As Herodotus tells it, Croesus, the ancient king of Lydia, was once visited at his palace by Solon, a wise sage and Athenian lawgiver. The king was delighted to have the itinerant philosopher in residence, and welcomed him with warm hospitality. For several days, Croesus instructed his servants to show off the full measure of the king's enormous power and wealth.
Once he felt Solon had been sufficiently awed by his riches, Croesus said to him:
"Well, my Athenian friend, I have heard a great deal about your wisdom, and how widely you have travelled in the pursuit of knowledge. I cannot resist my desire to ask you a question: who is the happiest man you have ever seen?"
King Croesus was already certain that he was in fact the happiest man in the world, but wanted to enjoy the satisfaction of hearing his name parroted back to him from such a venerated sage.
But Solon, who was not one for flattery, answered: "Tellus the Athenian."
The king was quite taken aback and demanded to know how such a common man might be considered the happiest of all.
Tellus, Solon replied, had lived in a city with a government that allowed him to prosper and born fine sons, who had in turn given him many grandchildren who all survived into youth. After enjoying a contented life, he fought with his countrymen, bravely died on the battlefield while routing the enemy, and was given the honor of a public funeral by his fellow Athenians.
Croesus was perplexed by this explanation but pushed on to inquire as to who the next happiest man was, sure that if he wasn't first, he had to be second.
But again Solon answered not with the king's name, but with a pair of strapping young Argives: Cleobis and Biton.
Known for their devotion to family and athletic prowess, when their mother needed to be conveyed to the temple of Hera to celebrate the goddess' festival, but did not have any oxen to pull her there, these brothers harnessed themselves to the incredibly heavy ox cart and dragged it over six miles with their mother aboard. When they arrived at the temple, an assembled crowd congratulated the young men on their astounding feat of strength, and complimented their mother on raising such fine sons. In gratitude for bestowing such honor upon her, the mother of these dutiful lads prayed to Hera to bestow upon them "the greatest blessing that can befall mortal men." After the sacrifices and feasting, the young brothers laid down in the temple for a nap, and Hera granted their mother's prayer by allowing them to die in their sleep. "The Argives," Solon finished the tale, "considering them to be the best of men, had statues made of them, which they sent to Delphi."
Now King Croesus was livid. Three relative nobodies, three dead men were happier than he was with his magnificent palace and an entire kingdom of his own to rule over? Surely the old sage had lost his marbles. Croesus snapped at Solon:
"That's all very well, my Athenian friend; but what of my own happiness? Is it so utterly contemptible that you won't even compare me with mere common folk like those you have mentioned?"
Solon explained that while the rich did have two advantages over the poor – "the means to bear calamity and satisfy their appetites" – they had no monopoly on the things that were truly valuable in life: civic service, raising healthy children, being self-sufficient, having a sound body, and honoring the gods and one's family. Plus, riches tend to create more issues for their bearers – more money, more problems.
More importantly, Solon continued, if you live to be 70 years old, by the ancient calendar you will experience 26,250 days of mortal life, "and not a single one of them is like the next in what it brings." In other words, just because things are going swimmingly today, doesn't mean you won't be hit with a calamity tomorrow. Thus a man who experiences good fortune can be called lucky, Solon explained, but the label of happy must be held in reserve until it is seen whether or not his good fortune lasts until his death.
"This is why," Solon finally concludes to Croesus, "I cannot answer the question you asked me until I know the manner of your death. Count no man happy until the end is known."
Croesus was now sure Solon was a fool, "for what could be more stupid" he thought, than being told he must "look to the 'end' of everything, without regard for present prosperity?" And so he dismissed the philosopher from his court.
While the king quickly put Solon's admonitions out of his mind, the truth of it would soon be revealed to him in the most personal and painful way.
First, Croesus' beloved son died in a hunting accident. Then, blinded by hubris (excessive pride), he misinterpreted the counsel of the oracles at Delphi and began an ill-advised attempt to conquer King Cyrus' Persian Empire. As a result, the Persians laid siege to his home city of Sardis, captured the humbled ruler, and placed him in chains on top of a giant funeral pyre. As the flames began to lick at his feet, Croesus cried out, "Oh Solon! Oh Solon! Oh Solon! Count no man happy until the end is known!"
Count No Man Happy Until the End Is Known
What did Solon mean by his seemingly cryptic statement?
Can a fulfilled life truly only be measured after all is said and done? This seems to fly in the face of modern Western thought. We see happiness as a subjective mood, a feeling that can fluctuate from day to day and be boosted by a pill or a bottle or a romp in the hay. For the ancient Greeks, however, happiness was encapsulated by the concept of eudaimonia, a word we do not have a modern equivalent for, but best translates as human flourishing. Happiness was not seen as an emotional state, but rather an assessment as to whether a man had attained virtue and excellence, achieved his aims, and truly made the most of his life. A man's life might start well, and continue in prosperity through middle age, but if it ended poorly? His eudaimonia was not complete.
