22.
Inasmuch as I began with an illustration taken from humble life, I shall keep on with that sort.
For men will make greater demands upon themselves, if they see that death can be despised even by the most despised class of men.
The Catos, the Scipios, and the others whose names we are wont to hear with admiration, we regard as beyond the sphere of imitation; but I shall now prove to you that the virtue of which I speak is found as frequently in the gladiators’ training-school as among the leaders in a civil war.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On the proper time to slip the cable
Location: Chapter 70, Section 22
Content:
22.
Inasmuch as I began with an illustration taken from humble life, I shall keep on with that sort.
For men will make greater demands upon themselves, if they see that death can be despised even by the most despised class of men.
The Catos, the Scipios, and the others whose names we are wont to hear with admiration, we regard as beyond the sphere of imitation; but I shall now prove to you that the virtue of which I speak is found as frequently in the gladiators’ training-school as among the leaders in a civil war.