A toolkit for living that fits on a business card. Constraints reduce the number of decisions you have to make.
Usage
- 4 Platonic virtues: courage, justice, self-control, prudence.
- Be conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from others. RFC 7611 2
- Omit needless words. The Elements of Style 3 4 5 6
- Blessed are the peacemakers. Sermon on the Mount
- I do what is mine to do; the rest doesn’t disturb me. Meditations 6.22
- On the occasion of every event that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use. Handbook 10
- Be calm, kind, and loving and the Logos7 will do the rest.
- Smile—a little—and make eye contact when talking to others.
Further Reading
- Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations. 8
- Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Essays. 1844.
- Epictetus. Handbook.
- ESV Bible. Crossway Books, 2008.
- Penn, William. Some Fruits of Solitude. 1693.
- RFC 761: DOD Standard Transmission Control Protocol. Information Sciences Institute, Jan 1980.
- Strunk Jr., William. The Elements of Style. 1918.
Contact Me
Send bug reports and patches to craig@seagrape.us.
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Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, turn the other cheek. Sermon on the Mount ↩
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Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself. Meditations 5.33 ↩
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Avoid Company where it is not profitable or necessary; and in those Occasions speak little, and last…Some are so Foolish as to interrupt and anticipate those that speak, instead of hearing and thinking before they answer; which is uncivil as well as silly…Speak properly, and in as few Words as you can, but always plainly; for the End of Speech is not Ostentation, but to be understood. Some Fruits of Solitude ↩
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No surplus words or unnecessary actions. Meditations 3.5 ↩
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Be for the most part silent, or speak merely what is necessary, and in few words. We may, however, enter, though sparingly, into discourse sometimes when occasion calls for it, but not on any of the common subjects, of gladiators, or horse races, or athletic champions, or feasts, the vulgar topics of conversation…Don’t allow your laughter be much, nor on many occasions, nor profuse. Handbook ↩
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A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1 ↩
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The operating system of the world. ↩
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I like the Gregory Hays translation: a bit too modern in places but compact in speech. My second favorite is the Staniforth translation. ↩