In the year 165 AD, a plague began to break out in Rome. Brought back from the far eastern corners of the empire, the virus spread from person to person, house to house, until nearly all of Rome was overwhelmed.

The doctors could not keep up. Neither could the morticians or the grave diggers. Rome’s economy was devastated. Millions died, millions fled. And the plague simply dragged on, year after year, without serious respite for over a decade.

As we reflect now on this third anniversary of our own plague, it’s worth evaluating what you may or may not have been infected with. Marcus broke into tears whenever the victims of the pestilence were mentioned–he knew how much had been lost, literally and figuratively. It’s important, whatever the future holds, that we do not needlessly add ourselves to that casualty list.

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And in today's Daily Stoic reading, Ryan ruminates on the importance of balancing the philosophy of study with applying it to real life experiences. After all, philosophy is what you do, not something you say.

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