“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 discernment realign to the light of virtue.

The dignity embodied in silence is not a form of passive withdrawal, but an active demonstration of practiced spiritual discipline. It allows us to respond from a place of thoughtful awareness rather than react rashly from the welter of emotions that accompany an attack. This mindful pause lets the hot air of anger starve for lack of reciprocal engagement, rather than attempting to overwhelm it with argumentative wind that may merely fan the flames further.

There is great power in refusal to escalate, in non-violent non-collaboration with the forces of unreason. The temperate soul who answers anger with dignified silence shows their moral courage; their capacity to hold fast to reasoned judgment no matter how besieged they may feel by adversity and antagonism. This choice exonerates us from participating in anger’s endless cycles of recrimination, from becoming contaminated by its toxic effects. Instead we are guarding the inner citadel where our freedom truly resides.

In counseling his followers to greet anger with patient, watchful silence, Marcus Aurelius gives succinct voice to Stoicism’s higher calling — to meet that which is unwise or ignoble in our fellow humans with enlightened non-resistance, continuing onwards with virtue and benevolence as our guides. For premium is placed on maintaining equilibrium between turbulent events and our judgments concerning them. Only from this place of calm wisdom can constructive action emerge.