The Daily Stoic - Treat People As You Would Be Treated

Episode Date: September 9, 2019

It must be said that the Stoics were cowardly when it came to slavery. Marcus Aurelius, who believed that we were all part of a common whole, that we were all equal before life and death, who so admired a former slave like Epictetus, who writes at one point about why it would be wrong to have sex with a slave, doesn’t see a problem with owning a person. He had the power to eliminate slavery in the empire, but he just couldn’t do it. Seneca is an even bigger hypocrite. He writes over and over again about the importance of freedom and kindness and fairness, yet how many slaves did he own? Too many to count. He writes about slavery often in his letters, and you can just feel that as wrong as he knows it is, he can’t come out and question the institution that defined Roman life. He even knows he’s being hypocritical and in Letter XLVII more or less admits it. All he can say is:  “But this is the kernel of my advice: Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your betters.” Perhaps part of the reason that many Stoics had so much trouble with slavery is that as much power as the Romans had over their slaves, there was someone who had that much power over them. The emperor (indeed Marcus for the entirety of his reign) could throw someone in chains, could kill them, could take their possessions or steal the fruit of their labors. This often happened with capricious and devastating cruelty. Selfishly, stupidly, the lesson they took from this was: If someone can do it to me, why can’t I do it to someone else?They should have really listened to what Seneca was saying, to that timeless and universal idea we see in countless religions and philosophies and now call the Golden Rule. How would you want to be treated by people with power over you? Now why on earth would you treat people you have power over differently than that?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoke podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. Welcome to the Daily Stoke. For each day, we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com. Treat people as you would be treated. It must be said that the stoics were cowardly when it came to slavery. Marcus Arelius, who believed that we are all part of a common

whole, that we are all equal before life and death, who so admired a former slave, like Epic Titus, who writes at one point about why it would be wrong to have sex with a slave, doesn't see a problem with owning a person. He had the power to eliminate slavery in the Empire, but he just couldn't do it. Seneca was an even bigger hypocrite. He writes over and over again about the importance of freedom and kindness and fairness, yet how many slaves did he own too many for us to count.

He writes about slavery often in his letters, and you can just feel that as wrong as he knows it is, he doesn't come out and question the institution that defined Roman life. He even knows he's being hypocritical, and in one letter more or less admits it. All he can say is, but this is the kernel of my advice. Treat your infuriars as you would be treated by your bettors. Perhaps part of the reason that many still eggs had so much trouble with slavery is that as much power as the Romans had over their slaves,

there was someone who had that much power over them. The emperor indeed, Marcus Aurelius for the entirety of his reign, could throw someone in chains, could kill them, could take their possessions, or steal the fruit of their labors. This often happened with capricious and devastating cruelty. Selfishly stupidly, the lesson too many Romans took from this was, if someone could do it to me, why can't I do it to someone else? They should have really listened to what

Seneca was saying and Seneca should have listened to himself, that the timeless and universal idea we see in countless religions and philosophies and now called the golden rule is true. How would you want to be treated by people with power over you? And now why on earth would you treat people you have power over any differently than that? Just the heads up there's now an obstacle is the way pendant in the daily stoic store. It's awesome. We have it made here in the U.S. We designed it ourselves. It's got Marcus Aurelius is enduring words on it, the impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way. If you want something you can carry with you always, you can wear around your neck,

that reminds you that you can treat every obstacle as fuel, you can be better for everything that happens, that the way around is the way through, that the way through is the way. I suggest you check it out, I think you'll like it. Just go to dailystoic.com slash store. music app today, or you can listen early and add free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts.