“The best answer to anger is silence.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Among the penetrating insights contained within Marcus Aurelius’ meditations is the observation that

“The best answer to anger is silence.”

This simple yet profound statement encapsulates a core tenet of Stoic philosophy — the vital capacity to maintain equanimity and clarity of discernment even when confronted with those who wish us ill.

For the Stoics, anger was deemed one of the most destructive passions, a tempestuous force that stems from errors in judgment and threatens to overturn one’s spiritual tranquility if left unchecked. In allowing anger to swell within our breast, we enable an irrational rupture of our inner calm, and stoop from upholding the high ideals of virtue and wisdom. Marcus Aurelius, with his characteristic wisdom, recognized that outbursts of rage reflect a soul out of harmony with itself and the natural order of the universe.

Therefore, to counter anger’s twisted logic, the Stoic prescription is the radical courage of silence. By refusing to retaliate in word or deed, we demonstrate unflappable strength and self-control at the very moment when we are most provoked, most challenged to abandon the citadel of reason. This act of conscious self-silencing creates a space in which our temperance may steady itself, our…