Isn’t it enough to know the true nature of good and bad, and the proper bounds of our desires and aversions, and also of our motives to act or not to act, and to make use of these as rules to order the conduct of our life, and renounce those things that are beyond us?
Fragments, 1
In other words, if you want to get smart, don’t try to figure out what’s going on in the world outside you. Instead, work on the things you control. Motives. Desires. Aversions.
If you know right and wrong and you know your motives, desires, and attitudes, then you will know what to do.
Anything beyond that is out of your control.
A man’s got to know his limitations is one way to look at what he’s telling you to do.
Know right and wrong? This is the eternal challenge. Be content to stumble, confused, for the rest of your life. You’re not going to achieve a goal here (“I know the difference between good and evil and you don’t, so let me enlighten you”). Here, the journey really is the destination.
It’s easy to see someone who has a clear sense of right and wrong. They will stumble frequently. Their idea of right and wrong may evolve over time. But their actions tell you everything you need to know about their principles.
And their principles are, you will find, simple and pragmatic. Don’t ask them. Watch their actions. You will quickly see what you need to see.
This is the recipe: Know your limitations and have simple guiding principles.
Easy to say. Now let’s go do it, just until lunchtime. You can do this for a few hours to the best of your ability.