Do What’s Right, Not What’s Easy

It was a somber scene as the pallbearers marched down Pine Street carrying the coffin of General William Tecumseh Sherman on this day 129 years ago. It grew more somber still as the rain started to drizzle and then rain steadily. The temperatures dropped as the procession winded through the streets. Repeatedly along the seven mile walk, the former Confederate General Joe Johnston, then old and frail, but who had faced off in battle against Sherman many times, was asked if someone could take his place so that he might go inside and warm up. No, Johnson said, I’m fine. An aide suggested that he at least put on a hat to keep dry. Once again, Johnson refused. It would be impolite. It would be disrespectful to the dead. “If the positions were reversed,” he said, “Sherman would not do so.” So he continued to carry the coffin, bare-headed in the rain, in honor of his former enemy, the man who had beaten and dominated him. Marcus Aurelius wrote of how we should do the right thing, whether it’s cold or warm, whether we’re tired or well-rested, whether we’re despised or honored. Johnson faced each of these dilemmas that day. He was tired, he was cold, he could not have been been particularly popular with the thousands of Yankees who watched his labored steps. But he did what he thought was right— like his former opponent, he lived by a code and that was all that mattered. He wanted to pay his respects, even if it was inconvenient, even if it wasn’t fully understood. And he was willing to sacrifice more than just a few minutes of comfort to make that statement. Because at that funeral Joe Johnson caught pneumonia. Within a month, he was dead. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. 📢 Share | ⚙️ Manage Subscription

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at DailyStoic.com.

• 0:28Ryan Holiday?

  Do what's right, not what's easy. It was a somber scene as the pallbearers marched down Pine Street, carrying the coffin of General William Tecumseh Sherman on this day 129 years ago. It grew more somber still as the rain started to drizzle and then pour steadily. The temperatures dropped as the procession winded through the streets. Repeatedly along the seven-mile walk, the former Confederate General Joe Johnston, then old and frail, but who had faced often battle against Sherman many times, was asked if someone could take his place so that he might go inside and warm up. "No," Johnston said, "I'm fine." An aide suggested that he at least put on a hat to keep dry. Once

• 1:13Ryan Holiday?

  again, Johnston refused. "It would be impolite. It would be disrespectful to the dead." If the positions were reversed, he said, Sherman would not do so. So he continued to carry the coffin bareheaded in the rain, in honor of his former enemy, the man who had beaten and dominated him. Marcus Aurelius wrote of how we should do the right thing, whether it's cold or warm, whether we're tired or well-rested, whether we're despised or honored. Johnston faced each of these dilemmas that day. He was tired. He was cold. He could not have been highly thought of by the thousands of Yankees who watched his labored steps. But he did what he thought was right, like his former opponent would have. He lived

• 1:55Ryan Holiday?

  by a code, and that was all that mattered. He wanted to pay his respects, even if it was inconvenient, even if it wasn't fully understood. And he was willing to sacrifice more than just a few minutes of comfort to make that statement, because at the funeral, Joe Johnston caught pneumonia, and within a month, he was dead. This is just a reminder, I hope you'll check out our newest Daily Stoic medallion, "Summum Bonum." That's the highest good. It's a phrase from Cicero. And it ties into a reminder from Marcus Aurelius. He says, "Just that you do the right thing, the rest doesn't matter." And it's our newest Daily Stoic medallion. It's one

• 2:35Ryan Holiday?

  I've been excited to add to my sort of daily carry. I have "Memento Mori" in one pocket. I have "Summum Bonum" in the other. Again, it's this reminder that we need heroes. We need people who do the right thing, who ignore all the other incentives or temptations around them, and they do what's right. They do what's virtuous. To the Stoics, that was the highest good. That was the ultimate thing we were striving to do and to be. And this token is hopefully a prompt that will get you there. It's made in the same place that they make the famous Alcoholics Anonymous chips. It's where we make all our other Stoic medallions, right here in America. And I hope you'll check it out. You can go to the Daily Stoic store, dailystoic.com/store. Check out all our medallions, but I hope you'll check out

• 3:20Ryan Holiday?

  this new one, the "Summum Bonum" coin.