Slavery of the Mind
I just finished reading a book: The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. I'm not overly inspired by this type of book that hardly showcases personal inner struggle, although Marcus is a good person and I suppose many would love his character.
What impressed me more was the changing allegiance of Marcus's slave, Esca. He was once a tribal warrior and the son of a chieftain, who was captured in war and made a gladiator. Bought and freed by Marcus, he chose to serve him even in freedom, and is later granted Roman citizenship. He's no longer defined by his life in his tribe for his tribe is no more, and he has to find his own life and place in the Roman empire which has extended opportunities to him.
It struck me then that in the modern world, though there are no slaves in form, there are slaves in substance. We should work hard in our jobs, and endeavour not to be dishonest in our labour. But now that we have been granted the freedom to contract our work out, to choose our occupations rather than following our parents, we should remember it. We can evaluate constantly what we want to be doing with the time in our lives and act appropriately. Life is short as well as long - short, in that we all know it is limited; long, in that time spent doing something we do not want to do in our hearts is and will always be a constant struggle for mastery - but why should we struggle on when there is no underlying rationale besides the wish to preserve a cossetted safety?
Thus we should take each step deliberately, knowing what we do it for or in hope of, and dare to dream.
What impressed me more was the changing allegiance of Marcus's slave, Esca. He was once a tribal warrior and the son of a chieftain, who was captured in war and made a gladiator. Bought and freed by Marcus, he chose to serve him even in freedom, and is later granted Roman citizenship. He's no longer defined by his life in his tribe for his tribe is no more, and he has to find his own life and place in the Roman empire which has extended opportunities to him.
It struck me then that in the modern world, though there are no slaves in form, there are slaves in substance. We should work hard in our jobs, and endeavour not to be dishonest in our labour. But now that we have been granted the freedom to contract our work out, to choose our occupations rather than following our parents, we should remember it. We can evaluate constantly what we want to be doing with the time in our lives and act appropriately. Life is short as well as long - short, in that we all know it is limited; long, in that time spent doing something we do not want to do in our hearts is and will always be a constant struggle for mastery - but why should we struggle on when there is no underlying rationale besides the wish to preserve a cossetted safety?
Thus we should take each step deliberately, knowing what we do it for or in hope of, and dare to dream.
Labels: books, life, reflections, slavery
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