Beginning Our Heroic Journey
From my book, God and the Pandemic, A Judaic Reflection on the Coronavirus (2020)
There once lived a famous Roman slave who became one of the most celebrated Stoic philosophers of his age—his name was Epictetus (ca. 50-C.E.-130 C.E.). His biography is all the more remarkable, especially when considering his humble origins. Born to a slave-woman in Hierapolis's Phrygian city in Asia Minor, Epictetus won his freedom from a master who also once lived as a slave. People from all over the Empire gathered regularly to hear Epictetus speak. This wise Sage captivated the hearts of those who heard his genuine wisdom, a wisdom that was born from a life of personal suffering. He wrote:
What would have become of Hercules, do you think, if there had been no lion, hydra, stag or boar – and no savage criminals to rid the world of, what would he have done in the absence of such challenges? He would have just rolled over in bed and gone back to sleep! By snoring his life away in luxury and comfort, he would never have developed into the mighty Hercules. And even if he had, what good would it have done him? What would have been the use of those arms, that physique, and that noble soul, without crises or conditions to stir him into action? [i]
Every heroic story begins with an adventure that will test an individual's capacity limits and inner strength. Anyone aspiring to become a hero cannot afford to remain stationary—especially in the face of a challenge. A hero must resist the temptation to "playing it safe" by living according to other people's expectations.
The 19th century chess champion Wilhelm Steinitz used to say, "Chess is not for timid people."
And neither is life.
The personal message of Epictetus' homily is clear: God did not put us in this world to be mediocre, but to become exceptional people. There is nothing ordinary about the life God has granted us. But to realize this potential, Epictetus encourages us to embrace and accept our uniqueness, and ability to rise above adversity. The ordeals and hardships we encounter define our place in history now and for the future. Our life experiences become a historical record for posterity.
That's what it means to live heroically.
Hercules was the mythic hero most admired by Cynic and Stoic philosophers. His labors embodied their belief that it's more rewarding to face hardship voluntarily and cultivate strength of character than to take the easy option by embracing comfortable living and idleness. But no hero can ever be born without obstacles challenging one's resolve. The hero's journey on a psychological level requires overcoming the darker impulses and passions—his "inner savage," as it were. This journey commits the protagonist to live a life involving self-discovery, where one comes to discover one's destiny and life-purpose. The hero's insight is never an end in and of itself; his path leads him to better the human community around him; he seeks to redeem society itself.
Moreover, becoming a hero is impossible without facing something dangerous and threatening. Hercules might have considered going to sleep after succeeding in his first ordeal, but Providence demanded that he regularly face ominous challenges, each one more difficult than the other. From this perspective, the hero's journey anticipates a triumphant return from the realm of darkness and death to light and life—from unconsciousness to a state of pure consciousness.
Epictetus' illustration of Hercules reminds us that each of us has an inner hero that we must self-actualize on a psychological level. The heroic journey we experience will inevitably lead to a greater understanding of ourselves. In most hero myths, the hero sets out to bring a treasure to one's country or the world. But the journey inevitably involves facing one's inner demons and other obstacles that serve as rites of initiation. In virtually all hero stories across the globe, the hero must prove his worth, the caliber of his ideas, and his character in dangerous ways that will test the limits of mortality.
In the end, God has endowed each of us with the time, talent and treasure to make our life extraordinary. A hero is a person who will always push the limits of his mortality to affirm life in the face of danger.
The hero's story is told in every culture and period of human history. Each of these stories shares several common themes. Heroes are never passively born; heroes are made and shaped by their circumstances and the moral decisions they make. This pattern is not unique to Greek myth, but also occurs throughout every biblical story—from Adam to Job. What was true regarding Abraham, Isaac, and especially Jacob is no less accurate with their descendants. God grants each of us individual talents, abilities, strengths, and skills to help actualize our human potential in this world. The adversities we face serve to spur us to use these skills. In Jungian terms, human individuation is something only we can do for ourselves—nobody else can.
Hillel and Epictetus
Hillel the Elder (110 B.C.E-10 C.E.) expressed the following thought: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I, and if not now, when?” (Avoth 1:14). Hillel’s remark bears a likeness to the thought Epictetus comment about Hercules. For Hillel and Epictetus, living heroically requires that we wake up from our lethargy and believe we can and must make a difference. “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” In a word: Nobody. An actualized human being is always challenging and pushing oneself to be creative in overcoming obstacles. Epictetus would have concurred with Hillel’s last question: If not now, when? Life is short as it is; we cannot utilize God’s gift without focused attention and a steely determination to triumph over our challenges.
Epictetus’ Advice for Facing COVID-19
Everything Epictetus described about Hercules could just as easily apply to our country, the United States of America. As the world's number one economic and military superpower, the United States possesses a Hercules' stature on the world stage for over 170 years. As Americans, we sometimes take our country's history and greatness for granted. No other nation in the world's history has liberated more countries from tyrannies than the United States. Although our great country has sometimes made tragic mistakes in our past, we have learned from these errors and remain committed to evolving as a country.
In one of Epictetus' most valuable lessons, he borrows a theme from Socrates, and argues that every human being is like a sculptor; the quality and self-actualization of a human's life is not a given. Preferably, each of us must make something out of our life experiences regarding the art of living. As one modern Stoic scholar observed:
Epictetus compared philosophy to artisans: As wood is to the carpenter, and bronze to the sculptor, so are our own lives the proper material in the art of living. Philosophy is not reserved for wise old men, it’s an essential craft for everybody who wants to learn how to live (and die) well. Every life situation presents a blank canvas or a block of marble that we can sculpt and train on, so that over a lifetime we can master our craft. That’s basically what Stoicism does, it teaches us how to excel in life, it prepares us to face adversity calmly, and simply helps us sculpt and enjoy a good life.[ii]
The situation our country is presently undergoing offers the opportunity of a life-time to recast the way we experience our world. The current pandemic in this country tests our ability to unite as a nation and form a singular identity with purpose and resolve. Defeating an invisible foe capable of claiming millions of lives requires our nation—from the President to the common citizen—to work together for the common good. We have opportunity to embrace the hero archetype and make the decision to live beyond ourselves.
[i] Epictetus: Discourses and Selected Writings (New York: Penguin Books, 2000) On Providence I:6:33-34.
[ii] III.24·20f, 5; IVS·27)·