Hacker News Reader

Comment by everdrive | Hacker News Reader

"People who are excited by posthumous fame forget that the people who remember them will soon die too. And those after them in turn. Until their memory, passed from one to another like a candle flame, gutters and goes out.

But suppose that those who remembered you were immortal and your memory undying. What good would it do you? And I don't just mean when you're dead, but in your own lifetime. What use is praise, except to make your lifestyle a little more comfortable?"

- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

View on HN

Ironic that that quote comes from someone who died in the year 180. If I got 2000 years of fame, I'd be pretty satisfied.

Marcus Aurelius is asking exactly how will that be of _use_? (Even when you’re alive)

Feeling better about yourself is not useful? Influencing a large number of people is not useful?

Feeling better about yourself must never be a primary concern. It's true that you can't help but feeling good about your actions if they do good, but your ego should be be supressed as much as possible.

Marcus Aurelius being a writer on stoicism, I feel I have to point out that stoicism would suggest that you control how you feel about yourself and are only tying your feelings to external factors. You can feel good about yourself without external validation.

Influencing others is only practically useful in your lifetime, so posthumous fame doesn't really do you anything.

How this reads to me:

“You can feel good about yourself eating tasteless food. Eating delicious food is only useful while you’re eating it, so once it’s consumed it doesn’t really do you anything”.

But it does other people good after i die, and i care about other people even after i die.

but that's a different perspective - stoicism addresses the hedonism treadmill and how to get off of it (as well as how to respond to misery) - it isn't in opposition to charity or altruism. It's a totally different thing to try to have a great influence for posthumous fame and recognition, versus just trying to help people whether they know it was you or not.

I don’t think the quote is particularly insightful. It’s nice to be praised and respected.

This one always felt on the mark to me

http://smbc-comics.com/comic/stoicism

Whoosh

"If I got 2000 years of fame, I'd be pretty satisfied."

Actually, you'd wouldn't... be.

Frankly, a stupid quote.

"What good is praise except to make your lifestyle a little more comfortable"

That sounds pretty darn good to me.

And the fact that your memory and work can be passed down and influence a theoretically infinite number of people.

What good will that influence do you?

Right. It’s like some companies tell you they can’t pay you but it will be great “exposure” or whatever. At some point you need to convert whatever that is into something you can actually use.

Depends. If I care about others, and my influence does them good, that increases my happiness/joy/contentment/whatever, while I'm alive.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com