The Path to Temperance

It's not just about self-control

Photo by John McCann on Unsplash

The first day of fall is right around the corner! That means it’s time to continue my series on seasonal Stoicism, which began on the first day of summer with Stoic justice. Today let’s move on to everyone’s (least) favorite virtue: temperance.

When you see the word “temperance,” what comes to mind? For many people it’s not a very pleasant word. I always think of the first time I heard it, in my 10^th grade history class, when we learned about the Women’s Christian Temperance Union of the 1870s—dour-faced matrons shutting down bars and bewigged judges making sure no one has any fun. Even today temperance has strong ties to abstinence or teetotaling. In other words, much like the term virtue itself, temperance kind of has a PR problem.

But as readers of Stoicism for Humans probably know, when we use temperance as a translation for the ancient Greek word sōphrosunē, we are often referring to self-control, restraint, or as Merriam-Webster puts it, “habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions.” This would be your garden-variety type of self-control when it comes to eating, substance use, and the carnal pleasures, as well as 21^st century temptations like online shopping and binge-watching tv shows. This version of temperance sounds a bit better than the WCTU campaigning against saloons, but it still doesn’t seem very appealing.

So today we’re going to massively expand our understanding of temperance, looking at what the ancient Stoics really said about this cardinal virtue and how it relates to a good life. While of course temperance does encompass good old-fashioned self-control and moderation, we will not be focusing on these aspects; instead, we will focus on how the temperate person embodies consistency, an organized mind, and properly ordered motives and actions. And we will finish up with some amazing advice from Marcus Aurelius on how to apply temperance in your everyday life. I hope that by the time we’re done, temperance will seem both more realistic and more appealing, and we’ll all enjoy a very temperate autumn.

What is Stoic temperance?

Cicero was one of the first people (certainly the most influential) to translate sōphrosunē into Latin as temperantia, and we’ve been using this Latinized word for moderation and self-control ever since. Personally, I like to reflect on the other English words that are related to temperance but are less loaded—words like temperament, temperature, tempo, and the friendly adjective well-tempered. The Latin root tempus seems to go back to the proto-Italic word for stretch or measure, suggesting phrases such as “observe proper measure,” “adjust or restore to proper proportions,” “mix in due proportion; regulate, rule, govern, manage” (from Online Etymology Dictionary).

I think these get closer to the Stoic meaning of temperance, which is something like well-measured, consistent, even-tempered, having a good and steady pace. These words connote cadence and regularity, or perhaps organization and order, in opposition to unpredictability, variation, unevenness, or wild fluctuation.

This what we’re talking about as a Stoic virtue: steadiness and evenness of thought, emotion, and action. It’s well-known that the pathē (which is the Greek word for emotion, understood as strong negative emotions) cause people to say and do things that they later regret, perhaps things that don’t match up to their normal character. The ancient Stoics described this sense of being out of control in ways that are still recognizable to us today, like being a puppet pulled around by a string, or running so fast you lose control of your feet.

When we think about someone under the sway of anger, grief, distress, or other strong emotions—or perhaps under the influence of drugs or alcohol—what type of actions do we expect from them? Shouting, erratic behavior, physical and emotional violence, accidents, bad decisions, loss of physical and psychological control. Nothing good happens when someone falls prey to these mental states.

Temperance, you might say, is the antidote to all this. Instead of erratic behavior and bad decisions, we make beneficial decisions and behave consistently. Instead of allowing ourselves to be mentally and physically taken over by strong urges, we stay in control of ourselves and are “always and everywhere a match for ourselves” (according to Seneca). Instead of automatically getting irritated or enraged in difficult circumstances, we have the psychological wherewithal to be calm, happy, and ethical even in hard times.

Seen in this light, I think temperance starts to sound much more attractive. It’s not simply a matter of denying ourselves pleasures, sticking to a diet, or holding our tongue when we want to argue. It’s about the kind of person we want to be and the kind of life we want to live. Shrieking banshee or cool and collected? A puppet on a string or master of our own universe? At the mercy of the world or in control of our own impulses?

