Plutarch on How To Be A Leader Part 2

Today’s episode features another excerpt from Jeffrey Beneker’s How To Be A Leader: An Ancient Guide to Wise Leadership. How To Be A Leader is a modern translation and collection of essays about successful leadership from the ancient biographer Plutarch. Jeff Beneker is a Professor of Classics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. His primary research interest is in Greco-Roman biography and historiography. In addition to teaching courses in Greek language and literature, he teaches lecture courses on Classical Mythology, Greco-Roman religion, and Greek civilization. This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs is the best platform for finding the right candidate to join your business this fall. It’s the largest marketplace for job seekers in the world, and it has great search features so that you can find candidates with any hard or soft skills that you need. And now, you can post a job for free. Just visit linkedin.com/STOIC to post a job for free. This episode is brought to you by Public Goods, the one stop shop for sustainable, high quality everyday essentials made from clean ingredients at an affordable price. Everything from coffee to toilet paper & shampoo to pet food. Public Goods is your new everything store, thoughtfully designed for the conscious consumer. Receive $15 off your first Public Goods order with no minimum purchase. Just go to publicgoods.com/STOIC or use code STOIC at checkout. This episode is brought to you by Beekeeper’s Naturals, the company that’s reinventing your medicine with clean, effective products that actually work. Beekeepers Naturals has great products like Propolis Spray and B. LXR. Beekeeper’s Naturals created a whole hive of products packed with immune-loving essentials so you can feel your best all day, every day. As a listener of the Daily Stoic Podcast you can receive 15% off your first order. Just go to beekeepersnaturals.com/STOIC or use code STOIC at checkout to claim this deal.***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better. Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow @DailyStoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dailystoicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoic/Facebook: http://facebook.com/dailystoicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoicSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

• 0:02Speaker 00

  Bienvenidos a la edición de fin de semana del diario estoico. Cada viernes te traemos una meditación inspirada por los antiguos estoicos, algo que puede ayudarte a vivir hasta esas cuatro virtudes estoicas de coraje, justicia, sabiduría y temperance. Y aquí, en el fin de semana, nos sumamos a un profundismo más profundo en esos mismos temas. entrevistamos filósofos estoicos, reflexionamos, nos preparamos, pensamos profundamente sobre los problemas desafiantes de nuestro tiempo y trabajamos en esta filosofía de una manera que es más posible aquí cuando no estamos arrastrando a trabajar o a llevar a los niños a la escuela, cuando tenemos el tiempo para pensar, para ir de una caminata,

• 0:44Speaker 00

  para sentarnos con nuestros diarios y para prepararnos para lo que traerá el futuro.

• 0:54Speaker 00

  Hola a todos, soy Ryan. Tenemos otro episodio especial hoy. Esta es una continuación de un libro de audio que hemos escaneado recientemente, "Cómo ser un líder" de la empresa Princeton University Press de la serie "Antuena Sabiduría". Este es un gran libro. Se escribió por Plutarch, pero se tradució y presentó por Jeffrey Beneker. Tantor Media, Hybrid Audio y Recorded Books fueron generosos lo suficiente como para darnos este audio sample. Plutarch es el mejor que jamás lo hizo. Ha influido básicamente en todos los líderes y pensadores, de Napoleón a Alexander Hamilton a Marcus Aurelius.

• 1:37Speaker 00

  De hecho, el nieto o abuelo de Plutarch era el maestro de filosofía de Marcus Aurelius, si se puede creer. Plutarch habla de la "gente de la liderazgo". Y él mismo fue líder en el Imperio Romano, así que sabía de lo que estaba hablando. Si no has leído "La vida de Plutarch", te recomiendo que lo revises. Pero hoy tenemos un gran extracto de su serie "Cómo ser un líder". Este es el ensayo "Para un líder no educado", hablando de la importancia de por qué un líder debe perseguir esa virtud estoica de sabiduría. Creo que te gustará el episodio de hoy. Y de nuevo, deberías realmente leer todo de Plutarch. Esta nueva serie de "Cómo ser un líder" es fantástica.

• 2:20Speaker 00

  Y el audio es lo que vas a obtener un sample de ahora mismo.

• 2:30Speaker 01

  A leader should do anything, but not everything. Now, some people, such as Cato, involve themselves in every aspect of government, in the belief that good citizens, to the best of their ability, never abandon their concern and care for the state. And people praise Apollonion this, because he did not neglect his duty even when the Thebans appointed him to an insignificant office out of envy and to insult him. On the contrary, he declared that not only does an office bring distinction to a man, but a man also brings distinction to an office. Then he proceeded to transform that insignificant office into a great and respected honour, even though previously it had involved nothing more than overseeing the clearing of dung and the diverting of water from the streets.

• 3:14Speaker 01

  And no doubt even I myself provide a good laugh to people visiting our town when they see me out in public, performing similar duties, as I often do. But in this situation, Antisthenes' memorable remark comes to my aid. For when someone expressed surprise that he was personally carrying his salted fish through the marketplace, he said, "Of course I am, since it's for me." Conversely, when people reproach me for being on the job while tiles are being measured or cement and stones are being delivered, I say to them, "Look, I'm not building these things for myself, but for my native city." And so it is with many other small projects. People would be petty and parsimonious if they oversaw these projects for themselves and carried them out on their own behalf.

