Enkrateia — Self-Command
This week's concept is enkrateia (pronounced en-KRAY-tee-ah), a Greek word that means, quite literally, "holding power over oneself." The Stoics treated it as the bedrock of every other virtue: you cannot be just, courageous, or wise in practice if you cannot first govern your own impulses, moods, and appetites. Over these seven days you will learn what enkrateia actually is, why the Stoics thought it was the greatest command of all, and how to begin exercising it in the ordinary moments of your day.
Passage
Remember that the governing self becomes invincible when it withdraws into itself and is satisfied with itself, doing nothing which it does not will to do. On this account the understanding free from passions is a citadel of refuge; for man has nothing stronger into which to retreat and be thereafter inexpugnable.
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations VIII.48
Reflection
Marcus Aurelius introduces a powerful image for enkrateia: the governing self as a citadel. A citadel is a fortress built not to attack but to remain unbreached. When your rational center withdraws into itself, meaning when it stops being dragged around by external events or internal noise, it becomes, in Marcus's word, invincible. Notice he does not say the Stoic becomes invincible; he says the governing self does. The body can still be hurt, the emotions can still be stirred, but the place inside you that decides how to respond can remain intact. That is the fortress you are learning to occupy.
Go deeper
When you have felt most mentally unshakeable in your life, what were you doing, or not doing, internally that made that possible?
Practice
Find Your Citadel
Sit quietly for five minutes. Breathe slowly and ask yourself: where in my body or mind do I feel most settled right now? It might be a sense of stillness behind the eyes, a calm in the chest, a quiet at the back of the mind. Rest your attention there. This is the beginning of learning to locate the governing self. Return to this spot once more before bed.