With this in mind, we can turn to one of the clearest definitions of Stoic temperance, which comes from Stobaeus/Arius Didymus (5b): temperance is “knowledge of what is to be chosen and avoided or neither.” Here are the four subdefinitions he provides:

• organization: knowledge of when one is to act and what to do and in general of the ordering of actions

• orderliness: knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate motions

• modesty: knowledge which is cautious about proper criticism

• self-control: unsurpassable knowledge of what is revealed about right reason

These subvirtues mostly come down to the same thing, namely, stabilizing our motives and impulses. As Seneca puts it,

This is the chief task of wisdom, and the best evidence of it too: that actions should be in accordance with words, that the person should be the same in all places, a match for himself. ‘Is there any such person?’ Not many, but there are some. It is indeed difficult. And I don't mean, even, that the wise person always walks the same steps, but only that he walks a single road.

Letters on Ethics, 20.2

This is one of the primary demands of a philosophical life: that we are always consistent in what we want. If you change your desires frequently, then you will always be chasing after something different, and you won’t achieve much of anything except confusion and disarray. If your primary goal in life is to make a million dollars, and you make it, then what? Maybe your goal changes to two million dollars. If your goal is to buy the latest luxury car, you can do that, but soon a newer model will become available. Or, if you just don’t know what you want in life, you might end up like this student of Epictetus:

Aren't you changeable, too, in what you love? Riches, pleasure, and in a word all external things you sometimes regard as being good and sometimes as bad; and in your relations with others, don't you regard the same people as being good at one time and bad at another, and aren't you sometimes well-disposed toward them, and sometimes ill-disposed, and don't you praise them at one time while criticizing them at another?

Discourses, 2.22, 7

Or maybe you’re like this student:

In each action that you undertake, consider what comes before and what follows after, and only then proceed to the action itself. Otherwise you'll set about it with enthusiasm because you've never given any thought to the consequences that will follow, and then you'll give up in an ignominious fashion when one or another of them makes its appearance…

When you've reflected about these things, go on then to become an athlete if you still want to; otherwise recognize that you're behaving as children do, who play at being athletes at one moment, and then at being gladiators, and then blow a trumpet, and then act out scenes that they have seen and admired. For your own part likewise, you're sometimes an athlete, sometimes a gladiator, then a philosopher, then an orator, but nothing at all whole-heartedly; no, in the manner of an ape, you imitate everything that you see, and one thing after another is always catching your fancy, but it ceases to amuse you after you grow accustomed to it. For you've never embarked on anything after due consideration, not after having subjected it to proper examination and testing it out, but always at random and in a half-hearted fashion.

Discourses, 3.15, 1, 5-7

If you’re one of these guys, things are not looking good for you! This way lies frustration and unhappiness, both for you and the people you interact with. Instead, we want to cultivate a desire for virtue, which is good in every situation. Virtue will always benefit you. Remember that the Stoics were thinking of “good” in terms of inner character and a good flow to life, not gaining preferred indifferents such as wealth or a longer life. If you see your good as a rich inner life, good character, and fulfilling your human potential, then virtue will always benefit you.

When you always have virtue as your aim, then you will always want the same thing, day in, and day out. Your actions will have a steadiness and evenness that others lack. Everything about you, from your thoughts to your words, will be measured and harmonious. You won’t give in to sudden impulses but instead will direct all your motives toward a well-thought out purpose in life, which will provide you with consistent inner peace and fulfillment.

Meditations on Temperance

So now I’m sure you are convinced that temperance is necessary to live a good and happy life. But how do we go about cultivating an orderly mind and consistent desires? How do we become stable and well-tempered? Everyone knows how hard this is.

