“For the ancients, sculpture was an art which ‘took away,’ as opposed to painting, an art which ‘added on.’”..."the statue already exists within the marble; the sculptor merely removes what is superfluous to reveal it. Likewise, ancient philosophy sought self-realization by stripping away passions, distortions, and everything foreign to one’s true nature."

Pierre Hadot (1922 CE-2010 CE), Pierre Hadot was a French philosopher and historian of philosophy specialising in ancient philosophy, particularly Neoplatonism.