care of the sick, and the other quite incapable of speaking but experienced in treating his patients according to correct medical theory. Which one,” he asked, “would you choose to attend you if you were ill?” He replied that he would choose the doctor who had experience in healing.
Theory is fine for discussions, but if you don’t practice it, the knowledge does not help. I might not have the deepest understanding and ability to explain Stoicism, but I do try to practice it in my daily life. I think that serves me better than if I was able to eloquently go through the most minute points, but was not applying the lessons.
2 Musonius then continued, “Well, then, let us take another example of two men. One has sailed a great deal and served as pilot on many boats, the other one has sailed very little and has never acted as pilot. If the one who had never piloted a ship should speak most ably on the methods of navigation, and the other very poorly and ineffectively, which one would you employ as pilot if you were going on a voyage?” The man said he would take the experienced pilot.
This was me as a youngster. I read a couple books about engine repair and operations. I thought this would help when I was trying to figure out how to work on my car. Turns out I did not understand how to actually do anything that sounded easy in the books. Fist time I snapped a bolt, my dad asked me why I cranked it so hard. I didn’t know it was possible to snap a bolt and was trying to make it as tight as I could. Now, my arm almost has a built in torque wrench. I am not 100% accurate, but I can guesstimate it fairly close.
3 Again Musonius said, “Take the case of two musicians. One knows the theory of music and discourses on it most convincingly but is unable to sing or play the harp or the lyre; the other is inferior in theory but is proficient in playing the harp and the lyre and in singing as well. To which one would you give a position as musician, or which one would you like to have as teacher for a child who does not know music?” The man answered that he would choose the one who was skilled in practice. [2]
This is a pretty basic argument, but I think it strikes to the heart of theory vs practice. For a teacher, theory might be more important than practice, since it doesn’t matter if he can’t sing if he can explain to his students how to read music. With Stoicism, with less natural talent involved, I would rather have a teacher that follows the philosophy, than one that can explain it in pretty words, while living as an emotional and mentally weak person.
4 “Well, then,” said Musonius, “that being the case, in the matter of temperance and self-control, is it not much better to be self-controlled and temperate in all one’s actions than to be able to say what one ought to do?” Here too the young man agreed that it is of less significance and importance to speak well about self-control than to practice self-control. Thereupon Musonius, drawing together what had been said, asked, “How, now, in view of these conclusions, could knowledge of the theory of anything be better than becoming accustomed to act according to the principles of the theory, if we understand that application enables one to act, but theory makes one capable of speaking about it? Theory which teaches how one should act is related to application, and comes first, since it is not possible to do anything really well unless its practical execution be in harmony with theory. In effectiveness, however, practice takes precedence over theory as being more influential in leading men to action.”
A teacher that doesn’t follow Stoicism will have difficulty relating the lessons to practical life. Maybe a beginning student could learn the basics from them, but as questions became more involved, I think someone that does not follow what they teach could have a hard time explaining things.
Little bit of a shorter lesson this week, but on the bright side, my knee has returned to normal size, I haven’t had any bad headaches, and my dizziness has gone away. Because of this, I have made it to the gym for the last 4 weeks. I started using sinus probiotic with my daily sinus rinse 3 weeks ago and am cautiously optimistic. Since then I have had a few minor headaches that could either be treated with a sinus rinse or Goody’s Headache Powder. I don’t remember the last time I went this long without a headache keeping me up all night or making my day miserable. Anyone here used this? Or any opinions on whether it is actually working or it’s just a coincidence?
I think I prefer Theoretical Philosophers – in that they theoretically exist, but nobody uses their words against me.
Oh, wait, you were talking more about a Whiskey Priest phenomenon. Sorry. Carry on.
Reminds me of one of my favorite books The Fastest Gun in the Pulpit it’s about an outlaw that stumbles onto a dead Priest and assumes his identity in the old west.
In my long ago memory I seem to remember a Western where Dean Martin played a similar part. I could be making that up, too.
I guess it was more Western-adjacent, but Clint Eastwood pretended to be a preacher in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.
He was in a fair amount of westerns. Very possible. And then he played a fake priest in Cannonball run.
+1 “These bleeds? These bleeds right here?”
They made a movie based on it, but it didn’t have Dean Martin.
Reading the plot summary, it did not stay true to the book.
I see it stars the founder of the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers.
Maybe “Five Card Stud”
Mitchum was the preacher, Dino the cow poke
There’s a ton of primary-school research into human learning methodologies, but I think that for the vast majority of people the most efficient way to learn something is simply to do it. This seems pretty obvious, but there are a whole lot of Education majors (among others) who don’t seem to understand it.