Thus, Solon was not arguing that men like Tellus and Biton were happier in death than in life; he was not referring to the afterlife. Rather, he argues that a man's happiness can only be measured by a full accounting of it from start to finish, a measurement that cannot be taken until after he draws his last breath.
"Whoever has the greatest number of the good things I have mentioned [family, health, sufficiency, honor], and keeps them to the end, and dies a peaceful death," that man, Solon argues, "deserves to be called happy." Simply living a long life or attaining fine things does not make one happy; happiness is a label solely reserved for he who "dies as he has lived."
The truth of this observation was not only lived out by Croesus (although his "end" upon the pyre was ultimately postponed by the mercy of Cyrus who decided to spare his life, and by the god Apollo who put out the flames), but in the lives of more modern men as well.
Ulysses S. Grant achieved one of the greatest degrees of success a man can possibly hope for: winning a war and then the White House. But after the presidency, he invested almost all of his assets in a banking firm his son had founded with a partner. The partner turned out to be a swindler, the firm went belly up, and Grant was left destitute, forcing him to sell his Civil War mementos to repay his loans. That same year, Grant, who had long had a habit of chain-smoking cigars, was diagnosed with throat cancer. In an attempt to pay off his debts, he worked on writing his memoirs until his death at age 63, only one year later.
William C. Durant became incredibly wealthy as he moved from lumberyard worker, to door-to-door cigar salesman, to founder of both General Motors and Chevrolet. Durant became a mover and shaker on Wall Street during the 1920s, and in the aftermath of the crash of '29, though his friends advised against it, he joined with Rockefeller and others in buying large quantities of stock to shore up public confidence in the market. Durant subsequently lost his shirt and became bankrupt at age 75. A stroke in 1942 weakened his physical and cognitive abilities, and he lived out his days managing a bowling alley in Flint, Michigan until his death five years later.
Most recently, Joe Paterno could not more clearly embody Solon's admonition to count no man happy until the end is known. For decades Paterno was revered as not just a football coach, but as an upstanding mentor who emphasized the importance of character to his players. Students bought shirts with his name emblazoned upon them and a statue of his energetic likeness was erected on the Penn State campus. But a luminous half-century long career ended not with adulation and fanfare, but a dismissal for his role in the Sandusky sex abuse scandal. He died two months later of cancer. A posthumous investigation heightened the blame for his role in the scandal, erased his record of achievements, crippled his beloved football program, and resulted in the removal of his statue. Truly, a tragedy of Greek proportions.
Four Lessons from the Tale of Solon & Croesus
Solon's counsel may sound rather bleak – no one wants to think about the fact that each day could bring disaster and ruin our happiness – but Croesus' cry of "Oh Solon! Oh Solon! Oh Solon!" has come to me quite often since hearing Herodotus' tale, and has served to remind me of several important truths:
Don't take things for granted. Solon's forecast for life may be gloomy, but it's realistic. Nobody knows if the things they enjoy today might be taken from them tomorrow. It's important to be grateful for what you have each day – soak it in, make the most of it, don't leave things unsaid and undone.
Focus on what matters most. Unfortunately, some of the wealthy concentrate on their riches to the exclusion of everything else. And yet, money can be so fleeting and contributes so little to "the good life"; if it disappears, they are left with nothing else from which to draw satisfaction. Solon argues that the man who dies with the most "things" that truly matter — self-sufficiency, health, virtue, family, piety, honor — is happiest. Concentrate on the things which last – that which remains after all else passes way.
Stay vigilant and beware of pride. Some calamities come to us by chance – disease and accidents can cause unforeseen reversals in our fortunes. We can only prepare for them by living providentially in our finances and cultivating the virtues of resiliency and calmness. But oftentimes, a man's downfall could have been prevented through vigilance and humility. When men like Tiger Woods and John Edwards reflected on their downfall post-scandal, both said they had gotten to the point where they no longer believed the ordinary rules applied to them. When men become successful, they often get sloppy in their decision-making, less circumspect about with whom they associate, and indulge in vices that lead to ruin. A man who seeks eudaimonia can never afford to let down his guard.
Endure to the end. As soon as you think you've "made it," you've already begun to decline. It's easier, and a great deal more fun, to find success…much harder to maintain it over the long haul. But there's no coasting in life – you're either moving forward or backward. To attain happiness, a man must follow Solon's counsel to look to the end, while also having the discipline to do the dull, unglamorous day-to-day tasks required to reach that end.
