Who can be like Cincinnatus?

"If we applied ourselves as busily to our own work as the old men at Rome do to those matters about which they are employed, perhaps we also might accomplish something. I am acquainted with a man older than myself who is now superintendent of corn at Rome, and remember the time when he came here on his way back from exile, and what he said as he related the events of his former life, and how he declared that with respect to the future after his return he would look after nothing else than passing the rest of his life in quiet and tranquillity. 'For how little of life,' he said, 'remains for me.' "

" I replied, 'You will not do it, but as soon as you smell Rome, you will forget all that you have said; and if admission is allowed even into the imperial palace, you will gladly thrust yourself in and thank God.' 'If you find me, Epictetus,' he answered, 'setting even one foot within the palace, think what you please.'

"Well, what then did he do? Before he entered the city he was met by letters from Caesar, and as soon as he received them he forgot all, and ever after has added one piece of business to another. I wish that I were now by his side to remind him of what he said when he was passing this way and to tell him how much better a seer I am than he is."

---Epictetus, Discourses 1.10 (tr Long)

Who will be able, like Cincinnatus, to turn away  from power once he has tasted of it? Who can promise that he will only pursue pleasure, honor, or wealth up to a certain point, and then with noble moderation, pry himself from further desire?

Back in elementary school, I once asked a teacher why it seemed that most politicians seemed to be career politicians. They rarely seemed to pursue office, do their duty, and then retire without need for any further fame. They often seemed to pursue higher and higher office, and then even passed their ambition on to their children. I was told this was because great men and women felt the need to do great things. I hope that is true, but I wonder if sometimes it simply comes down to avarice. Once I have begun to seek satisfaction in the trappings of the world, in the things outside of me, it may become impossible to resist being swept away by their force. I will have surrendered myself.

They say that George Washington, much like Cincinnatus, freely stepped away from power, from a virtual kingship, out of a love of character over ambition. I suspect that such action is an indicator of the difference between a man who serves, and one who wishes to be served.

Written on 7/7/2014