14.
You think, I suppose, that it is now in order for me to cite some examples of great men.
No, I shall cite rather the case of a boy.
The story of the Spartan lad has been preserved: taken captive while still a stripling, he kept crying in his Doric dialect, “I will not be a slave!” and he made good his word; for the very first time he was ordered to perform a menial and degrading service,—and the command was to fetch a chamber-pot,—he dashed out his brains against the wall.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On taking one's own life
Location: Chapter 77, Section 14
Content:
14.
You think, I suppose, that it is now in order for me to cite some examples of great men.
No, I shall cite rather the case of a boy.
The story of the Spartan lad has been preserved: taken captive while still a stripling, he kept crying in his Doric dialect, “I will not be a slave!” and he made good his word; for the very first time he was ordered to perform a menial and degrading service,—and the command was to fetch a chamber-pot,—he dashed out his brains against the wall.