The Daily Stoic - We Are All Equal At The End

Episode Date: January 14, 2020

"Alexander the Great and his mule driver both died and the same thing happened to both." It is one of Marcus Aurelius’s most withering lines. The most powerful conqueror on earth was, Marcus implied, in the end, no better or no less mortal, than the man who drove his baggage cart. It is a powerful point, particularly when one considers that, for thousands of years, we haven’t been sure what actually killed Alexander. He died mysteriously at age 32, far from home. Was he killed by his men in a mutiny? Did he have a type of typhoid? Or cirrhosis from alcoholism? No one knows. One new theory has emerged, this time from health scientists in New Zealand, and it only further enhances Marcus's humbling analogy. The evidence points to the idea that Alexander was killed by a rare autoimmune disease called Guillain-Barre Syndrome that pits the body's immune system against its nervous system. It would have been excruciatingly painful and terrifying as Alexander was suddenly struck with a fever and sharp abdominal pains. Soon enough, he would be paralyzed and unable to speak. As his breathing slowed to next to nothing, his perplexed doctors and friends would pronounce him dead—even though he lived, frozen and alone, speechless and scared, for several more days. His men would cry at the sight of his body, which showed no signs of decay, believing it to be proof that he was a god. But Alexander was all too mortal. He was dying right there in front of them—unable even to cry for help or stop them from burying him alive. (You may remember a similar meditation we have on this very terrifying idea)In a way, Marcus did not go far enough with his biting line. What happened to Alexander the Great was likely far worse than what happened to his mule driver—who, for all we know, may have died peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by loved ones. No amount of money or fame or military achievement could insulate Alexander from this brutal stroke of fate. In the end, he was equal—or less than equal—to everyone else who ever lived. He died and he had no control over how. The same is true for us. Being a billionaire or a four-star general doesn’t stop the growth of malignant cells into cancer. It won’t prevent your plane from crashing. It can’t change your genetics. And even if it does increase your lifespan, in the end, you end up in the same ground as everyone else.We all end up as worm food, soon enough. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Let’s live and be good while we can. Memento Mori.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. We are all equal at the end. One of Marcus Aurelius' most withering lines is Alexander the Great and his mule driver both died

and the same thing happened to both. The most powerful conqueror on earth, in the end, was no better or no less mortal than the man who drove his baggage cart. An interesting twist is that for thousands of years, we haven't been sure what actually killed Alexander. He died mysteriously at age 32 far from home. Was he killed by his men in a mutiny? Did he have a type of typhoid or alcoholism?

No one knows. One new theory has emerged this time from health scientists in New Zealand and it only further enhances Marcus's humbling analogy. The evidence points to the idea that Alexander was killed by a rare autoimmune disease called Julien Bar syndrome that pits the body's immune system against the nervous system. It would have been excruciatingly painful and terrifying as Alexander was suddenly struck with a fever and sharp abdominal pains. Soon enough, he would be paralyzed and no longer able to speak. As his breathing slowed to next to nothing, his perplexed doctors and friends would pronounce him dead.

Even though he lived, frozen and alone, speechless and scared for several more days. His men would cry at the sight of his body, which showed no signs of decay, believing it to be proof that he was a God. But Alexander was all too mortal. He was dying right there in front of them, unable even to cry for help, or to stop them from burying him alive. In a way, Marcus Aurelius did not go far enough. What happened to Alexander the Great was likely far worse than what happened to his Mule driver, who for all we know may have died peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by loved ones. No amount of money or fame or military achievement was able to spare Alexander from this bad

stroke of fate, and the end he was equal or less than equal to everyone else who ever lived. He died and he had no control over how. The same is true for us. Being a billionaire or a four-star general doesn't stop the growth of malignant cells into cancer. It won't prevent your airplane from crashing. It can't change your genetics. And even if it does increase your lifespan,

in the end, you end up in the same ground as everyone else. We all end up as worm foods soon enough. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Let's live and be good while we can. Momento, Mori. Hey Prime Members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic early and ad-free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and ad-free with Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts.

Hey there listeners! While we take a little break here, I want to tell you about another podcast that I think you'll like. It's called How I Built This, where host Guy Razz talks to founders behind some of the world's biggest and most innovative companies, to learn how they built them from the ground up. Guy has sat down with hundreds of founders behind well-known companies like Headspace, Manduke Yoga Mats, Soul Cycle, and Kodopaxi, as well as entrepreneurs working to solve some

of the biggest problems of our time, like developing technology that pulls energy from the ground to heat in cool homes, or even figuring out how to make drinking water from air and sunlight. Together, they discuss their entire journey from day one, and all the skills they had to learn along the way, like confronting big challenges, and how to lead through uncertainty. So, if you want to get inspired and learn how to think like an entrepreneur, check out how I built this, wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and add free on the Amazon or Wondery app.

Celebrity feuds are high stakes. You never know if you're just going to end up on Page Six or Du Moir or in court. I'm Matt Bellissi. And I'm Sydney Battle, and we're the host of Wonder E's new podcast, Dis and Tell, where each episode we unpack a different iconic celebrity feud, from the build-up, why it happened, and the repercussions. What does our obsession with these feud say about us? The first season is packed with some pretty messy pop culture drama, but none is drawn out

in personal as Brittany and Jamie Lynn Spears. When Britney's fans form the free Britney movement dedicated to fraying her from the infamous conservatorship, Jamie Lynn's lack of public support, it angered some fans, a lot of them. It's a story of two young women who had their choices taken away from them by their controlling parents, but took their anger out on each other. And it's about a movement to save a superstar, which sets its sights upon anyone who failed to fight for Brittany.

Follow Dissentel wherever you get your podcast. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music or The Wondering App.