Seneca Moral essays
Seneca: No creature is more self-willed, requires more…
No creature is more self-willed, requires more careful management, or ought to be treated with greater indulgence than man. What, indeed, can be more foolish than that we should blush to show anger against dogs or beasts of burden, and yet wish one man to be most abominably ill-treated by another?
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Seneca’s moral essays. The reading beside it is ours.
Human beings are difficult. We are stubborn, emotional, inconsistent, easily frightened, and occasionally unreasonable. That is exactly why we should be more careful with one another, not less. Seneca criticizes the strange inversion by which people may treat an animal gently yet feel licensed to be brutal toward a fellow human. Modern life has its versions: we offer customer-service scripts more patience than a stressed partner, or show more restraint toward a device than a colleague who made a mistake. Difficulty is not a permission slip for contempt. It is a reason to bring more skill and patience to the interaction. You can set limits, say no, and protect yourself without stripping the other person of dignity. Today, think of the person currently testing your patience. Do not pretend their behavior is easy. Simply refuse to let their difficulty determine the quality of your own character.
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