Why are we still choosing fear, cruelty and worse, silence over compassion and acceptance?
1. Introduction: War is Always Unpredictable.
“Wars are unpredictable—and easy to start but hard to stop.”
—Timothy Snyder
Unfortunately, Snyders words have been proven true again and again by endless repetition over thousands of years of human warfare. Consider Vladimir Putin’s decision to start the full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A quick “special military operation,” he claimed. But instead of a swift victory, Russia now faces hundreds of thousands of casualties, economic isolation and depression, brutal internal repressions, and to top it all of a Ukraine more united than ever.
Or Israel’s decades-long policy of strikes and genocide against Gaza and the Palestinians. Each preemptive strike promised security. Each siege promised peace. Instead, these strategies intensified resistance and fostered humanitarian catastrophes, deepening regional instability and global condemnation of Israel.
And the United States, convinced that actions like the June 22, 2025 bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities will guarantee its security and assuming Iran will not respond. Yet, history shows that such attacks rarely go unanswered and often trigger cycles of escalation rather than lasting safety.
Snyders word’s are terribly and sadly accurate: those who launch wars confidently claim control, yet inevitably unleash chaos. But why haven’t we learned anything from history’s lessons?
In this article, I’ll explore strikingly similar mistakes to the aforementioned from ancient Rome and what the Stoics had to say about the root causes that allow these actions: fear, anger, apathy, tribalism, that trap us in perpetual violence. You’ll learn how Stoics actively resisted these destructive cycles, and finally, how you too can break the pattern today.
So stick around, because history only repeats itself if we allow it.
2. Historical First Strikes: Rome’s Pattern of Failed Wars and Lessons Unlearned
Timothy Snyder’s statement about war’s unpredictability can be clearly seen through Roman history. Rome repeatedly chose first strikes believing that swift aggression was the simplest path to victory. More often than not however, their hubris ended in catastrophic defeats. These historical examples should serve as warnings and mirrors to modern-day crises.
2.1 Crassus’s Invasion of Parthia (53 BCE)
Marcus Licinius Crassus invaded Parthia, a powerful empire in present-day Iran and Iraq in 53 BCE. He wrongly believed that this campaign would secure Roman dominance, enrich him personally, and solidify his political standing. Plutarch vividly recounts the disastrous Battle of Carrhae, where Crassus’s legions were annihilated:
“The Romans were not prepared for the Parthian method of warfare. Surena’s horse-archers, circling around, poured volleys of arrows into the dense Roman ranks. Panic broke the formations. Courage gave way to confusion. The legions, unable to respond effectively, were slaughtered by enemies they had greatly underestimated.”
(Plutarch, Life of Crassus, translated by Bernadotte Perrin)
The catastrophic defeat of around 20,000 Romans dead and 10 000 captured shattered Rome’s illusion of military invincibility and created lasting hostility with Parthia. Just as Putin grossly underestimated Ukraine’s resilience, Rome vastly misjudged Parthia’s capabilities.
2.2 Sulla’s March on Rome (88 BCE)
In 88 BCE, Lucius Cornelius Sulla marched his army into Rome. A shocking, unprecedented act driven by personal ambition and rivalry with Gaius Marius. This brutal first strike triggered decades of civil war. Historian Appian vividly described the immediate terror that Sulla’s march created:
“Sulla, having convinced himself his enemies posed existential threats, turned the city against itself. Blood flowed freely through Rome’s streets; proscriptions led to the execution of hundreds. Sulla justified these horrors as necessary, but they merely bred deeper hatred, division, and future bloodshed.”
(Appian, Roman History, translated by Horace White)
This dark episode in Roman history mirrors modern patterns of repression, where governments target critics of war or eliminate political opponents both real and perceived. Contemporary examples include Russia or Iran, where dissenters and opposition figures are routinely silenced, harassed, or killed. History shows that unchecked power in the hands of a tyrant inevitably breeds division, fear, and instability within a nation. Yet despite these historical facts we still today have modern billionaires confidently tweeting things like:
“Perhaps we just need a modern day Sulla” -Elon Musk on X, August 2023
2.3 Nero’s Preemptive Purges (60s CE)
Emperor Nero’s paranoid purges of senators and citizens, who were executed preemptively under the false pretense of security ended up ultimately destabilizing Rome itself. Cassius Dio describes Nero’s paranoia spiraling out of control:
“He saw plots everywhere, enemies in every shadow. Each execution bred two new conspiracies. The innocent suffered alongside the guilty, creating universal terror and hatred. Nero’s reign of fear proved unsustainable, collapsing under its weight.”
