Is Your Fortune Changing?
Are you ready if it does?
Yesterday’s letter (XLVII) was so packed with wisdom that today, we need to revisit it. Seneca tells Lucilius all about proper treatment of slaves in the house (hopefully that’s not relatable for anybody). While we don’t have slaves in most countries today, we can learn from Seneca’s stance.
Seneca tells Lucilius to treat his slaves so well that he can rule by respect and not by fear. He says to allow them to join him at the table for meals based on their character, an unpopular opinion at the time. If respect and praise is enough for the gods, how can it not be enough for man. A true master should never lead by fear.
Seneca says to treat your inferiors how you would want your superiors to treat you. Superior and inferior in status are temporary. They can be taken away at any moment. We must remember we are all slaves to fortune.
“Strictly speaking, they’re our fellow-slaves, if you once reflect that fortune has as much power over us as over them.” (Seneca’s Letters To Lucilius, XLVII)
During Emperor Nero’s time, we saw fortunes change immensely. There were many cases of slaves buying their freedom, gaining wealth and becoming superiors to their former masters. Their fortune changed. They did not.
Character is who we are. Wealth and status can be taken away in an instant by fortune, but not character. Character is the horse and status is the saddle. If you go to buy a horse and pay attention only to the saddle, you’re an idiot. Only a fool would do that.
You buy the horse, not the saddle. When you make a friend, you buy the character, not the status.
Question of The Day
If suddenly everyone around you lost their status, how would your relationships change?
Your Friend,
Noah “BigNerd” Sochaczevski