Seneca Moral essays
Seneca: This may be that of the Athenians or…
This may be that of the Athenians or Carthaginians, or of any other city which does not belong to all men but to some especial ones. Some men serve both of these states, the greater and the lesser, at the same time; some serve only the lesser, some only the greater.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Seneca’s moral essays. The reading beside it is ours.
We belong to more than one community. There is the small circle: family, neighborhood, workplace, city. Then there is the larger circle of human beings whose lives are affected by choices we make, votes we cast, and habits we support. It is possible to serve both. You can show up for the local meeting, care well for your team, and still remember that people outside your group deserve justice too. The trouble begins when the smaller identity makes us cruel or indifferent to everyone beyond it. Stoicism asks us to widen the frame without abandoning the people close to us. Think of your influence as concentric circles, not competing loyalties. Today, do one useful thing for your immediate world, and let one decision reflect concern for people you will never meet.
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