Meditations isn't good, and the advice that people should read it before reading Discourses (Epictetus) is often what creates a misleading view on stoicism as they never get to Discourses because of the larger time commitment. However it's this time commitment and patience that is at the core of stoicism.

If you read Discourses, you would recognize your error in believing that a man can be free in jail, for he does not have the ability to choose where or how to exist, those are both limited directly by the existence of the jail. He can tolerate it, but not be free, as a stoic would tolerate a broken arm rather than claiming the broken arm makes them stronger.

I see, I'm glad to stand corrected.

Will read Discourses.

I can see why an emperor could want to try to convince people that their lives are great, regardless of their material conditions. No need to rebel. Nothing to see here.

Meditations was Marcus Aurelius' private journal. The only person he was convincing was himself. And as he governed during a period of relative stability and prosperity, your cynical (and ignorant) remark about "material conditions" makes no sense.

I've had some time to think about my response to this comment, and boy, what a range of emotion goes along with it!

There's my disgust at your trivializing of incarceration. There's the eye-rolling disbelief at being told to read stoicism in response to the naked avarice of the wealthy.

But what really galls me is this:

> Maybe the 8 billionaires you've in mind are less free in their day to day to do whatever the fuck they want than the billions of poor people that barely gets by and survives.

What? What nonsense did you just string together here? You're purporting that the people who have quite literally everything are the ones trapped by the system? So then they can change the fucking system, which is an ability they posses the rest of us do not.

How many poor people have you met who are happy to be poor? Have you actually met and talked to any poor people?

> It is a state of mind, a man can be free on a jail.

And the dozens of people who own most of the wealth in the world can still pretend they're filthy rich after they have been taxed to hell and back. What is the problem?

"Hicks, how come you're not working." / "There's nothing to do." / "Well, you pretend like you're working." / "Well, why don't you pretend I'm working? Yeah, you get paid more than me, you fantasize. Pretend I'm mopping. Knock yourself out. I'll pretend they're buying stuff; we can close up. I'm the boss now, you're fired. How's that?"

-- Bill Hicks

> how many rich man have you met which aren't happy?

So? Tell them it's just in the mind.

How many people who are struggling, who are as happy over a 5€ discount like others would over a new car, do you know? Who will remember the tiniest of gifts and the smallest amount of help for years? Who do what they can to help others, even when nobody is helping them? Who complain so modestly, if at all?

The idea that people people should just accept what isn't fate, but simply being exploited by other people, just so those other people can continue a lifestyle of sociopathy and addiction, is something I could not reject more.

Oh, so it's arbeit mach frei, is it?