Generations Past and Future
We are links in a chain connecting all generations; our virtuous actions contribute to a legacy that persists beyond us.
Stoics were conscious of being links in an ongoing human story. Past generations struggled and contributed; future generations will receive the results of present actions. This temporal perspective adds weight to virtuous action and provides meaning beyond individual lifespan.
We are part of one great body.
Stoic intergenerational ethics anticipates modern environmental ethics and the principle of responsibility to future generations.
Epistulae Morales