Ancient philosophy is not just about talking or lecturing, or even reading long, dense books.

古代哲学不仅仅是高谈阔论、讲座授课甚至是阅读冗长厚重的书籍。

In fact, it is something people have used throughout history – to solve their problems and to achieve their greatest triumphs.

事实上，在历史长河中人类用古代哲学来解决问题，实现巨大成就。

Specifically, I am referring to Stoicism, which, in my opinion, is the most practical of all philosophies and therefore the most appealing.

说得直白些，我指的是斯多葛哲学。在我看来，这是所有哲学流派中最实用的，因此也是最具吸引力的。

Stoicism was founded in Ancient Greece by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC, but was practised by the likes of Epictetus, Cato, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius.

公元前3世纪早期，斯多葛学派是由出生于季蒂昂的芝诺在古希腊创立的，但爱比克泰德、卡托、塞内卡和马可·奥勒留等人都信奉斯多葛学派。

Amazingly, we still have access to these ideas, despite the fact that the most famous Stoics never wrote anything down for publication.

令人惊讶的是，尽管最著名的斯多葛学派从未写下任何东西供出版，我们仍然可以接触到这些思想。

Cato definitely didn't.

可以肯定卡托从未发表过文章。

Marcus Aurelius never intended his Meditations to be anything but personal.

马可·奥勒留始终将他的《沉思录》视作私人作品，从未计划将之公之于众。

Seneca's letters were, well, letters and Epictetus' thoughts come to us by way of a note-taking student.

塞内卡的书信就只是信件，而爱比克泰德的观点则通过一个学生的笔记传递给我们。

Stoic principles were based on the idea that its followers could have an unshakable happiness in this life and the key to achieving this was virtue.

斯多葛的哲学原则基于的理念是它的追随者可以在这一生中拥有不可动摇的幸福，而实现这一点的关键是美德。

The road to virtue, in turn, lay in understanding that destructive emotions, like anger and jealousy, are under our conscious control – they don't have to control us, because we can learn to control them.

反过来，通往美德的道路在于理解破坏性情绪，如愤怒和嫉妒，是在我们有意识的控制之下的。人不必被这些情绪控制，因为我们可以学会控制它们。

In the words of Epictetus: “external events I cannot control, but the choices I make with regard to them, I do control”.

爱比克泰德曾说：“我无法控制外部存在，但我可以控制我对它们所做的选择。”

The modern day philosopher and writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines a Stoic as someone who has a different perspective on experiences which most of us would see as wholly negative; a Stoic “transforms fear into caution, pain into transformation, mistakes into initiation and desire into undertaking”.

现代哲学家、作家纳西姆·尼古拉斯·塔勒布将斯多葛主义者定义为一个对大部分人都当做完全消极的经验有不同看法的人。斯多葛主义者“将恐惧转化为谨慎，将痛苦转化为转变，将错误转化为启蒙，将欲望转化为事业”。

Using this definition as a model, we can see that throughout the centuries Stoicism has been practised in more recent history by kings, presidents, artists, writers and entrepreneurs.

把这个定义作为一个模型，我们可以看到，几个世纪以来，国王、总统、艺术家、作家和企业家在近代历史上一直奉行斯多葛主义。

The founding fathers of the United States were inspired by the philosophy.

美国的开国元勋们受到了这种哲学的启发。

George Washington was introduced to Stoicism by his neighbours at age seventeen, and later, put on a play based on the life of Cato to inspire his men.

17岁时，乔治·华盛顿通过邻居介绍第一次了解到斯多葛主义。后来，他又根据卡托的生活改编了一部戏剧，以激励美国人民。

Thomas Jefferson kept a copy of Seneca beside his bed.

托马斯·杰斐逊在床边放了一本塞内卡的书。

Writers and artists have also been inspired by the stoics.

作家和艺术家也受到了斯多葛学派的启发。

Eugène Delacroix, the renowned French Romantic artist (known best for his painting Liberty Leading the People) was an ardent Stoic, referring to it as his “consoling religion”.

因《自由引导人民》而为人熟知的法国浪漫主义艺术家欧根·德拉克洛瓦是一位热情的斯多葛主义者，他把这称为“安慰的宗教”。

The economist Adam Smith's theories on capitalism were significantly influenced by the Stoicism that he studied as a schoolboy, under a teacher who had translated Marcus Aurelius' works.

经济学家亚当·斯密的资本主义理论受到了斯多葛学派的重大影响，小学时，他的一位老师翻译过马可·奥勒留的作品，在他的指导下亚当·斯密学习了斯多葛学派。

Today's political leaders are no different, with many finding their inspiration from the ancient texts.

今天的政治领袖也不例外，许多人从古代文献中找到灵感。

Former US president Bill Clinton rereads Marcus Aurelius every single year, and many have compared former President Obama's calm leadership style to that of Cato.

美国前总统比尔·克林顿每年都会重读马可·奥勒留的作品。很多人把前总统奥巴马沉着冷静的领导风格与卡托相提并论。

Wen Jiabao, the former prime minister of China, claims that Meditations is one of two books he travels with and that he has read it more than one hundred times over the course of his life.

中国前总理温家宝声称《沉思录》是他旅行时随身携带的两本书之一，他一生中已经阅读了一百多次。

Stoicism had a profound influence on Albert Ellis, who invented Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, which is used to help people manage their problems by changing the way that they think and behave.

斯多葛学派对阿尔伯特·艾利斯产生了深远的影响，艾利斯发明了认知行为疗法，通过改变人们的思维和行为方式来帮助人们解决问题。

It's most commonly used to treat depression.

它最常用于治疗抑郁症。

The idea is that we can take control of our lives by challenging the irrational beliefs that create our faulty thinking, symptoms and behaviours by using logic instead.

认知行为疗法认为不理性的想法导致了错误的思想、行为和表现，但是我们可以通过逻辑挑战非理性从而控制自己的生活。

Stoicism has also become popular in the world of business.

斯多葛主义在商界也很流行。

Stoic principles can build the resilience and state of mind required to overcome setbacks because Stoics teach turning obstacles into opportunity.

斯多葛学派的原则可以建立克服挫折所需的韧性和精神状态，因为斯多葛学派教授的是如何将障碍转化为机遇。

A lesson every business entrepreneur needs to learn.

这是每一个企业家都需要学习的经验。

I would argue that studying Stoicism is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago, thanks to its brilliant insights into how to lead a good life.

我认为现在研究斯多葛学派与2000年前的研究一样具有现实意义，因为斯多葛学派对如何过上幸福生活有深刻见解。

At the very root of the thinking, there is a very simple way of living – control what you can and accept what you can't.

从思考的根本来看，有一种十分简单的生活方式，那就是控制你能做的，接受你不能做到的。

This is not as easy as it sounds and will require considerable practice – it can take a lifetime to master.

这并不像听起来那么容易，需要大量的练习。掌握其中深意可能需要一生的时间。

The Stoics also believed the most important foundation for a good and happy life is not money, fame, power or pleasure, but having a disciplined and principled character – something which seems to resonate with many people today.

斯多葛学派也认为，一个美好而幸福的生活最重要的基础不是金钱、名誉、权力或快乐，而是具有纪律性和原则性的性格。这一点今天似乎与许多人产生共鸣。