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The Duality of Man (And Philosophies I Guess)

The Duality of Man (And Philosophies I Guess)

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After finishing Epicurean week, I wondered what Stoic Week would look like and what that experience would be like compared to Epicurean week. While both weeks were filled with reflection, I feel like both were different in how the week was shaped to match the philosophy.
The first day was perhaps the most notable because this was perhaps the one I spent the most time reflecting on. I deeply reflected on the idea of control and what is in my power to control. I was thinking about 2 particular situations: getting a job and getting into medical school. I thought first about medical school, thinking about the uncertainty and difficulty of being admitted. Initially I thought that there was a lot that was out of my control due to having others making admissions decisions as well as having a good enough resume and grades to make the cut. This then led to me reflecting on the past few months of trying to find a job, where I had similar doubts on how much power I have in putting myself in the position to get the job. After ruminating on these thoughts, I started to think about the fact that I have more power in the process than I initially thought. From me being in control to my grades and work experiences to me being able to do well in interviews, there were many different ways that I could establish control in these situations and have more power in them. Thinking about all those ways to have power over a situation I thought I was relatively powerless in brought me some comfort and confidence as well.
There were also some very interesting things that I noticed that were both different and similar between the 2 types of philosophies. There were some common things that the weeks covered such as looking at moderation in Epicureanism versus self-discipline in Stoicism as well as a day that focuses on nature. It was interesting to see the different ways both philosophies approached these similar topics and how the different activities showcased that. I think it was interesting that there were also differences in the structure of the weeks as well. During the Epicurean week, I felt like it was much more of a lax time and I had freedom of choice to perform certain activities while for Stoicism was under a more strict schedule comparatively and focused on more reflection and meditation. I think that the focus on reflection and meditation helped me think about the daily topics in a more deep manner.
In conclusion, both Epicureanism and Stoicism weeks were both very interesting and fruitful experiences that helped me gain newer perspectives for me in life.

To Epicurean or To Stoicism

To Epicurean or To Stoicism

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Doing epicureanism for a week after doing stoicism was very interesting and informative. The activities from the epicurialism week were more focused on actual actions, whether it was taking a walk, looking at a painting, or taking a nap. In comparison, stoicism was mainly focused on introspection, where they reflected on writings and messages. Furthermore, stoicism included work in the morning, middle of the day, and at night. Epicureanism had the main activity throughout the day and a gratitude journal. I enjoyed the activities a lot. I found the nap and walk very helpful. On the walk, I enjoyed seeing the trees, hearing the birds chirping, and feeling the beautiful sun and temperature. Afterward, I do have a desire to go and spend time outside. I also enjoyed the nap. It was beneficial to take a mental break from work, allowing me to recharge and prepare to be more productive later. The truth and perception I found interesting as it seemed similar to other psychological solutions of helping people be in the moment and stop worrying about the future. During the truth and perception, I found that the surfaces were what I excepted. I had hot ramen, cold air conditioning, rough walls, and smooth sheets. It is interesting that both stoicism and epicurialism included solutions and activities in psychology. The main things from my gratitude journal were that I no longer have covid and enjoy time with friends. The scrapbook also had my gratitude for video games, sunsets, and my girlfriend. I also found around campus, the common room window, the trees, the art. Most of the reasons these things are in my scrapbook are sentimental or essential reasons. Overall, I think I enjoyed stoicism more than epicurialism. I enjoyed trying to accept what I could and could not control. It helped make my life more relaxed overall. I also enjoyed epicurialism, but it wasn’t as calming as stoicism was. It did help me focus on the beauty around me, though, compared to stoicism. Seeing nature and beauty in objects and people around me was fascinating. The gratitude journal is also an interesting foil to the stoicism journal. The stoicism journal helped relax and calm down on you. Compared to gratitude in general, it focused more on happy emotions and overall goodness.

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Roman Legacy in the United States Capitol

