5 ms·
When Roman generals were allowed a triumphal march after a decent enough victory, a slave would be placed in the chariot. The slave was mandated to constantly
by gerdesj 6y ago
When Roman generals were allowed a triumphal march after a decent enough victory, a slave would be placed in the chariot. The slave was mandated to constantly repeat in the ear of the general "You are mortal" or words to that effect. The idea was to remind the general not to get above himself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias gives two versions of "Ozymandias" (scroll to halfway to read them.) They are both rather good and should speak loud across the centuries.
There are many simmering tensions (and quite a few outright wars) around the world. Some of those simmering tensions, that involve the really big proponents, are starting to look quite close to the boil.
Remember Ozymandias and the futility of conceit. Romans getting a slave to murmur stuff is what we might call "value signalling" these days.
We are enjoying a relatively peaceful period in human history. It would be nice if that continued. When I say enjoying, I'm obviously not referring to Syria, Yemen and other war zones or zones of continual atrocity.
- klyrs 6y agoKinda reminds me of the time I "bonked" on a bike ride. I realized that I was hypoglycemic, concluded that I wasn't thinking straight... so I started saying to myself "if you do something stupid, pull over"... that turned into a bit of a chant... 5 miles later I realize that chanting to myself is a stupid way to handle the issue... 5 miles later, I actually pulled over, and ate every calorie in my pack. Saying it feels good, doing it is real good.
- h0l0cube 6y ago> "You are mortal" or words to that effect 'Momento mori'? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_mori#In_classical_antiquity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_mori#In_classical_anti... > The Stoic Epictetus told his students that when kissing their child, brother, or friend, they should remind themselves that they are mortal, curbing their pleasure, as do "those who stand behind men in their triumphs and remind them that they are mortal"
- tunnuz 6y agoMemento, not momento.
- Robotbeat 6y agoSee, this is why Stoicism just isn’t for me. This curbing of the positive (emotional attachment to friends and family) to make the negative less bad and more tolerable. Stoicism strikes me as a(n effective!) defense mechanism for folks with excruciatingly terrible lives, but honestly seems to take too much of the spice out of life for my tastes. I’m a very emotional person, and I’ve learned to embrace that.
- qqj 6y agoTo remind yourself of your mortality when being embraced by a loved one serves to amplify the love and gratitude you experience, not to diminish it so that you’re less likely to be bummed when something bad happens. I'm afraid you have misunderstood Stoicism.
- xref 6y ago> they should remind themselves that they are mortal, curbing their pleasure I dunno, your “amplify love” interpretation seems diametrically opposed to the “curb pleasure” writing of the stoic philosophers
- saltyfever 6y agoTheir idea of pleasure might've been drastically different from what is being proposed here.
- yobananaboy 6y agoThe idea is that if you accept the fact that your loved ones may disappear at any time, you’ll appreciate them and love them more in the present. And when they do disappear, feeling that sadness is part of being human. The important thing is to accept that they’re gone, and not wallow in despair, as it’s something you can’t change.
- seesawtron 6y agoI think the idea is not to give up on your emotions and be an inanimate machine-like creature, but indeed to embrace your emotions, to be in a deeper cohesion with them. "The power of attachment should be as strong as the power of detachment", which is of course a much harder task than just detaching from everything.
- DarknessFalls 6y agoThis is paraphrased by the great George C. Scott at the end of Patton. His version was "All victory is fleeting."
- turndown 6y agoAll glory is fleeting.[0] 0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPiH-LBna5I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPiH-LBna5I
- DarknessFalls 6y agoAh, yes. I have seen this movie over a dozen times, with my first viewing at about age 4. George C Scott's performance is more sublime than the command presence of the real Patton.
- jariel 6y ago" Romans getting a slave to murmur stuff is what we might call "value signalling" these days." ? Virtue Signalling is when people brag, or indirectly brag, or overtly indicate their support for some cause, so as to highlight their virtue. It's used in a derogatory sense when people do it in a vapid manner, i.e. write things on Instagram, but otherwise their actions are shallow. That said, that literally a slave was there to remind a General to not believe his own hype is just an incredible degree of self-awareness and social understanding of human nature by the Romans - and an amazing ability to act on it. Could you imagine something along the lines of that these days for celebs, CEOs or in the White House? My gosh.