"He is a slave."
His soul, however, may be that of a freeman.
"He is a slave."
But shall that stand in his way? Show me a man who is not a slave; one is a slave to lust, another to greed, another to ambition, and all men are slaves to fear.
I will name you an ex-consul who is slave to an old hag, a millionaire who is slave to a serving-maid; I will show you youths of the noblest birth in serfdom to pantomime players! No servitude is more disgraceful than that which is self-imposed.
You should therefore not be deterred by these finicky persons from showing yourself to your slaves as an affable person and not proudly superior to them; they ought to respect you rather than fear you.
Some may maintain that I am now offering the liberty-cap to slaves in general and toppling down lords from their high estate, because I bid slaves respect their masters instead of fearing them. They say: "This is what he plainly means: slaves are to pay respect as if they were clients or early-morning callers!"
Anyone who holds this opinion forgets that what is enough for a god cannot be too little for a master. Respect means love, and love and fear cannot be mingled
So I hold that you are entirely right in not wishing to be feared by your slaves, and in lashing them merely with the tongue; only dumb animals need the thong.
His soul, however, may be that of a freeman.
"He is a slave."
But shall that stand in his way? Show me a man who is not a slave; one is a slave to lust, another to greed, another to ambition, and all men are slaves to fear.
I will name you an ex-consul who is slave to an old hag, a millionaire who is slave to a serving-maid; I will show you youths of the noblest birth in serfdom to pantomime players! No servitude is more disgraceful than that which is self-imposed.
You should therefore not be deterred by these finicky persons from showing yourself to your slaves as an affable person and not proudly superior to them; they ought to respect you rather than fear you.
Some may maintain that I am now offering the liberty-cap to slaves in general and toppling down lords from their high estate, because I bid slaves respect their masters instead of fearing them. They say: "This is what he plainly means: slaves are to pay respect as if they were clients or early-morning callers!"
Anyone who holds this opinion forgets that what is enough for a god cannot be too little for a master. Respect means love, and love and fear cannot be mingled
So I hold that you are entirely right in not wishing to be feared by your slaves, and in lashing them merely with the tongue; only dumb animals need the thong.
—from Seneca, Moral Letters 47
I can tell that something isn’t quite right, when our superiors scorn us for not having enough power, as they are simultaneously busy at limiting our power. Observe how that man has become rich at your expense, and yet he now has the nerve to belittle you for being poor!
The only way to untangle the mess is to recognize how their game is rigged, and to radically reconsider our definitions of freedom and slavery. As long as I measure my life by what I vainly believe to be “my” property and pleasures, I remain chained to outside forces, as helpless as a prisoner locked in a cage. Once, however, I can turn to my inner virtues for comfort, there is nothing to frustrate my liberty.
Just as Christ warned us not to cast the first stone, so the Stoic advises us against shunning any sort of slave. We are all slaves. All of us, in one way or another and at one time or another, have allowed ourselves to be in the thralls of our passions. I will not bore you with my long list, and I will not shame you about yours, but we must understand that we share in a common struggle.
How odd that the snobs would prefer being feared to being loved, for Seneca rightly argues why earning respect is so much more valuable than ruling by terror. Yet they grow confused because they assume that their glory must always be at someone else’s expense, and they have forgotten how selfless love leaves nothing else to be desired.
I can complain that I am a victim, pointing my finger at whoever has rubbed me the wrong way, though I really know that I am simply a victim of my own hasty judgments. To be my own man, a man who is free on his own terms, does not depend upon your permission.
“Yeah, but I got quoted in The New Yorker!”
You decided that was worthwhile, not me. I hope it will "make" you happy.
I can tell that something isn’t quite right, when our superiors scorn us for not having enough power, as they are simultaneously busy at limiting our power. Observe how that man has become rich at your expense, and yet he now has the nerve to belittle you for being poor!
The only way to untangle the mess is to recognize how their game is rigged, and to radically reconsider our definitions of freedom and slavery. As long as I measure my life by what I vainly believe to be “my” property and pleasures, I remain chained to outside forces, as helpless as a prisoner locked in a cage. Once, however, I can turn to my inner virtues for comfort, there is nothing to frustrate my liberty.
Just as Christ warned us not to cast the first stone, so the Stoic advises us against shunning any sort of slave. We are all slaves. All of us, in one way or another and at one time or another, have allowed ourselves to be in the thralls of our passions. I will not bore you with my long list, and I will not shame you about yours, but we must understand that we share in a common struggle.
How odd that the snobs would prefer being feared to being loved, for Seneca rightly argues why earning respect is so much more valuable than ruling by terror. Yet they grow confused because they assume that their glory must always be at someone else’s expense, and they have forgotten how selfless love leaves nothing else to be desired.
I can complain that I am a victim, pointing my finger at whoever has rubbed me the wrong way, though I really know that I am simply a victim of my own hasty judgments. To be my own man, a man who is free on his own terms, does not depend upon your permission.
“Yeah, but I got quoted in The New Yorker!”
You decided that was worthwhile, not me. I hope it will "make" you happy.
—Reflection written in 3/2013
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