Roman Legacy in the United States Capitol

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Last month, my boyfriend visited Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.. While unfortunately the Capitol was closed to visitors while we were there, I was still surprised at how many legacies of Rome linger in the United States Capitol. The name alone seems a direct descendant of the Capitoline Hill, as the United States Capitol itself stands atop a large hill- we even saw a sign that said the upper balcony on the capitol building was added in part to add horizontal platform above the sloping front steps to make sure the building didn’t look like it was sliding down the hill from afar! I’ve been to Capitol Hill several times before, both as a protester and a visitor to the Capitol and the House and Senate galleries, but coming back with a greater understanding of the legacies the Senate and Capitol pull from made me notice different aspects of the Hill. Seeing the large barricades on the Capitol Building itself (in addition to the many layers of security to get into or even around the building) made me think about how much access I had to the Senate vs how much ancient Romans would have had to their Senate, and the histories of violence upon the people and even building of both Senates. Though as a United States citizen I can visit the offices of my state’s senators and ask for free passes to get into the Senate Gallery, affording me much more access and transparency to the goings-on of my government than it seems a Roman citizen might have had to their Senate, I have to go through layers of security at every step to keep the kind of violence by citizens against their own houses of government that plagued the Roman Senate away (with good reason considering the violence at Capitol last year). While the United States Capitol was burned once by an invading army in 1812, the Roman Senate House was burned down several times by its own citizens. While my boyfriend had never visited the Capitol building before, he studied abroad in Rome and offered interesting comparisons to our Capitol and modern-day Rome, especially noticing the way the layout of Capitol Hill incorporates large green spaces, perhaps for visitors and congresspeople’s enjoyment, perhaps to provide a place for large protests that wouldn’t interfere with daily life, or to reinforce a separate, removed quality of government from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Actum Cinemagraphicum – HBO’s Rome

Actum Cinemagraphicum – HBO’s Rome

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Last week, before we saw a snippet from an episode in class, I watched the beginning of HBO’s Rome TV series. Specifically, I watched the first two episodes of the series. In Episode 1, the show highlights two characters: Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo. Vorenus is a centurion of the 13th legion of Rome, under the command of Caesar. Titus Pullo is a rowdy soldier under Vorenus’s command who loves to party. The show opens with a battle where Titus Pullo disobeys Lucius Vorneus on the battlefield, leading to Pullo’s punishment. Pullo is publicly whipped and then imprisoned, which aligns with the infamnia tactics of publicly shaming Roman citizens which we talked about in class. 

The audience is then introduced to Pompey and Caesar as we watch Julia, Caesar’s daughter and Pompey’s wife, die in childbirth. Once Julia died, loyalty no longer lied between Caesar and Pompey. We then see a scene on the Senate floor, where one man encourages Pompey to betray Caesar. Despite Pompey’s public rejection of this idea, behind closed doors, Pompey starts questioning his allegiance to Caesar and plays around with the idea of overthrowing him. Ironically enough, Pompey starts conspiring about Caesar while he was at a play with masked actors. This portrayal of masked performers ties to our discussion about the word persona and forms of entertainment in Rome. 

There was also a scene where Octavian, Caesar’s nephew, is captured by barbarians and held captive. Pullo and Vorenus, on their search for Caesar’s stolen eagle, slay the barbarians and rescue Octavian. In order to establish credibility, Octavian states that he is a Roman citizen born of noble birth. This reminds me of the saying “Civis Romanus Sum”, used when Romans prove their validity to others like Octavian did in this scene. 

In the episodes I watched so far, the plot is centered around the build-up of Caesar and Pompey’s tensions ultimately resulting in the Civil War. The show highlights Pompey’s jealousy of Caesar as the main cause for the feud. Pompey is jealous because the people of Rome love Caesar. This plotline, along with many other aspects of HBO’s Rome, are very historically accurate. It is very interesting to see our discussions about Roman history play out on the TV screen. I am eager to continue watching and see the Civil War and Pompey’s death play out as well. 

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Over the Alps with Elephants

Over the mountains they came, to our shock

The army scrambled to our positions

No one thought to guard the alps, just the dock

As we reached the slopes, we saw our mission

Up high they loomed, above our formation

Pride replaces fear as I stand in line

My brothers join me, guarding our nation

Arrows begin to rain down, it is time

As we clash swords, our unpreparedness shows

They break through our line, our end could be soon

A distant rumble, a trumpet, a horn?

Elephants, monsters, our impending doom

The beasts close in, we are crushed, we are done

There is only one thought in my head: RUN

Caesar poem

Caesar poem

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Jackson Ryan

Professor Mulligan

Roman

03/23/22

Caesar is the goat

Talk to him bad he will come at your throat

Pompey questioned him as a Roman

He said he had no dignitas and insulted his nomen

“These things being made known to Caesar”

He had no choice but to invade quite eager 

Crassus was an ally to both of these leaders

Until their fall out and petty demeanor 

Rome on the Screen

Rome on the Screen

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Gladiator to this day is still one of my favorite movies to watch. It does a really good job of grabbing the viewer’s attention. To top it off, the movie does a really good job of playing off of the culture of ancient Rome. My favorite scene comes when Commodus is talking to Maximus while Maximus is chained around his wrists and ankles. This scene does a really good job of using epics to determine how the characters interact with each other. The fact that the antagonist, Commodus is dressed in all white while the protagonist, Maximus is dressed in all black. It really makes the viewer think about the display of power that each character shows. Another reason why I really enjoy Gladiator is because the fight scenes are done very well. Each scene captures how a true gladiator would fight in an arena. An additional thing that Gladiort did a great job at was displaying the artistic design on the clothes of the upper class. From what we know about ancient Rome, people in the upper class and those connected to the monarchy dressed very elegantly with flashes of color embroidered onto their clothes. The politics during the movie are very interesting because they are almost direct actions that a Roman emperor would have and could have taken. For instance, the choosing of a general instead of kin as heir to the throne is not traditional, but for a Roman emperor, is not that far of a stretch. The only thing that I thought the movie could have done better is have Maximus live. By Maximus dying it does bring good upon Rome, but I still wanted to see what could’ve become of Rome if Maximus lived. 

