I declare that Athens is the school of Greece. Moreover, I declare that each and every one of our citizens, in all the manifold aspects of his life, can be truly called the rightful lord of his own person and to act in this way, moreover, with unsurpassed quality and grace.
It comes from Rex Warner’s translation of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian Wars.
When I think about what “sovereign professional” really means, it’s this: being and acting as the rightful lord of our own person. Yes, that’s about freelancers and independents of all flavours, but it’s also about every individual however employed.
It’s a powerful and informative post, but it also draws on an older post from Steven that covers the oration in greater detail, here.
Both are worth reading and also, if you didn’t know, Steven has written extensively on the war between Athens and Sparta (as well as on Alexander the Great). If you only know his War of Art, you should definitely check out his historical novels. Gates of Fire, about the battle of Thermopylae, is required reading at West Point and Annapolis and for all officers in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Image: By Copy after Kresilas – Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2497199