The Roman Stoics had A LOT to say about this virtue—living as they did in a completely decadent society—but I’m just going to share some of the most straightforward advice from Marcus Aurelius. I hardly need to remind you how difficult it must have been for Marcus to remain temperate as Roman emperor. He literally had the world at his fingertips. Many emperors before and after him succumbed to temptations and vices of every kind. But Marcus, good Stoic that he was, did his best to remain modest and moderate.

Throughout the Meditations we see Marcus reminding himself to be steady and consistent in his impulses. For example:

Wipe out vain imagination. No longer allow your passions to pull you around like a puppet. Confine your attention to the present time. Learn to recognize what is happening to yourself or another. Divide and analyse every given object into the material and the causal. Give thought to your last hour. Let the wrong committed by another remain where it first arose.

Meditations, 7.29

In general, we might say that Marcus is reminding himself to stick to the objective truth in every situation, not letting himself be carried away by false impressions. Elsewhere he refers to removing false judgments, for example when his child is sick and he imagines the worst. Don’t start ruminating on what might happen, or what other people think of you, or some upsetting aspect of your past. Focus on only what is really present. This way your emotions will not get the better of you and you can remain in control of yourself.

Similarly, Marcus tells himself,

Do not wander astray in your mind, but with regard to every impulse deliver what is right, and with regard to every idea that presents itself preserve your power of judgment.

Meditations, 4.22

You can see the links here between impulse and judgment: our impulses and motives derive from our judgments, which is why it’s so important to preserve our power of judgment. If you remember that virtue (a.k.a. good judgment, a.k.a. living in agreement with nature) is the path to a good life, and you learn to desire only virtue, then all your other judgments and motivations will flow from there.

And here are just a few more verses from the Meditations that I think provide excellent guidance as we try to be well-tempered humans:

Act with Care

When you act, let it be neither unwillingly, nor selfishly, nor unthinkingly nor half-heartedly; do not attempt to embellish your thoughts by dressing them up in fine language; avoid excessive talk and superfluous action.

Meditations, 3.5

Use Your Soul Wisely

To what purpose, then, am I presently using my soul? Ask yourself this question at every moment, and examine yourself as follows: what is presently to be found in that part of me which is called the ruling centre?

Meditations, 5.11

Keep Your Balance

When the force of circumstances causes you, in some sense, to lose your equilibrium, return to yourself with all speed, and never lose the rhythm for any longer than you must; for you will be more in control of the measure if you return to it again and again.

Meditations, 6.11

Be Orderly

Be neither dilatory in your actions, nor disorganized in your conversation, nor rambling in your thoughts; ensure that your soul, in brief, neither contracts into itself nor wells over, and that your life is not so busy that you have no time for yourself.

Meditations, 8.51

Remain Under Your Own Control

Blot out imagination; put a curb on impulse; quench desire; ensure that your ruling center remains under its own control.

Meditations, 9.7

Refer Your Actions to the Same End

Firstly, never act at random and without clear reference to an end; and secondly, refer your action to no other end than the common good.

Meditations, 12.20

Concluding Thoughts

I hope our exploration of temperance has helped you to see this under-rated virtue in a new light. Self-control and moderation are certainly important parts of temperance, but that’s not all there is to it. The core of temperance is about being well-regulated, using good judgment to make choices that are always in alignment with your highest principles. The trickle-down effects mean that you’re able to resist that delicious slice of cake, but this is not really the core feature of temperance. Primarily it’s about making sure your motives and impulses are directed toward virtue.

Photo by Element5 on Unsplash

So this autumn, as the days get shorter and colder (and you start spending more time inside with hot cocoa and pumpkin pie), remember to stay consistent in your Stoic practice. Maybe you amp up your reading or meditation time to ensure your principles stay top of mind; maybe you create a vision board of the kind of temperate person you want to be.

And maybe you need one final piece of advice from Marcus Aurelius to help you on your way:

Never embark on an action at random, or otherwise than according to one of the principles that perfect the art of living.

Meditations, 4.2