Allow me to share a story Ryan Holiday at the Daily Stoic tells that should be relevant to those who are seriously committed to improving the sound quality of the records you play.
Ryan writes:
When Junius Rusticus handed the future emperor of Rome a book, it came with an implication. A true philosopher—a true leader—Rusticus insisted, could not be satisfied just getting the gist of something. They had to understand it inside and out.
None of the lessons that Marcus Aurelius took from Epictetus—the book Rusticus gave him in his mid-twenties—would have been possible without first listening to this lesson. He not only inhaled the book, he clearly went over it over and over until it seeped into his very soul. That’s why Meditations is filled with quotes from it. That’s why Marcus Aurelius, the most powerful man in the world, managed to stay sane, despite the inherent insanity of his position.
Maybe you’ve read Epictetus. Maybe you’ve been meaning to. But chances are, you haven’t treated it like Marcus did, like Rusticus expected, like Epictetus deserves.
In these writings (actually Epictetus’ lectures recorded by another student, Arrian) we have the life experiences of a man who spent 30 years as a slave. We also get his first-hand familiarity with temptation and corruption and vanity (having an owner who worked in Nero’s court). What Epictetus learned—and went on to teach others—was profound and enduring. He taught that true freedom comes from recognizing what lies beyond our control and focusing only on what is up to us. He came to see that the most powerful empire is ruling over ourselves, in living a life of virtue even in a world of corruption, darkness, or misfortune.
Marcus Aurelius was not satisfied just getting the gist of Epictetus’ powerful teachings and you shouldn’t be, either. You can see it in Meditations—the same ideas appear again and again—on anger, difficult people, dealing with death, on doing his duty when nobody is watching. Not because Marcus had mastered them, but because he hadn’t. He kept returning to Epictetus because the work was never finished. “Revert at once to yourself” is a note of a man still trying, wanting to do better and learn more.
That’s what Rusticus had given him. Not a book to finish, but a lifelong practice to return to.
Further Reading
- Joni and the commitment issues we must all face
- Nothing is harder than trying to teach yourself audio
- Robert Brook has lots of good advice for the dedicated analog audiophile