(Cassius Dio, Roman History, translated by Earnest Cary)
Modern governments that use “preemptive strikes” to justify repression echo Nero’s paranoia, revealing a paradox: unjustified aggression often produces exactly the instability and unrest it claims to prevent. Again and again, history shows that violence carried out in the name of security only deepens divisions and fuels further conflict.
2.4 Roman Occupation of Judea (1st Century CE)
Rome’s harsh occupation policies in Judea were repeatedly justified as preemptive measures to ensure security. Tacitus outlines Rome’s misguided attempts at pacification:
“In Judea, every heavy-handed Roman punishment, meant to suppress rebellion, merely stoked deeper resistance. The brutal crushing of protests, execution of leaders, and destruction of sacred sites did not secure Roman rule—they ensured perpetual rebellion.”
(Tacitus, Histories, translated by Alfred John Church)
Just as Israel’s heavy-handed approach to Gaza fuels further conflict, Rome’s oppressive measures produced only continuous rebellion, demonstrating Snyder’s point yet again: war and repression are never predictable or controllable.
Rome’s repeated failures reveal clearly how aggression born from arrogance, fear, or ambition rarely ever yields the peace or security it promises. Instead, it breeds lasting chaos and unforeseen suffering.
3. Why Do We Still Fall for It? A Stoic Diagnosis of Human Error
History rhymes because human flaws such as fear, anger, apathy, and tribalism never really change. Ancient Stoics recognized these destructive impulses clearly over two millennia ago.
Fear: Humanity’s Oldest Weakness
Epictetus warned that our greatest danger is how we perceive threats, often inflating them out of proportion:
“Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning things. Death itself is not dreadful, but the fear of death is dreadful.”
(Epictetus, Discourses, translated by Elizabeth Carter)
When fear governs us, it pushes us to accept cruelty and violence in the false name of security, exactly how modern powers still today try to justify invasions, bombings, and repression.
Anger: The Enemy Within
Seneca, who studied anger deeply, warned that anger blinds reason and clouds judgment, leading directly to self-destruction:
“Anger is altogether unbalanced; it is deaf to reason, excited by trifling causes, incapable of discerning what is true or just, and resembles nothing so much as a falling rock which breaks itself to pieces upon what it crushes.”
(Seneca, On Anger, Book I, translated by John W. Basore)
Leaders who seek war very often exploit this human weakness of anger, understanding that rage often overrides any rational thought.
Apathy: Silent Complicity
Marcus Aurelius understood the moral cowardice in apathy, which allows injustice to flourish because we prefer comfort or ignorance over action:
“You can commit injustice by doing nothing, just as much as by acting unjustly. Often it’s what we fail to do—our silence—that enables harm to continue.”
(Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book IX, translated by Gregory Hays)
Today we have lots of people living under oppressive regimes, who choose to do nothing, while witnessing moral atrocities committed by their governments on a daily basis.
Tribalism: A Dangerous Comfort Zone
Musonius Rufus pointed out the danger of tribalism, which encourages us to harm others simply because they belong to a different group:
“Human beings are by nature social; to harm another human is to harm oneself. Turning against our common humanity, for mere differences of birth or nation, is profoundly unnatural and ultimately self-destructive.”
(Musonius Rufus, Lectures, translated by Cora E. Lutz)
Unfortunately these insights remain extremely relevant to us today as they remind us that our psychological vulnerabilities: the ones most exploited by authoritarianism and war propaganda unfortunately have not changed in two millennia. To break free, we must first understand our weakness clearly.
4. How the Stoics Actively Fought Tyranny And What We Can Learn From Them.
Stoics didn’t merely philosophize from the comfort of their own homes; their resistance was direct, courageous, and relentless. There’s a reason almost all prominent Stoics faced exile, imprisonment, or death: rulers saw their integrity as a threat.
Yet despite harsh punishments, their resistance wasn’t violent; it was principled, public, and often deeply compassionate. While their sacrifices may feel impossible for most of us, their example still contains essential lessons we must learn, lest their suffering and wisdom be forgotten.
Cato the Younger: Courageous Defiance through Compassion
Cato stood openly against Caesar’s dictatorship, but his resistance wasn’t just political. In Rome, where poverty was rampant, Cato frequently used his own resources to feed the poor directly. His defiance of Caesar was rooted deeply in empathy, proving that moral courage doesn’t have to only mean grand political gestures, but rather consists also of daily acts of compassion. Plutarch explains this clearly:
“Cato, while uncompromisingly opposing Caesar, never abandoned compassion. He opened granaries to feed the poor, understanding clearly that justice means nothing without mercy.”