• 4:00Speaker 01

  But when they undertake them as a public service and on behalf of the city, they are not at all undignified. Indeed, the care and eagerness they devote to small matters becomes even more significant. Others, however, believe that the attitude of Pericles was more honourable and appropriate to his high stature. Among them is Critelaus, the peripatetic philosopher, who thinks that, just as the Athenians' state ships, Salameneia and Paralus, were not launched for ordinary tasks, but were reserved for essential and great missions, so political leaders should apply themselves only to the most important and greatest matters, following the example of the king of the universe. "For God lays hold of the great affairs,

• 4:43Speaker 01

  but lets the small ones be, leaving them to chance," as Euripides says. I do not agree, neither however, do I approve of the excessive love of honour and contentiousness of Theogenes, a man who was victorious at the four great athletic festivals and in many other competitions, and who won not only in the pancratium, but also in boxing and the long race. After all this, he was attending a festival held at the shrine of a certain hero, and after the feast had been served to everyone as usual, he leapt up to begin the pancratium, believing that no one else ought to be victorious if he was in the contest.

• 5:20Speaker 00

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• 5:25Speaker 01

  As a result, he collected twelve hundred victory crowns, most of which he would consider to be essentially worthless. Those who strip for every leadership opportunity are no different from Theogenes. They swiftly make themselves contemptible to the people, they become oppressive and envied when they succeed, and they bring joy to others when they fail. And the very attributes that earned them admiration when they first took office become the source of mockery and ridicule. And so we must not stand aloof from any public duty, but out of goodwill and concern we must be attentive and knowledgeable about everything. And we must not stow ourselves away like the sacred anchor on a ship, waiting for our city to experience an extreme need or misfortune.

• 6:10Speaker 01

  Rather, consider the ship's pilots. They manage the tiller with their own hands, but they also turn and rotate other devices by means of tackle handled by the crew, while they themselves sit at a distance. Thus, they rely on sailors, boatswain, and their lookouts on the bow, and they often summon some of these crew members to the stern and entrust them with the tiller. In the same way, it is proper that politicians yield to others with goodwill and kindness, allowing them to govern and be summoned to the speaker's platform. And they must not accomplish all the public's business by their own speeches, decrees, and actions, but having under them assistants who are trustworthy and of good character, they should assign each one to the task for which they are best suited.

• 6:52Speaker 01

  Thus Pericles employed Menipus in the generalship, checked the power of the Eropegus Council through the agency of Ephialtes, passed the decree punishing the city of Magara through Coronus, and sent out Lampoon to found the colony at Thorai. When power appears to be distributed among many people, not only are we less troubled by an accumulation of envy, but we are also more capable of accomplishing what must be done. For just as the division of the hand into fingers does not render it weak, but instead makes it a usable and practical instrument, so those who share political power with others make the work of government more effective by their cooperation.

• 7:33Speaker 01

  By contrast, there are some who, out of an insatiable desire for glory or power, take full responsibility for the city upon themselves and apply themselves to tasks for which they are neither naturally talented nor trained, as Cleon did when he became general, or Philopomen as an admiral, or Hannibal when he addressed the assembly. Such people have no excuse when they fail, but they must moreover endure the criticism that we read in Euripides. "You're a carpenter, but you didn't work with wood." We might similarly criticize someone by saying, "You're an unpersuasive speaker, but you are leading an embassy." "You're careless, but you became an administrator." "You're inexperienced in accounting, but you are acting as treasurer."

• 8:17Speaker 01

  Or, "You're old and infirm, but you are leading an army." Pericles, however, shared power even with Caiman, governing in Athens while his rival recruited crews for the city's ships and made war abroad, for Pericles was more naturally suited to politics, while Caiman was better in war.

• 8:34Speaker 00

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• 8:40Speaker 01

  The people in every city can be malicious and inclined to find fault with their political leaders. Moreover, unless they observe some partisanship or opposition, the people suspect many good policies of being implemented by conspiracy, which leads especially to criticism of their leaders' political connections and friendships. Now, politicians must not allow any real hostility or disagreements between themselves to persist, as Onamedamus, the demagogue of Chios, did. After emerging victorious from a factional fight, he would not allow his party to drive all its enemies from the city. "So that we don't begin to fight with our friends," he explained, "once we've rid ourselves entirely of our enemies."

• 9:25Speaker 01

  That approach is simple-minded, but whenever the people are suspicious of some important and beneficial proposal, do not allow every politician to come forward and speak the same opinion, as if by prior agreement. Instead, two or three of your friends should openly disagree and speak calmly in opposition, and then, acting as though their position has been refuted, they should change sides. For by this stratagem, your friends will bring the people along with them, because they appear to have been won over by what is advantageous to the city. In less important matters, however, there is no harm in allowing your friends to rely on their own reasoning and to genuinely disagree, so that when it comes to the most important issues, they may appear to reach consensus about the best course of action without any pre-arrangement.

• 10:09Speaker 01

  It is natural, then, that politicians always provide leadership in a city, just as the queen is leader among bees, and bearing this in mind, politicians must manage public affairs. Even so, they should pursue neither aggressively nor excessively those offices that confer power and are won by election. But there is nothing honorable or democratic in the love of holding office. But they should not refuse an appointment either if the people are calling them to serve and bestowing power lawfully. And they should accept and eagerly serve even in positions that are beneath their dignity. For politicians who enjoy renown because they have held the greater offices are obligated in turn to elevate the stature of the lesser offices by holding them too.

• 10:53Speaker 01

  And with regard to the most impressive positions, such as the generalship at Athens, membership on the city council at Rhodes, and leadership of our allied Boeotian cities, politicians are likewise obligated to show moderation, giving way sometimes and yielding to others, while in turn adding honor and distinction to the lesser positions. In this way, we may avoid being either despised or envied.

• 11:20Speaker 00

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