"In this addition to the Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers (AWMR) series, Michael Fontaine offers new and fresh translations of two key texts on coping with internal appetites and external pressure, with different perspectives. The first text is an essay by Plutarch, focusing on moral weakness. We comply to things we know are wrong not because we lack confidence, Plutarch says, but because were too sensitive. Were people-pleasers. Pushovers. So, we cave in. We would rather say "yes" to an unreasonable request than experience the shame, guilt, and potential embarrassment of refusing it. Plutarch provides several examples in which such dilemmas may arise, including voting on policy, lending money, and lying for someone else.
When we surrender to such requests, Plutarch blames an emotion that he calls "dysopia," which amounts to an oversensitivity to shame. Plutarch offers a set of practical recommendations and steps we can take to resist pressure, to grow in confidence, and to stop saying "yes" against our better judgment. The second text is Psychomachia, a short epic poem written in Latin by the Late Antique Christian poet Prudentius. The poem describes the battle in us all to slay our inner demons and win peace of mind. It is told episodically in five pairs of duels: 1) Faith vs. Worship of the Old Gods, 2) Chastity vs. Lust, 3) Humility vs. Pride, 4) Sobriety vs.
Indulgence, 5) Reason vs. Greed, and 6) Concord vs. Discord. In this dramatic allegory, the combatants who wage the war-the "coping mechanisms"-and slay those demons are all women. These warrior women suit up in armor like valkyries, face their enemies, swing their swords, and walk away victorious. In the end, they crown their victory by constructing a shrine to Peace. Blending the classical and Christian conceptions of virtues and temptations from these two texts, Fontaine shows what these dueling terms mean today, speaking to those with bad habits and any who are interested in resilience"--"Lively new translations of two classical works that offer wise advice about how to resist temptationHow to Have Willpower brings together two profound ancient meditations on how to overcome pressures that encourage us to act against our own best interests-Plutarchs essay On Dysopia or How to Resist Pressure and Prudentiuss poetic allegory Psychomachia or How to Slay Your Demons. Challenging the idea that humans are helpless victims of vice, these works-introduced and presented in vivid, accessible new prose translations by Michael Fontaine, with the original Latin and Greek texts on facing pages-emphasize the power of personal choice and the possibility of personal growth, as they offer insights and practical advice about resisting temptation.
In the spirit of the best ancient self-help writing, Plutarch, a pagan Greek philosopher and historian, offers a set of practical recommendations and steps we can take to resist pressure and to stop saying "yes" against our better judgment. And in a delightfully different work, Prudentius, a Latin Christian poet, dramatizes the necessity to actively fight temptation through the story of an epic battle within the human soul between fierce warrior women representing our virtues and vices.Plutarch and Prudentius insist that we allow pressure or temptations to get the best of us. But they also agree that we can do something about it. And their wisdom can help"--.