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Heading Out on Your Own — Day 14: Establish a Simple Cleaning Routine and Stick to It
During my first semester of college, I roomed with my good friend from high school in a dorm at the University of Oklahoma. We were pretty much like The Odd Couple, with me playing the part of the slobby Oscar Madison and my friend taking on the role of neat freak Felix Ungar, minus the annoying neuroticism.
You could walk into our dorm room and instantly tell whose side was whose. My roommate’s side always looked presentable and clean: bed made, desk neat, clothes put away. My side looked like a disaster area: blankets and sheets askew, books and newspapers covering my bed, and laundry only half put away. The mess on my little twin bed sometimes got so big and unmanageable that I’d just sleep on top of all my crap, like you see those crazy people do on Hoarders.
Thankfully, my roommate was quite patient with me and kindly nudged me to start routines that would keep our place looking spic and span. I soon discovered that keeping things clean didn’t take all that much time or effort. In less than 30 minutes a day, we created a haven of order and tidiness that would make Mr. Clean (and my mom) nod with approval. And my turning over a new leaf couldn’t have come at a better time, as I started dating Kate soon after. It was nice being able to invite her over to our place without having to worry she'd be frightened to use a bathroom that looked like a giant petri dish of mold, bacteria, and other gunk.
For many young men heading out on their own for the first time, maintaining a cleaning routine on their own wasn’t something they had to do at home. Sure, they might have helped with chores when asked, but they probably had their mom or dad telling them what to clean and when. But keeping your dwelling space clean and tidy is important for a variety of reasons: it’s hygienic, allows you to feel comfortable having people over (and inviting in surprise guests), gives you peace of mind, and even helps conserve your supply of willpower.
Establishing a Simple Cleaning Routine
The key to keeping your place clean is to break the job up into smaller daily and weekly tasks. A lot of young men won’t clean anything for a few weeks, and then when the mess gets so huge it can no longer be ignored, have to spend a whole Saturday digging themselves out from under it. Or, the job begins to seem so enormous they can’t motivate themselves to tackle it, and let the mess grow even bigger.
Below, I offer a simple suggested routine for a young man living in a dorm or apartment that will keep your place clean while only requiring a small effort every day. It goes without saying that if you’re living in an actual house, your routine will be a bit more complicated and involved. (I plan on writing about regular home maintenance later this year.)
What to Do Daily
Instead of letting messes pile-up, making them more of a pain in the arse to clean come Saturday morning, invest 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night in a daily cleaning routine.
Here’s a suggested daily attack plan to keep your place in tip-top shape.
Morning
- Make bed
- Spray down shower with a product that keeps it cleaner for a longer period of time, like Method Daily Shower (you can also make your own). Apply right after you get out.
- Wipe down bathroom sink and counter with a disposable Clorox wipe after you’re done getting ready
- Empty dishwasher (if you have one)
- Wipe down kitchen counters and stove with a sponge and a 409-type product after you’re done with breakfast
Evening
- Wipe down kitchen counters after dinner
- Spot vacuum
- Load dishwasher (or clean dishes by hand if you’re in a dorm)
- Pre-bed clutter pick-up. Go through the house and put away all the clutter you find before you turn in at night.
What to Do Weekly
In addition to your morning/evening cleaning routine, do one bigger task each day of the week. Depending on the size of your place, each will take you 10-15 minutes.
Here’s a suggested schedule:
Monday: Dust
Tuesday: Scrub toilets, shower, and bathroom sinks
Wednesday: Vacuum and mop
Thursday: Clean mirrors and windows
Friday: Clean out leftovers and wipe down inside and outside of fridge, wipe microwave inside and out, clean kitchen sink
Saturday: Change and wash bed sheets
Adapt this schedule to fit your particular circumstances. For example, if you live in a dorm with communal bathrooms, you won’t need to scrub the toilets and shower floors. But you can still dust and vacuum.
That’s it. Together, the above routines only take about 30 minutes a day. If you have roommates, you can divvy up some of the tasks and shorten the time requirement even more.
Follow these routines, and your place will look great every day. All it takes is a bit of dedication and willpower to make these routines a habit, but the simplicity of this plan helps make it easier to stick with.
Any other cleaning tips for a young man heading out on his own? Share them in the comments!
Related posts:
- The Basics of Cleaning Your Revolver
- 5 Items to Snap You Out of Your Daily Commuting Routine
- Heading Out on Your Own — Day 4: Keep a Regular Grooming and Hygiene Routine
- 5 Items That Snap You Out of Your Morning Routine [Win an Amazon Kindle]
- Every Man Should Do This Exercise Routine Every Day
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