The captain and the your voyage.

The captain and the your voyage.

Chapter VII Enchiridion

As in a voyage, when the ship is at anchor, if you go on shore to get water, you may amuse yourself with picking up a shellfish or a truffle in your way, but your thoughts ought to be bent toward the ship, and perpetually attentive, lest the captain should call, and then you must leave all these things, that you may not have to be carried on board the vessel, bound like a sheep; thus likewise in life, if, instead of a truffle or shellfish, such a thing as a wife or a child be granted you, there is no objection; but if the captain calls, run to the ship, leave all these things, and never look behind. But if you are old, never go far from the ship, lest you should be missing when called for.


Thoughts

a. Find this particular chapter obtuse and obscure. Not certain what the notion of the Captain is or whom it is. God, a higher power, duty, living stoically?

b.Easy part. Do not get side tracked from the voyage. It is there our duty lies. Perpetually attentive.

c. Humans have a propensity to get distracted by shells and truffles. Needless menial pursuits and superficial items.

d.Ensure your focus is correct and you do not have to be dragged back on board your ship, when the captain calls. Interesting he chooses sheep in this illustration.

e. If the captain calls you may have to abandon your wife and child to complete your voyage and duty? Never look behind. Live in the past? Is the captain a representation of a God or higher power?

f. If old do not stray too far from the ship or you may not make it back. To living well?

g. Is the ship and captain a metaphor for living correctly and stoically. Not sure really. If not what is the message?

Vincent M.

Public Transport Contracts Support Engineer

2 年

The captain is similar to a crown? The crown is the power role bestowed upon a person and it takes over their life as a higher calling?.

Craig Gunn

Teacher - Coach

2 年

val andrews this just popped into my email Inbox from Fr. Richard Rohr: We Don’t Need to Know ? This Advent season, Father Richard writes of how we grow in faith by letting go of our need for certainty: The major heresy of the Western churches is that they have largely turned the very meaning of faith into its exact opposite. True faith involves not knowing and even not needing to know, but we made faith demanding to know and insisting that we do know! The original sin, brilliantly described, warned us against this temptation at the very beginning.

Craig Gunn

Teacher - Coach

2 年

More a guilty Catholic (wasn't St. Paul fond of the Stoics?) but didn't the Greek Stoics believe in an 'all knowing' god? I reckon I read Marcus A talking about it... A million different meanings for us plebs great teacher Val but yes, don't tread too far from the journey. Very 'Eastern' in its philosophy or at least similar to some of my Japanese Senseis. BUT, for a dumb, white bloke who would once coach middle aged men older and wiser than me: "Prepare yourself for death..." they'd hear me say (in jest or was it?). Nothing wromg with being a fit-looking corpse hahahaaa... Thanks for sharing, Gunny

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