"Live out your life in truth and justice, tolerant of those who are neither true nor just."

In 1431, Joan of Arc stood trial for heresy. She was a 19-year-old illiterate peasant girl facing a panel of dozens of learned theologians, lawyers, and bishops. The court was rigged. They wanted to execute her for political reasons, but they needed to trap her in a theological error to justify it.

They badgered her for weeks. They asked confusing, circular questions designed to make her contradict herself. They asked about fairies, saints, and secret signs. They tried to get her to claim she was equal to the Pope.

At one point, they sprung the ultimate trap. They asked her, "Do you know if you are in the grace of God?" It was a catch-22. If she answered "Yes," she would be guilty of heresy because the Church taught that no human could know for certain if they were in a state of grace. If she answered "No," she would be confessing to her own guilt.

The room went silent. The judges leaned in, ready for the kill. Joan replied simply, "If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me."

The judges were stunned. The answer was so humble, so truthful, and so technically perfect that they had to adjourn the session. They couldn't break her.

Throughout the ordeal, Joan remained calm. She didn't scream at their injustice. She didn't try to out-argue them with complex logic. She simply stated the truth as she saw it. She demonstrated Marcus Aurelius's point perfectly. She lived in "truth and justice" while being remarkably "tolerant" of men who were lying and trying to kill her.

Marcus reminds us that the world is full of liars, cheats, and hypocrites. If you expect them to be otherwise, you'll be angry forever. If you let their dishonesty make you dishonest, they win. The unshakeable person accepts that bad people exist, tolerates their presence, and continues to do the right thing anyway.

Joan couldn't control the verdict. She couldn't control the judges. But she controlled her own answers. She refused to let their malice turn her into a liar.

Errors & Corrections

• Don't let the ugly make you ugly. When someone screams at you, the instinct is to scream back. When someone lies, you want to lie to protect yourself. That's defeat. You've allowed their vice to infect your virtue. Remain true even when surrounded by the false.
• Don't confuse tolerance with approval. Marcus tells us to be "tolerant" of the unjust. This doesn't mean we agree with them or let them walk over us. It means we don't lose our composure because they exist. We accept them as a fact of life, like bad weather.
• Don't try to straighten the crooked. You can't force a dishonest person to be honest. You can only present the truth. If they reject it, that's their loss. Don't waste your peace trying to fix their character.

Applications to Modern Life

Work

You might have a colleague who takes credit for your work or lies to the boss. It's infuriating. You want to sabotage them. The Stoic path is harder but stronger. Keep detailed records. Do excellent work. Speak the truth in meetings without malice. Eventually, the liar trips over their own lies. If you play their dirty game, you just get dirty. If you stay clean, you remain unshakeable.

Leadership

A leader will be criticized by people who don't have all the facts or who have a hidden agenda. If the leader becomes defensive and bitter, they look weak. A strong leader listens, corrects the record calmly, and moves on. They tolerate the noise without letting it distract the mission.

Athleticism & Sport

The other team might play dirty. They hold, they elbow, and they flop. If you retaliate, you get the foul. The unshakeable athlete expects the dirty play. They tolerate it as part of the obstacle. They respond by beating the opponent on the scoreboard, which is the only justice that matters in the game.

Politics

Political debates are often devoid of truth. Candidates spin and slander. As a citizen, don't become cynical. Don't start lying for "your side" just because the other side does it. Demand truth from your own candidates. Be the voter who rewards integrity, even if it's rare.

Social Media

The internet is the natural habitat of those "neither true nor just." Trolls lie for sport. If you engage them, you lose. You're trying to play chess with a pigeon. It knocks over the pieces and struts around. Tolerate the pigeon. Let it be a pigeon. You go be a human being somewhere else.

Interpersonal Relationships

A friend or partner might lie to you to avoid a conflict. You catch them. The error is to explode in a rage that makes them lie more out of fear. The correction is to create a safe space for the truth. Say, "I value honesty more than perfection. You can tell me the bad news." Be the sanctuary of truth in their life.

Maxims

• Truth is my fortress.
• Let them lie. I will speak.
• Tolerate the sinner, not the sin.

In-depth Concepts

Aletheia (Truth)

In Greek, Aletheia literally means "un-hiddenness." It's the state of being evident and clear. Joan of Arc's power came from her Aletheia. She had nothing to hide. When you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Lies require complex maintenance. Truth stands on its own.

Anechou kai Apechou (Bear and Forbear)

This famous Stoic motto summarizes the attitude toward the "unjust." Anechou means "bear" or endure the difficulties of the world. Apechou means "forbear" or restrain yourself from reacting to them. We bear the liar's presence, and we forbear from becoming like them.