“The little shits should just sit still and uncritically absorb whatever drivel I say.” – Unionized Teacher.
Wait just a damned minute! Oh, glad you weren’t all inclusive. I remember some Ed classmates that wore slip-ons for a reason. Sarc but not far from the truth.
Were they asian or hispanic FourScore?
At a Baptist school?
There were a few foreign students, not too many.
“Uncritically absorb my absolutely critical theory of everything.”
My elementary education courses taught me nothing about teaching.
Continuing my boat-related ramblings from the morning thread my math is actually very good for the small boats.
I have not yet set the population of Jinwick, but if we assume it is a moderate sized city of ten thousand (probably a high estimate given the history of the settlement) it would require some ten thousand tons of food per year. (Also a conservative estimate) Using the data for the small coastal baltic Knarrs (five tons capacity) compared to the long-range 20+ ton examples, this would add up to less than six boat loads per day coming in to port. This includes loads of fish from the fishing fleet operating from its harbor as well as shipments from the mainland. Now, this is not going to be evenly distributed throughout the year, and the city will want to keep a stockpile within its walls for a myriad of reasons. This leaves plenty of port capacity for non-food goods to pass back and forth with some regularity. These are small boats, but the big boats are those that go between the major ports, run 100+ tons capacity and can’t dock at the mainland.
I think a locally made, shallow draft, single masted design of five tons capacity is very reasonable and would serve pretty much all the colony’s needs in the local waterways.
Thank you all for listening.
Note – for my sanity check, I’m not factoring in shipments to the mainland because it is the major agricultural area of the colony, and any capacity on ships going there from the island would be used to bring in things the farmers are looking to buy.
Not sure where you get the figures for the amount of food required. Also keep in mind spoilage and the fact that not every shipment will be fully laden. Bad weather or other circumstances with cause ebbs and flows in how many ships arrive in any single day.
Where else – The internet. The one ton per year was the upper bound for a modern person’s consumption.
I used the “six loads per day” at full lading to demonstrate that it would not be difficult for a larger number of ships to ply the waters and keep the city supplied from the farms and seas. Because that was no great quantity for a busy port to unload. Also, I expect the population number is lower than the 10k I used for the math. I basically ran a worst case number set and came up with “yeah, we’re good”
For perspective “one ton of food per year” is 5.5 pounds of food per day. That’s the sort of quantities I might hit when I was at my worst fat man consumption.
These days I don’t always hit two.
Sounds reasonable.. I think people ate much more back when most people did physical labor, though in a city that might be lessened, depending what folks are up to for employment. I think I remember seeing estimates of 5k calories a day for an active male. Either way, sounds like you’ve got that covered. Should be a decent number of children in that 10k anyway
I would imagine a lot of clam digging and other beach related industries.
Would they be dredging to make access to the city easier?
Infrastructure questions are a sideplot in the sequel to Judge of Jinwick I’m writing.
It’s already 5k words longer than Judge, but has a ways to go yet before it’s done.
“This was me as a youngster. I read a couple books about engine repair and operations. I thought this would help when I was trying to figure out how to work on my car. Turns out I did not understand how to actually do anything that sounded easy in the books.”
That was all of us. I keep this in mind when talking to the youngsters, and I try to impart anything I have learned.
https://palmettostatearmory.com/hk-rifle-g36-16-1-22lr-20rd-rifle-black-81000994.html
Awfully tempting at $299.
It’s made by Umarex. Don’t expect it to run.
It it live, or is it Umarex?
Thanks for talking me down.
🙂
So even though it says h&k that’s not who actually produced it?
Newp. Umarex specializes in building licensed (usually sub-caliber and sub-par) copies of other firearms. H&K just stamped their name on it. Walther has done the same.
How do you know who actually produced it?
If you have your mitts on the actual gun, there will be a Umarex marking on it.
Or you could look at HK-USA’s web page for the gun: https://hk-usa.com/product/g36-22-lr/
I don’t think H&K has sold anything under $500.
I think they were blowing out vp9s for just under $500 not long ago.
#board135 5/5
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🪄 99 points in 6 words
🔥 streak: 5
puzzlist.com/lettergrams
Theoretical cuts, practical increases
Lawmakers have recently raised concerns over the national debt, decrying Congress’s inability to sufficiently deal with an issue that has become harder to ignore.
The GOP has commonly cited federal spending and entitlement programs as main causes behind the debt, with Democrats emphasizing the need for increased taxation of wealthy Americans and corporations as well as spending reforms.
