Don’t Take the Money. Don’t Take the Money.
The Daily Stoic
Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures
4.5 • 5.3K Ratings
🗓️ 17 February 2020
⏱️ 3 minutes
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Summary
Cicero and Cato both refused to take bribes, despite how widespread the practice was for politicians at the time. Cato refused to be enriched by his office in any form, even though that was even more common. Marcus Aurelius refused inheritances that were offered to him, much the same way.
Although they never gave us their exact reasons, it’s pretty easy to deduce. Because corruption is a betrayal of the public trust. Even if it weren’t, Marcus and Cato would likely have declined all the same. Why? Because to accept the money would have been to sacrifice their autonomy. They lived along the same principle so brilliantly expressed, thousands of years later, by the photographer Bill Cunningham: “If you don’t take money, they can’t tell you what to do, kid.”
Just look at Seneca. While there is no evidence he took outright bribes, he did accept a paycheck from Nero. He accepted piles and piles of gifts. He couldn’t see that Nero was slowly buying him, trapping him in a gilded cage. Seneca’s fortune grew—soon, he was the second richest man in Rome—but his control over his own life diminished. He was tied up in Nero’s misdeeds; he was at the mercy of his whims. When Seneca tried to walk away, Nero said, “Nope.” When Seneca tried to give all the money back, he learned that’s not how it works. Nero called the tune now. Nero owned him.
To a Stoic, that was a form of death (indeed, Seneca died not long after this, at Nero’s hand). Blood money comes at the cost of your soul. Bribes and corruption are not just wrong; they’re dangerous. It’s corrosive. There are always strings attached, whether the money comes in the form of a salary or an envelope of cash slid under a table. Let Seneca be an example of that. Let Cato be an inspiration.
But most of all, remember what Bill Cunningham said: If they pay you, they get to tell you what to do. Remember: “Money’s the cheapest thing. Liberty, freedom is the most expensive.”
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoke podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. |
| 0:13.6 | Welcome to the Daily Stoke. For each day, we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. |
| 0:23.3 | Each one of these passages is based on the 2000 year old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at DailyStoic.com. |
| 0:36.3 | Don't take the money. Don't take the money. |
| 0:39.3 | Cicero and Cato both refused to take bribes. Despite how well spread the practice was for politicians at the time, Cato refused to be enriched by his office in any form, even though that was even more common. |
| 0:52.3 | Marcus Aurelius refused inheritances that were offered to him much the same way. Although they never gave their exact reasons, it's pretty easy to deduce, because corruption is a betrayal of the public trust. |
| 1:05.3 | Even if it weren't, Marcus and Cato would have likely declined all the same. Why? Because to accept money would have been to sacrifice their autonomy. |
| 1:13.3 | They lived along the same principle so brilliantly expressed thousands of years later by the photographer Bill Cunningham. If you don't take the money, they can't tell you what to do, kid. |
| 1:25.3 | Just look at Cicero. While there is no evidence he took outright bribes, he did accept a paycheck from Nero. He accepted piles and piles of gifts. |
| 1:35.3 | He couldn't see that Nero was slowly buying him, trapping him in a gilded cage. Ceneca's fortune grew soon he was the second richest man in Rome, but his control over his own life diminished. |
| 1:47.3 | He was tied up in Nero's misdeeds, he was at the mercy of his wins. When Ceneca tried to walk away, Nero said, nope. When Ceneca tried to give all the money back, he learned that's not how it works. Nero called the tune now. Nero owned him. |
| 2:02.3 | To be a stoic, that was a form of death. Indeed, Ceneca died not long after this at Nero's hand. Blood money comes at the cost of your soul. Bribes and corruption are not just wrong. They're dangerous. It's corrosive. They're always strings attached. |
| 2:18.3 | Whether the money comes in the form of a salary or an envelope of cash slid under a table. Let Ceneca be an example of that. Let Cato be an inspiration. |
| 2:27.3 | But most of all, remember what Bill Cunningham said. If they pay you, they get to tell you what to do. Remember, he said money is the cheapest thing. Liberty freedom is the most expensive. |
| 2:40.3 | If you like the podcast that we do here and you want to get it via email every morning, you can sign up at dailystoic.com slash email. |
| 2:49.3 | Hey, prime members, you can listen to the daily stoic early and add free on Amazon music. Download the Amazon music app today or you can listen early and add free with Wondering Plus in Apple podcasts. |
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