Today Is A Very Special Day

On December 25th, people all over the world celebrate Christmas, a holiday which marks the birth of Jesus Christ, one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived. This was a man who lived two thousand years ago, taught timeless lessons about kindness, mercy, forgiveness, on doing one’s duty, on the dangers of money and the redemptive power of poverty and adversity. It’s pretty remarkable to think that in that same year as Jesus, another philosopher was born, one who taught more or less the same lessons, one who for at least a century was far more famous and influential than Jesus was. That man’s name was Seneca. No one can confirm for certain the exact birth date for either, but it is indisputable that Seneca and Jesus walked the earth at the same time and lived roughly parallel lives. Indeed, they are both written about by Tacitus, and Seneca’s brother even appears briefly in the Bible! Again, it’s incredible. Ultimately, the two men met very similar ends, killed by the long reach of Nero’s tyranny. Both have lived on far beyond their deaths—Jesus it was claimed, rose from the dead after three days, and Seneca, through his writings, feels as alive to us as he would have to many Romans. What’s lovely too is that there is much to be learned from the teachings of both, whether you’re a believer or an atheist.“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness." Seneca"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Jesus“It is a petty and sorry person who will bite back when he is bitten.” Seneca“If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Jesus“You look at the pimples of others when you yourselves are covered with a mass of sores.” Seneca“And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” Jesus“If my wealth should melt away it would deprive me of nothing but itself, but if yours were to depart you would be stunned and feel you were deprived of what makes you yourself. With me, wealth has a certain place; in your case it has the highest place. In short, I own my wealth, your wealth owns you.” Seneca“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal... No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” JesusSeneca was simply a man, a rather flawed one in fact. Jesus—depending on your beliefs—was much more than a man. In a way, this makes Seneca much more interesting and relatable because he was just like us. Seneca was no prophet. He was a person trying to do the best he could. He struggled like us. Jesus was supposedly a carpenter, but Seneca really did have to work for a living. Jesus couldn’t have liked being crucified, but he knew that God was looking out for him. Seneca, like us, had to wrestle with the uncertainty of mortality. On this day right here, on Christmas Day, we should take a minute to simply marvel at this near-miracle—that two wise men were alive at the same time, and through their suffering and teachings, a great legacy has been passed down to us. While we don’t know what Jesus would have said about Seneca’s teachings, we know what Seneca would have told the Stoics about Jesus’s, because he saidSee 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. Today is a very special day. On December 25th, people all over the world celebrate Christmas, a holiday which marks the birth of Jesus Christ, one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived. This man, who lived 2,000 years ago, taught timeless lessons about kindness, mercy, forgiveness, on doing one's duty, on the dangers of money, and the redemptive

• 0:51Ryan Holiday?

  power of poverty and adversity. It's pretty remarkable to think that in the same year as Jesus, another philosopher was born, one who taught more or less the same lessons, one that for at least a century was far more famous and influential than Jesus was. That man's name was Seneca. No one can confirm for certain the exact birth date for either, but it is indisputable that Seneca and Jesus walked the earth at the same time and lived roughly parallel lives. Indeed, they are both written about by Tacitus, and Seneca's brother even appears briefly in the Bible. Ultimately, the two men met very similar ends, killed by the long reach of Nero's tyranny. Both have lived on far beyond their

• 1:35Ryan Holiday?

  deaths. Jesus, it was claimed, rose from the dead after three days, and Seneca, through his writings, feels as alive to us as he would have to many Romans. What's lovely, too, is that there is much to be learned from the teachings of both, whether you're a believer or an atheist. Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness. Seneca: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Jesus: It is a petty and sorrow person who will bite back when he is bitten. Seneca: If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Jesus: You look at the pimples of others when you yourself are covered with a mass of sores.

• 2:16Ryan Holiday?

  Seneca: And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eyes, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Jesus: If my wealth should melt away, it would deprive me of nothing but itself. But if yours were to depart you, you would be stunned and feel you were deprived of what makes you yourself. With me, wealth has a certain place. In your case, it has the highest place. In short, I own my wealth. Your wealth owns you. Seneca. Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth where moth and decay destroy and thieves break in and steal. No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Jesus.

• 3:01Ryan Holiday?

  Seneca was simply a man, a rather flawed one, in fact. Jesus, depending on your beliefs, was much more than a man. In a way, this makes Seneca much more interesting and relatable, because he was like us. Seneca was no prophet. He was a person trying to do the best he could. He struggled like us. Jesus was supposedly a carpenter, but Seneca really did have to work for a living. Jesus couldn't have liked being crucified, but he knew that God was looking out for him. Seneca, like us, had to wrestle with the uncertainty of mortality. On this day, right here, on Christmas Day, we should take a minute to simply marvel at this near miracle, that two wise men were alive at the same time, and through their

• 3:44Ryan Holiday?

  suffering and teachings, a great legacy has been passed down to us. While we don't know what Jesus would have said about Seneca's teachings, we do know what Seneca would have told the Stoics about Jesus's, because he said it about the philosophies he disagreed with all the time. If there is good stuff in there, use it. And so, in that spirit, we should study and learn from both these wise men, and count it as a blessing, a miracle, that we are able to do so. Merry Christmas, everyone. Whatever you celebrate, have a great holidays. Thank you for subscribing. We're grateful to have you. We really appreciate it, and looking forward to another year with you on Daily Stoic.

• 4:30Ryan Holiday?

  Epictetus's line was, "How much longer are you going to wait until you demand the best for yourself?" I think he was really saying, "How long are you going to wait until you demand the best of yourself?" And for that reason, we've created this new 14-day Stoic Challenge. It's going to kick off on January 1st. I hope you'll check it out. It's 14 days of awesome Stoic-based challenges that can make you a better person, a better learner, a better thinker, whatever it is. I think you'll like it. I'm going to be doing it. It's an awesome community that goes along with it. If you want to check it out, you can go to dailystoic.com/challenge. But remember, this closes on at 11:59 PM on December 31st. If you want to kick the year off right, I hope you join us. dailystoic.com/challenge.