Seneca Moral Epistles 9:5
Letters from a Stoic
Classical
Let us now return to the question. The wise man, I say, self-sufficient though he be, nevertheless desires friends if only for the purpose of practising friendship, in order that his noble qualities may not lie dormant. Not, however, for the purpose mentioned by Epicurus in the letter quoted above: 'That there may be someone to sit by him when he is ill, to help him when he is in prison or in want;' but that he may have someone by whose sick-bed he himself may sit, someone a prisoner in hostile hands whom he himself may set free. He who regards himself only, and enters upon friendships for this reason, reckons wrongly. The end will be like the beginning: he has made friends with one who might assist him out of bondage; at the first rattle of the chain such a friend will desert him. These are the so-called 'fair_weather' friendships; one who is chosen for the sake of utility will be satisfactory only so long as he is useful.
Date: 65 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Matthew 25:39
New Testament
37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!
Date: 70-90 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Notes and References
"... Ricoeur's fatal error is mistranslating Jesus' 'as you wish that others would do' as 'as you expect that others would do.' The verb (e)thelem does not mean 'expect,' neither in classical nor Hellenistic Greek, nor anywhere in the New Testament! Jesus' form does not anticipate a response as the intention of the Golden Rule. (His implication of retribution applies more clearly to his example from Seneca's Moral Epistle 94 43, "αό alio expectes alteri quod fecems," than it does to the negative form of the rule) He asks disciples to get in touch with their own desires and act accordingly for the other. Thus the underlying motive could be love of neighbor as oneself (Leviticus 19:18) ..."
Topel, John
The Tarnished Golden Rule: The Inescapable Radicalness of Christian Ethics
(pp. 475-485) Theological Studies, 1998
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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