Ryan Holiday's new book reveals the relentless pursuit of wisdom
He was an old man.
He was considered the wisest leader who ever lived.
Yet there he was, leaving the palace, carrying his books.
Where are you off to?, a friend asked.
"I'm off to see Sextus the Philosopher," Marcus Aurelius told him, "to learn that which I do not yet know."
He wasn't sending for a tutor, although everyone in the empire was at his beck and call. No, he was following the example of Hadrian, who as emperor had traveled all the way to Greece to to Epictetus's lectures in person. It was a marvelous thing to see, the friend noted of Marcus Aurelius, that "the king of the Romans in his old age takes up his tablets and goes to school."
But as Ryan Holiday writes in his new book Wisdom Takes Work(*preorder here!)***, this is what the wise do. They don't just learn when they're young, but all their lives. They identify as a student, not as a person who has attained wisdom. They don't see themselves as better or apart. They are just like everyone else, still learning, still needing to be taught.
"Until when is a person obligated to study Torah?" Maimonides asked. "Until the day of one's death." "At no rank," General Mattis likes to say, "is a marine excused from study." As we said recently, it doesn't matter if you're young or old. It doesn't matter if you're a private or a president, a CEO or a summer intern. Your education is your responsibility. And it's something that continues, indefinitely, endlessly-for there are always new lands to discover, new lessons to learn and old ones to discover anew.
Education is something we are doing for life, Seneca said, not for a degree. So we must never stop. We must never think we've learned all there is to know. We must never think we are too important to keep challenging ourselves. There is always time to learn what we do not yet know.
Even if you are naturally gifted, even if you've already graduated from the best schools, even if you've read hundreds of books-still, Seneca writes, to become wise, "much toil remains; to confront it, you must yourself lavish all your waking hours, and all your efforts, if you wish the result to be accomplished."
For the past five years I've been lavishing all my spare working hours (hey, Ryan here) writing the Stoic Virtues series and I can honestly say Wisdom Takes Work, the final installment in that series, is the culmination of my life's work.
*You can preorder the book here now.*
Wisdom Takes Work isn't a book of wisdom but a book about the work wisdom requires-which is the work of our lives. It's filled with the example and insights of some of history's wisest people, and how we can follow in their footsteps.
I can't wait for you to read it.
It's been my honor and daily practice to write these emails each morning (I like to think it's made me a little wiser). If you've gotten anything out of them-if you've enjoyed the writing at all-I'd love for you to consider preordering Wisdom Takes Work: Learn. Apply. Repeat.
Preorders make a huge difference for authors (and bookstores). To thank you for supporting Wisdom Takes Work early, I've put together some exclusive bonuses for you, including:
- Two BONUS chapters you won't find in the book
- A LIVE Q&A with me where I'll answer your questions directly
- An extended, annotated bibliography with the sources that shaped the book
- A signed page from the original manuscript
- The Spotify playlist I listened to while writing the book
- An invite to a philosophical dinner at The Painted Porch in Bastrop, TX
We also have a limited amount of signed, numbered first-editions exclusively available at the our platform Store-you can grab those here.
*Head here to get your copy and secure your preorder bonuses for Wisdom Takes Work* today!**
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