Wisdom Takes Work: Learn. Apply. Repeat.

Stoic Virtues系列備受期待的最終篇，Ryan Holiday探討了所有美德的基礎——智慧。

在所有斯多葛美德中——勇氣、紀律、公正與智慧——智慧，最難以捉摸。這在當今這個反應和閒聊被獎勵，而克制與深思不被看重的時代尤為明顯。過去的偉大政治家與哲學家不會像我們一樣，被頭條新聞、表象或部落本能所迷惑。他們熟悉歷史、洞悉自身缺陷，也明白合作的重要性——這就是智慧，而我們比以往任何時候都更需要它。

智慧是Ryan Holiday的指導原則，智慧需要努力（Wisdom Takes Work）則是他多年工作的總結。

他透過古今人物的故事，展示如何通過閱讀、自我教育與經驗來培養智慧。藉由蒙田（Montaigne）、塞內卡（Seneca）、琼．狄迪恩（Joan Didion）、亞伯拉罕‧林肯（Abraham Lincoln）等人的人生，Holiday教導我們：

* 多傾聽，少說話

* 思考要有深度與細膩

* 無情地質疑自己的信念

* 建立自我教育的方法

他說明了心理掙扎的必要性，並警告不要走捷徑，因為捷徑會剝奪真正的知識。他也提醒我們，如果沒有智慧的節制，權力與聰明反而可能帶來危險。

Ryan Holiday認為，缺乏好奇心與謹慎，對所有人都是一場災難。本書極具時代意義，不僅指出當下最大問題，也提供了前進的方向。智慧需要努力——但它值得。

In this much-anticipated final installment in the Stoic Virtues series, Ryan Holiday makes the case for the virtue on which all other virtues depend.

Of all the stoic virtues - courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom - wisdom is the most elusive. This is especially apparent in an age where reaction and idle chatter are rewarded, and restraint and thoughtfulness are unfashionable. The great statesman and philosophers of the past would not be fooled, as we are, by headlines or appearances or the primal pull of tribalism. They knew too much of history, of their own flaws, of the need for collaboration to do any of that. That's wisdom - and we need it more than ever.

Wisdom is Ryan Holiday's guiding principle, and Wisdom Takes Work is the culmination of all his work. Drawing on fascinating stories of the ancient and modern figures alike, Holiday shows how to cultivate wisdom through reading, self-education, and experience. Through the lives of Montaigne, Seneca, Joan Didion, Abraham Lincoln, and others, Holiday teaches us how to listen more than we talk, to think with nuance, to ruthlessly question our own beliefs, and to develop a method of self-education. He argues convincingly for the necessity of mental struggle and warns against taking shortcuts that deprive us of real knowledge. And he shows us how dangerous power and intelligence can be without the tempering influence of wisdom.

An absence of curiosity and prudence is a catastrophe for all of us, argues Ryan Holiday. This incredibly timely book both diagnoses the greatest problem of our current moment and offers solutions for the way forward. Wisdom is work - but it's worth it.