Texts in Conversation
In Tobit, a dying father tells his son to care for his mother all her life because she cared for him in the womb. The Stoic philosopher Hierocles grounds the same duty in the same debt, listing the food, bed, and bath owed to a mother in old age.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Tobit 4:3
Deuterocanon
3 And he called Tobias his son and he came to him and he said to him, Bury me well, and honour your mother; and do not forsake her all the days of her life, and do that which is pleasing before her, and do not grieve her spirit in any matter. 4 Remember her, child, that she has experienced many dangers for you in her womb; and when she is dead, bury her by me in one grave. 5 My child, be mindful of the Lord all your days, and do not let your will be set to sin and to transgress his commandments: do acts of righteousness all the days of your life, and do not walk in the ways of unrighteousness.
Hierocles, On Parents
How One Should Behave toward One's Parents
Classical
But reason persuades us to pay less attention to the body than to the soul; though attention to the former is necessary. We should, therefore, procure for our parents liberal food, and such as is adapted to the weakness of old age; and besides this, a bed, sleep, unction, a bath, garments; and in short, all the necessaries which the body requires, that they may never at any time experience the want of any of these; in thus acting, imitating their care about our nurture, when we were infants. Hence, we should compel ourselves to employ a certain prophetic attention to them, in order to discover what they particularly desire of things pertaining to the body, though they should not indicate the object of their wish. For they divined many things respecting us, when we frequently signified by inarticulate and mournful sounds, that we were in want of certain things, but were unable to indicate clearly the subjects of our wants. So that our parents, by the benefits which they formerly conferred upon us, become the preceptors to us of what we ought to bestow on them.
Date: c. 120 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Tags:
Search:
Notes and References
“... In an ancient society without old age pensions and senior care homes, the primary duty of caring for elderly parents devolved upon children. One of the Oxyrhynchus papyri (P. Oxy. 1210 ii.4-5; late first century BCE or early first century CE) refers to “men chosen by the parents from their sons to support them in old age,” presumably receiving a larger inheritance for this purpose. In such a context, I believe, we can see the principal original meaning of the Decalogue command to honor parents (Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16). Drawing on the Decalogue, Ben Sira enunciates a fundamental principle widespread in the ancient world, that parents should be honored in their prime and cared for in their old age. [...] Since the primary addressees of the Decalogue were adult Israelite males rather than children (Exod 20:17; Deut 5:21), honoring their parents did not mean obeying household rules designed for children, but rather showing practical respect and care for parents, especially in old age ...”
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,