Nothing befalls a man but what is in his nature to endure. -Marcus Aurelius.
Let us examine this quote a bit. Is it really true? What about all the ailments and obstacles of life that befall one and break him? Is that called endurance? Is the breaking of the will/mind/or body endurance? These are all good questions.
First off, not everything can withstand all the weight or pressure put upon it. Our mind and body is built for endurance but too much pressure can cause a break. A bone in the body may handle normal weight but if one trips and falls too hard, that pressure may break it. The same is true of the mind. Normal struggles and ordinary hassles of daily life, like traffic, poor sleep, a bad grade, the mind is designed to handle but if you put too much stress on it for too much time, and we are all faced with a few big stresses in life, it may break and lead you to have depression or bipolar. So the human mind or body is by nature not unbreakable. But I don’t think that is the meaning of the quote. Aurelius being a smart man must have known this.
A possible meaning is that the type of calamity that befalls one is suitable to his nature. He who gets a certain type of illness is uniquely fit to endure that certain type of illness. He who gets cancer is fit to endure cancer. He who gets exiled is fit to endure exile. He who gets hypothermia is uniquely fit to endure it. The assumption being a unique type of misfortune is uniquely suited to the character of the person who has to endure it. OK, this is a very positive way of looking at misfortune. Whatever happens to you, fear it not, for you are uniquely suited to endure it according to your character. But does character matter? Character obviously matters when we choose the obstacle at hand. For example he who chooses to play football has the character, physical and spiritual, to endure the obstacles of football. He who chooses to become a runner has the character to endure obstacles of running. She who choses to do a PhD in philosophy has the character to endure the obstacles presented by a PhD in philosophy.
But what about when we don’t get to chose? Certainly, it is unprovable that we choose the illnesses, bad luck, and ailments that befall us because believe our character uniquely suited to endure those obstacles. In fact, it can be argued a unique character attracts a unique misfortune, not by strength but by weakness. (Or sometimes your strength is used against you.) For character comes with both strengths and weaknesses. In life, one’s strengths defend him against particular ills while one’s weaknesses make him vulnerable to other particular evils.
So then how are we to take this quote? Perhaps we could say that your strong points enable you to endure your weak points. The calamities that you cannot defend against, owing to your weak points, you can bear and endure according to your strong points. But what is the strong point in question? What is the virtue in need? The universal virtue against pain and suffering is endurance itself: the will to bear, be patient and tough. What you cannot avoid, endure. Cultivate endurance. After all the only way out is through, as they say
George Shetuni 