| Maybe it's a bit of a stretch. Maybe he would have hated it. But in telling the story of Agrippinus in Lives of the Stoics (you can grab signed copies at The Daily Stoic Store), we couldn't help but think of that Alice in Chains lyric: "If I can't be my own, I'd feel better dead." Agrippinus had inherited from his father, we're told by Tacitus, an almost genetic hatred of tyrants. He refused to kowtow to Nero, or even attend his parties. When someone asked him why he didn't keep a lower profile—given the environment of informers and enforcers—Agrippinus explained that he was like the red thread in the otherwise plain garment. That he stood out in order to make things more beautiful. In other words: Agrippinus was his own man, even at great costs. He would be sent into exile for it. He was nearly killed for it. But to be anything else? To compromise? To mute his colors? Well, he wouldn't even think of it…because there are some things worse than death. What a wonderful lesson for our conformist times. What a powerful example in these days of political fealty and cancel culture. Be your own person. Be who you are. Stand out. Stand up. It's what makes life beautiful…and worth living. *** | 
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