By spending reforms they mean ending the heartless cruelty of our current austerity budget.
Every time they squeal, cut spending in absolute year over year terms.
If they squeal again, cut more.
Them cut again for good measure.
The GOP are cucktards.
That’s putting it mildly.
Clint Eastwood pretended to be a preacher in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.
He started out as a preacher in Pale Rider.
No point pimping out your daughter if you’re not getting seriously paid.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/real-life/adult-star-gives-parents-16k-37579066
That career has a shelf life so get what you can while you can I suppose.
“Watching my parents grind is what made me a grinder,” Skylar said
Hilarious in the context.
I don’t think I could take the money off my daughter if this happened to me. I certainly wouldn’t be letting her buy us rolexes and purses.
That is just a fantastic quote.
No matter how bad it is, always remember how it could have been worse: https://nypost.com/2026/08/20/us-news/true-scale-of-meghan-and-harrys-us-political-plans-revealed-from-request-for-biden-oval-office-meeting-to-eyeing-senate-seat/
He’s citizenship should have been stripped the second she was married.
No titles means no titles bitch.
Her.
Fabulist hooey
The data arrives amid a surge in democratic socialist victories across the U.S. — and not just in progressive corners of the country. Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon (D) on Tuesday beat out the more moderate Alex Vindman (D) in the Democratic Senate primary in Florida, a state known for its sunshine, not socialism.
Ashik Siddique, national co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), said the polling illustrates what the group is seeing at the street level: Generation Z is ready for a big change.
“We’ve seen that polling and it’s definitely striking, but to us, it really tracks with the experience that so many younger people have,” Siddique told The Hill.
We asked the Jacobin activist fringe and they told us just what we wanted to hear.
GenZ wants everyone else to be as miserable as they are…
In this instance, I think I’d take the commie over Vindman. The fact that the guy was central to trying to impeach Trump for using his perfectly constitutional discretion in foreign affairs and then turned around and became an open Democratic political operative is shameful on top of every other shameful detail of the soft coup the Democrats led in Trump 1.0.
Truly a shitty choice. Hopefully she gets trounced in the general election. I’m that sense she is less dangerous than Vindman.
“He was banished twice under different Emperors.”
Sounds like my kinda guy. Roman Glib?
If you listen closely, you can still hear the sound of the Hebrew Hammer pounding Dan Bilzerian in the ass.
Also, I can’t help but question him running under the GOP banner and saying that shit. There’s almost no real audience in the GOP let alone in the boomerific hellscape that is Florida for that sort of shit. And I somehow question the sincerity of the guy’s nonsense given his whole history as a social media whore.
The guy is a serial liar. The scarier part is that the choice for governor is cruddy this year.
I want to elect de Santis as dictator for life
I had ChatGPT comb the German press. No disclosure of the kind of pistols. You’d think the world was ending versus here where loaded guns are “found” all the time.
TLDR – Germany found them – disabled them and the ammunition and left them in place to see if anybody picked them up. Nope.
German authorities uncover gun stash and see link to Russian intelligence operations, Sueddeutsche reports
https://www.reuters.com/world/german-authorities-uncover-gun-stash-see-link-russian-intelligence-operations-2026-08-21/
The model of firearm is important. Here if it’s a Hi-Point or Glock, you can bet it’s criminal activity. Other brands will indicate other sources.
Yes – it’s why I was curious. However, it’s not like Russia couldn’t put any brand weapon it wanted in the cache.
They’re Norinco. 100%. Final Answer.
What’s the name of the natural law that causes events to pile up chronologically despite efforts to prevent it.
Last year and earlier this year by months, I put in orders for expensive hardware. Then I scheduled my plans for attending Honey Harvest, thinking September would be plenty far away. Production delays meant they’re just now talking about shipping, with a good chance of dropping on my doorstep while I’m on the road. (I’m already working on a solution). Then my broken windshield has its third repair/replace appointment landing exactly atop the meeting to discuss a request for a simplified change process for a routine task where the change ticket and approvals take more time than the work.
Why does eveyrthing dogpile chronologically?
More general, but Murphy’s law would apply.
Murphy was an optimist.
Murphy was an airforce guy.
So yeah.
An optimist.
The problem: The rising sophomores didn’t start hiking until 3:30 p.m. Friday — less than four and a half hours before sunset.
It seemed like the perfect plan! We’ve got cell phones if there are any issues.
NJ teens face hefty bill after requiring rescue from hike in mountains
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/new-jersey/nj-teens-hefty-bill-require-rescue-hike-mountains/6537902/
Discussed at length earlier in the week? Last week?
Dumbasses.
