We Pay The Iron Price

In Game of Thrones, the people of the Iron Islands believe they have been entitled by God to steal and seize whatever they like. Women, land, possessions, even the rightful kingdom of one’s own brother--all of this is capriciously taken by the ironborn if they think they’d like to have it. "I take what is mine. I pay the iron price,” Balon Greyjoy says. It’s a tradition that the Roman empire, even at its most aggressive and belligerent, never fully embraced. Yet there is something or someone who actually does lives by the iron law and always has: Fortune. Which is why Seneca and Marcus and every Stoic lived with profound respect for her power and dominance. It doesn’t matter who you are, how rich you are, how big your army is, how pious you have been in your life. Fortune can and will come take it from you. The pages of Seneca’s writings are not only filled with stories of powerful people who were attacked by Fortune paying the iron price for their most prized possessions; his own life follows the same storyline. He was exiled, he lost loved ones, his reputation was destroyed, and in the end, his breath itself was taken without recompense. Epictetus too had his freedom taken this way, even partly giving up his ability to walk to a slave owner who paid nothing in return for this deprivation. We measly humans are not mythical characters in Game of Thrones, but we are nonetheless subjected to those wicked economics. We are what’s paid. Never forget this. Never forget, as Seneca said and needed to remember himself, Fortune’s habit of doing what she pleases, acting as capriciously as she wishes, and how little she cares for our feelings in regards to it. Because it will happen. Oh and, now and forever, it’s important to remember: Premeditatio Malorum 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.

• 0:30Ryan Holiday?

  We Pay the Iron Price In Game of Thrones, the people of the Iron Islands believe that they have been entitled by God to steal and seize whatever they like: women, land, possessions, even the rightful kingdom of one's brother. All of this is capriciously taken by the ironborn if they think they'd like to have it. "I take what is mine. I pay the iron price," Balon Greyjoy says. It's a tradition that the Roman Empire, even at its most aggressive and belligerent, never fully embraced. Yet there is something or someone who actually does live by the

• 1:09Ryan Holiday?

  iron law and always has: fortune, which is why Seneca and Marcus and every Stoic lived with a profound respect for her power and dominance. It doesn't matter who you are, how rich you are, how big your army is, how pious you have been in your life. Fortune can and will come, take it from you. The pages of Seneca's writings are not only filled with stories of powerful people who were attacked by fortune as she paid the iron price for their most prized possessions. His own life is precisely that story. He was exiled. He lost loved ones. His reputation was destroyed, and in the end, his breath

• 1:52Ryan Holiday?

  itself was taken without recompense. Epictetus had his freedom taken this way, even partly giving up his ability to walk to a slave owner who paid nothing in return for this deprivation. We measly humans do not pay the iron price like the mythical characters of Game of Thrones. But we are nonetheless subjected to those wicked economics. We are what's paid. Never forget this. Never forget, as Seneca said and needed to remember himself, "Fortune's habit of doing what she pleases, acting as capriciously as she wishes, and how little she cares for our feelings in regards to it, because it will happen." Oh, and now and ever, it's important to remember.

• 2:37Ryan Holiday?

  "Premeditatio malorum." If you want a physical reminder of this idea, check out our "Premeditatio Malorum" medallion, which you can reach into your pocket and remember, as Seneca said, all the possibilities of our fate. Torture, war, shipwreck. All of these things are possible. The iron price could be extracted from us at any moment. And hopefully, this reminder will help you prepare for that, anticipate it, and ideally even prevent it. So you can just go to dailystoic.com/pm.