I watched the movie with Jake Abraham and he thought the movie was really good. We both had watched Gladiator before so it felt appropriate to watch it again. Even after already having seen the movie, Jake was still captivated by how well the actors play the roles of ancient Romans. By the end of the movie, all Jake had to say was “I love that movie.” 

Stoic Week of Living Philosophically

Stoic Week of Living Philosophically

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This week I participated in the Stoic Week of Living Philosophically in order to complete an Actum. I had previously gone through the Epicurean Week of Living Philosophically, and this week was equally (if not more) impactful and valuable for me, and without a doubt easier to adjust to.

The Stoic Week of Living Philosophically fit my life-views closely, and aided me in being deliberate in my thoughts and actions throughout the week. Everything I did felt planned out and under control, something that is extremely important, especially in college. Every day when I woke up 10 minutes early to do the “Early-Morning Meditation”, I left my room to go to class feeling more confident, and much more directly motivated towards a certain goal or attitude for the day. Evening meditations allowed me to go to sleep with a clear image of what I was proud of from that day, and what I can improve on tomorrow. Stoicism was much closer to my real-life virtues and thought-processes then I would have imagined. I am always very intentional about my goals and mindsets, and the guidelines provided for this week showed me how to be even more pragmatic with my mindset. The activities also allowed me to create spaces for healthy reflection and calm in my day-to-day life, something I have not actively done before this week.

The Stoic Maxims presented in the handbook stuck with me, particularly the one that reads ““Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” (Seneca). Each Maxim presents a point-of-view on daily life, and helps to create more stability, taking away any overly volatile emotional responses. This particular one from Seneca helped remind me to live each day to its fullest, regardless of what tomorrow may bring, or what happened yesterday. I found myself thinking of this quote several times throughout the week, when I was dreading an event later in the week, or dwelling over an event from the previous day. This maxim helped me remain calm, and refocus my energy in a positive manner.

Sunday’s activity (which was Wednesday for me since I started then) was particularly impactful. It helped me detach from problems that are not mine, and ones which I cannot control whatsoever. This activity being placed on the very first evening helped me to “lock in” to the Stoic mentality for the rest of the week, checking in with every emotion on whether it was under my control, or whether it was something I should let go and live my life.

Overall, I am appreciative of the opportunity to take part in the week of living like a Stoic, and I sincerely hope to continue some of the Stoic practices throughout the rest of the semester. Compared to the Epicurean week, the Stoic week was a lot more structured (much like the philosophies), and I enjoyed that significantly more. Everything that I did throughout the week positively impacted my mentality and daily life, something that was surprising to me.
The Roman Sewer System

The Roman Sewer System

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The object I have taken my selfie with may appear to be a mere drain cover, but it in fact is the sewer and intricate plumbing system beneath that holds Roman influence. While obviously not an actual sewer system from ancient Rome, the modern system takes much influence from the ingenious Roman aqueducts and waste flushing mechanisms that kept the city clean. While the Haverford sewer system most likely began to take shape in the 1800s, the Romans were laying concrete and lead pipes through their magnificent city in about 200 BC. The sewer cover I took my picture with was made in India, but the majority of the piping and concrete needed to create the vast underground channels for waste in the US are made in the USA. In Rome, the first sewers were created by the Etruscans in 500 BC and were largely expanded upon over time. In support of the use of the budding sewer system, Roman law was passed that protected innocent bystanders from assault by wastes thrown into the street. Convenient and effective, the Roman sewers started to begin being directly connected to homes in about 100 AD. The Romans also created elevated aqueducts to control the water flower through their system, as well as where higher and lower quality water could be directed to. Strabo, a Greek author who lived from about 60 BC to AD 24, said about the sewer system: “The sewers, covered with a vault of tightly fitted stones, have room in some places for hay wagons to drive through them. And the quantity of water brought into the city by aqueducts is so great that rivers, as it were, flow through the city and the sewers; almost every house has water tanks, service pipes, and plentiful streams of water.” The sewer system in ancient Rome was a subterranean wonder of the world, an impressive feat of engineering that displayed the Romans’ commitment to cleanliness as well as showcasing the luxuries they could afford. Our modern system was heavily influenced by the Romans’ work, and we have them to thank for literally and figuratively paving the way.

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