7.
I often feel called upon to use the following illustration, and it seems to me that none expresses more effectively this drama of human life, wherein we are assigned the parts which we are to play so badly.
Yonder is the man who stalks upon the stage with swelling port and head thrown back, and says: Lo, I am he whom Argos hails as lord, Whom Pelops left the heir of lands that spread From Hellespont and from th’ Ionian sea E’en to the Isthmian straits.
And who is this fellow?
He is but a slave; his wage is five measures of grain and five denarii.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On worldly deceptions
Location: Chapter 80, Section 7
Content:
7.
I often feel called upon to use the following illustration, and it seems to me that none expresses more effectively this drama of human life, wherein we are assigned the parts which we are to play so badly.
Yonder is the man who stalks upon the stage with swelling port and head thrown back, and says: Lo, I am he whom Argos hails as lord, Whom Pelops left the heir of lands that spread From Hellespont and from th’ Ionian sea E’en to the Isthmian straits.
And who is this fellow?
He is but a slave; his wage is five measures of grain and five denarii.