(Plutarch, Life of Cato the Younger, translated by Bernadotte Perrin)
Seneca: Quiet Resistance from Within
Though Seneca served as Nero’s tutor and advisor, he quietly resisted Nero’s tyranny. Seneca routinely advocated for leniency, mercy, and justice. He also discreetly provided aid and refuge to victims of Nero’s purges. Seneca’s moral courage lay in subtle acts of defiance that risked everything including his life. Tacitus describes Seneca’s careful balancing act:
“Seneca, amid Nero’s brutality, sought always to moderate him, and secretly gave refuge to those unjustly persecuted. His resistance was not in battle, but in risking his very position and life to protect the innocent.”
(Tacitus, Annals, translated by Alfred John Church)
Musonius Rufus: Education as Rebellion
Musonius Rufus openly criticized Nero and subsequent emperors, teaching that virtue must be actively lived. Exiled repeatedly, he never wavered. He used philosophy not as idle speculation, but as direct political activism. Dio Cassius explains why he was seen as dangerous to the emperors:
“Musonius Rufus’s teachings were an open indictment of Rome’s moral corruption. He insisted philosophy meant confronting injustice. Rome’s emperors feared him because his words turned young Romans from obedience to active virtue.”
(Cassius Dio, Roman History, translated by Earnest Cary)
Marcus Aurelius: Leadership Through Virtue, Not Fear
Marcus Aurelius, despite having absolute power, refused cruelty. He promoted fairness, justice, and mercy in governance, even during war and plague. His writings clearly reveal a profound inner resistance against tyranny and moral corruption:
“Never become like those you oppose. Maintain your integrity and kindness especially when power tempts you towards cruelty. True strength is compassion under pressure.”
(Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book XI, translated by Gregory Hays)
5. Practical Stoicism Today: How You Can Resist and Remain Humane
Applying these lessons of wisdom today doesn’t mean just tweeting motivational quotes: it requires real, daily actions grounded in virtue. Here’s some tips on how you can meaningfully resist injustice, misinformation, and hatred, inspired by the Stoics’ courage:
Reject Outrage Culture
Stop doomscrolling and sharing rage-driven content. Before reacting, pause. Epictetus taught us to control our emotional reactions. When you see propaganda or hate, take a moment: then respond calmly, factually, rationally, if you must.
Correct Misinformation Thoughtfully
Challenge lies carefully and compassionately. Anger fuels more misinformation. Provide clear evidence, fact-check thoughtfully, and patiently educate those who are clearly misled.
Engage in Direct Action & Compassionate Support
Donate to humanitarian efforts, volunteer locally for refugees or disadvantaged communities, support independent journalism. Actively engage where you see need, like Cato feeding Rome’s poor or Seneca quietly sheltering the persecuted.
Speak Up Clearly & Calmly
Silence only helps the oppressors. Whether in conversation, online, or in community forums, speak against injustice, misinformation, and hate speech. Courage isn’t always loud: often it’s simply being firm, persistent, and consistent.
Use Your Privilege Wisely
Your education, language skills, financial means, or social media platform: all these are tools to amplify justice. Marcus Aurelius reminds us clearly: power must serve compassion and integrity, never selfishness or hatred.
6. Summary: Breaking the Cycle of War and Tyranny
We’ve explored why history constantly rhymes, repeating patterns of destructive first strikes fueled by fear, anger, apathy, and tribalism. Ancient Rome’s catastrophic wars and Stoic philosophers’ courageous resistance offer us powerful lessons, but only if we choose to learn them. Stoicism teaches us that true courage means fighting injustice with compassion and reason, resisting hate, and speaking clearly against oppression.
The Stoics remind us that silence and inaction empower cruelty and injustice. As Musonius Rufus says, virtue demands daily practice. Today, in a world that often feels trapped in cycles of violence and propaganda, each of us can break the loop by choosing thoughtful action, reasoned compassion, and clear resistance against oppression.
We must not let the Stoics’ lessons fade away. Let us honor their courage by living their wisdom every day.
7. Call to Action: Choose to Break the Cycle Today
Marcus Aurelius made it perfectly clear:
“Waste no more time arguing what a good person should be. Be one.”
(Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book X, translated by Gregory Hays)
History repeats because we let it. Every act: speaking truth, correcting lies, choosing kindness matters deeply. Today, break the cycle. Choose virtue, choose courage, choose humanity. Make today count.
What will you do today to ensure history doesn’t simply repeat itself again?
“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.” — Seneca
But trust me, my hosting bills are very real. If you find these resources and my blog valuable, please consider making a donation. After all, even a Stoic can’t pay for web hosting with virtue alone!
The Stoic Way - Timeless wisdom for Modern resilience 
Leave a comment