On what we borrow

Epictetus was born a slave in Phrygia and lived much of his life owning almost nothing. He taught that we possess nothing outright. Health, property, the people we love: all are lent to us, to be reclaimed without notice. He asked his students to hold every good thing loosely, as a traveler holds a room at an inn, knowing it was never theirs to keep. This was not resignation. It was a way to stay free while the world took what it pleased.

This week the Louvre reopened its Apollo Gallery, nine months after thieves stole the French crown jewels in a daylight raid. The collections and precious jewels it once displayed have been removed, as the museum returns the gallery to its 17th-century ceremonial purpose; the public can now tour the room and view its gilded ceilings and Greek frescoes on the way to the nearby Mona Lisa. The treasures are gone. The room remains, and it turns out the room was the greater thing all along.