This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient letter collection called the Cynic Epistles. This one looks at those letters (most likely falsely) attributed to Crates, the third scholarch of the Cynic school.

Specifically it focuses on the notion of "toil" (ponos, ponein) in Cynic philosophy and practice. The Cynics argue that toil, that is actively engaging in work and enduring what one encounters, is what leads a person to development of the virtues, which include wisdom, justice, temperance, and courage. Our engagement with toil is both voluntary and involuntary, and if we do not choose the right sorts of toil, because we want to avoid it, we will have to deal with other sorts of toil as unpleasant consequences

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