“Injustice is a kind of blasphemy. Nature designed rational beings for each other’s sake: to help—not harm—one another, as they deserve. To transgress its will, then, is to blaspheme against the oldest of the gods.”
That’s our pal Marcus Aurelius.
Let’s talk about what he means by “Nature” here, because it’s relevant to the heart of this message.
The Stoic concept of Nature isn’t “human nature,” as we understand it. It’s more about the cosmic design of things. The way that god (or the gods—Marcus uses both terms) arranged all of life to work together, in a constant state of change and growth.
Nature made us as part of a whole, like bees in a hive. And, as Marcus said, “What is bad for the hive, is bad for the bee.”
If a bee turns against her fellow bees, that goes against nature. That is not a rational bee. That is an insane bee. If that behavior isn’t stopped (or spreads), the entire hive will collapse.
That bee has blasphemed against the god of bees.
It’s the same thing when a human being commits injustice against their fellow men.
It goes against human rationality, which the Stoics saw as a gift from the gods. Our ability to reason is what separates us from the animals. Committing injustice is irrational. It’s like spitting in the face of the oldest gods of creation—the ones that planned this whole human experiment so perfectly, and who would provide for you perfectly if you just followed your own Nature, using your reason to develop yourself into the best YOU that you can be.
Use your head. Master your animal impulses. Understand that you are part of a greater whole, and that being your best self benefits all of us.
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Love,
L.