‘Upwards of $1,000’ means that the rescue was pretty trivial. Still, well deserved. Stupid behavior should be painful, albeit only a pain in the wallet.
I guess nobody has any experience with this:
The sinus probiotic in question:
https://lantohealth.com/
I have not. It’s new to me. Sounds amazing though.
That’s totally not cocaine…
It’s meth.
Not I.
Has an underlying cause been diagnosed, because it seems having frequent headaches (several per week) should be caused by something.
He’s had a 1/2 Lego brick stuck in his sinus for thirty years.
Or more likely a broken off Crayola.
My sinuses are horrible.
I had my head scanned a few times in the Marines and they never found anything, except for one time when I had a headache during the scan and the sinus over my right eye was lit up.
The rinse helped, but I would still get bumping headaches that made it hard to sleep or function every couple weeks.
This is the longest I have gone in a long time without one of those.
That’s pretty cool. I’ve had good results with just a sinus rinse. The first time I did it for a few weeks, and I was good for almost a year. Sounds like just a rinse alone wasn’t doing it for you.
Regarding practice versus theory.
I am strongly on the side of practice. Doing something 90% correct is better than reading about it until you think you can do it 100% perfect (you won’t). I am staying to apply this. Lies taking and more doing, especially when it comes to emotional health, philosophy and, religion.
I believe that too.
I didn’t when I was young and dumb.
If you don’t do you lose out on years of skill building and will never master anything.
Yes. You have to learn to fail in order to succeed.
Paraphrasing a comment I read somewhere along the way.
Pain in an integral part of the learning process. It is necessary.
Unfortunately, we sometimes do not survive our most profound learning experiences.
How funny on Stoic Friday I’m emergently buying a gun because I have a massive squatters-in-the-hood problem. No, I do not know what it is beyond Sig Sauer 9mm. “What are you looking for?” Random 9mm that will take care of this.
(Not staying overnight in the hood without being armed.)
Stay frosty.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ-r0bilzhU&pp=0gcJCXACo7VqN5tD&ra=m
??? 😳
If you need more practical assistance than the opinions of a confirmed gun nut – shoot me your location and I can probably hook you up with an instructor in your area who has experience with such things.
She can’t shoot you yet because she doesn’t have the practical experience.
As long as it’s not a 320, you’re good. If it is a 320, don’t drop it.
I’m trying to reason my way into a Legion Fuse.
Eeek. I hope ya get it quick, cheap and without hassle. (And loaded! *crosses fingers*)
I was thinking of you the other day. The Forum isn’t loading for me. Are folk still using it? I’m shortening my Crest Quest piece and am going to submit it to whatever outlets I can, taking out all but two pics (keeping my drawing and my reassembled, but not reattached, skull). I’d love some feedback to see if I’m on ‘the right’ track.
Good luck in the ‘hood.
Full-sized, compact, sub-compact? Concealed carry? Open carry? Just to have around at home?
If you can, go to a range that rents pistols and find one you are comfortable with.
I have a high point I can FedEx you guys overnight.
You’ll still have one quicker than I will. I put in for the permit two weeks ago.
Still waiting. After that NJ NICS check which I believe are backed up over a week.
So at least a month lag plus however long it is going to take the shop to order what I want.
Glad I don’t need one urgently and have current options.
I check my mail every day for my permission slip. It was the monday before last when I put it in. Still waiting.
😑
Look what I found searching for holster parts.
https://www.trex-arms.com/3d-scan-library-834?srsltid=AfmBOor1gOazDnDZYrAJywcZg3ae2gVc5q20DiY0R-T1hQDFMHr8eqdZ
3D scans of many popular pistols. Should make for easy size comparisons.
That’s cool.
Moj-
This is what you want
It’s not like you’re going to be operating long distance, and you won’t feel too bad about dropping it in the river.
https://ruger.com/products/lcp/specSheets/3701.html
Where’s the grip? That thing cannot be comfortable unless you’ve got tiny hands.
It’s perfect for Marco. In fact it’s uge in his hands.
Oooh, Marco. I was thinking an auto-(correct)-fuck, but *his* hands. Huh.
I have fairly short fingers, but they’re quite stubby, I’d say. (But I’m not Marco.)
Were I to own a gun, which I really shouldn’t, that would be what I’d want.
That Ruger is hideous.
Plastic guns are tools to me.
You could compare it to a PPK/s, but it’s going to be heavier. But the heft will likely make it easier to shoot.
I never liked the plastic guns.
I have a .45 1911 and 2 steel Jericho Baby Eagles, one .45 and on 9mm.