The word “addiction” comes from the Latin word, addictus, which means someone who is bound to a master.
An addictus is a slave.
Titus Livius, the Roman historian known as Livy, wrote a massive history of Rome and her people called “Ab Urbe Condita”, which translates into “From The Founding of The City”. You can read it today.
In From The Founding of The City, Livy mentions that Romans who could not repay their debts were sometimes labeled an “Addictus”, which bound that individual to their primary creditor, as a slave. The Addictus class could have multiple creditors, like in the case of gambling debts, or debts of other natures.
Slavery in Rome was not based on race and it was not permanent. Slaves would often buy their freedoms, or be granted freedom when their master passed away. Some would become a slave multiple times in their lives, likely due to debts that could not be repaid, and lessons that could not be learned.
Slaves weren’t all doing physical “slave labor” like rock breaking in a quarry. Many of the Addictus class were doctors, advisers, or had other professional roles, which is how many were able to purchase their freedoms.
What do you want to be a slave to?
We will never be able to repay the value that mastery provides to us when we follow The Way faithfully.
Having a master can be good depending on who, or what, your master is.
If you’re an Addictus to entrepreneurship, you have a good life bathed in creativity and invention. If you’re an Addictus to alcohol, you have a bad life and you make the lives of those around you worse.
No matter who you are, you have masters that you report to–this does not mean human masters. A habit, ritual, or MASTERY can be your master.
Who, and what, do you want to serve? Who, and what, are you serving that you do not want to serve? You must meditate on this.
Lucius Annaus Seneca, also known as Seneca The Younger, The renowned stoic philosopher, explored the concepts of being enslaved to vice and the merits & rewards of eschewing vice to pursue virtue, which means to pursue discipline, which we know discipline is self-love.
You can find his explorations of virtue in two books, On the Happy Life, and Letters to Lucilus, AKA, letters From a Stoic. Letters to Lucilus is a collection of 124 letters from Seneca to his friend Lucilus where he reflects and shares wisdom that reflect the stoic virtues he is so known for.
You must know your masters to worship them or to destroy them.
Choose your masters. Masters assigned to you that do not further your progress down the path should be avoided and mistrusted.
Codify your positive-influence masters and your negative-influence masters in your philosophical code so you may better serve virtue and become better-armed to destroy masters who do not reward your service while serving those who do.
