【每日斯多葛】2026年7月22日

July 22nd

NO ONE HAS A GUN TO YOUR HEAD

“Nothing is noble if it’s done unwillingly or under compulsion. Every noble deed is voluntary.”—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 66.16b

You don’t have to do the right thing. You always have the option to be selfish, rude, awful, shortsighted, pedantic, evil, or stupid. In fact, sometimes there are incentives to break bad. Certainly, not every criminal gets caught.

But how does this line of thinking usually work out for people? What’s that life like?

You don’t have to do the right thing, just as you don’t have to do your duty. You get to. You want to.

7月22日

没有人拿枪指着你的头

“如果一件事是在不情愿或被强迫的情况下做的，它就不是高贵的。每一件高贵的行为都是自愿的。”——塞内卡，《道德书信》，66.16b

你不必非得做正确的事。你总可以选择自私、粗鲁、糟糕、短视、迂腐、邪恶或愚蠢。事实上，有时作恶是有诱因的。当然，并非所有罪犯都会被抓获。

但这种想法通常对人们来说意味着什么？这样的生活是怎样的？

你不必非得做正确的事，就像你不必非得履行你的职责一样。你可以这么做。你想这么做就这么做。