Thursday, 2 April 2026
Good morning, everyone.
When you hear the word ‘Stoic’, you might imagine someone who is emotionless or really chill during stressful situations such as in exams. But the original Stoics, who were philosophers from Ancient Greece and Rome, were quite the opposite. They were people of resilient action.
They came from every walk of life: Epictetus was born a slave, while Marcus Aurelius was the most powerful Emperor of Rome. Despite their different backgrounds, they shared one belief, that we are all part of one ‘Cosmopolis’, which means a single community. To a Stoic, whether you are a CEO of a big international company or a street sleeper under a bridge in Sham Shui Po, we all share the same human dignity.
Throughout the past weeks, we have heard about the ‘Option for the Poor’. This isn’t just about charity; it’s a preference to look at the world through the eyes of the most vulnerable.
To better illustrate this, the Stoic philosopher Hierocles used a simple image: The Concentric Circles of Concern. This is basically a small circle that is surrounded by a bigger circle which is surrounded by other bigger and bigger circles. The first, smallest circle represents ourselves. The next is our family. Then our friends and neighbours. And finally, the poor and the strangers and all of humanity. He said we should try to ‘draw the outer circles inward’.
To ‘choose the poor’ means to pull that outermost circle, the poor and the strangers, the people we usually ignore while on our way to and from school, to pull them closer to our hearts, treating them with the same urgency and love as we treat ourselves. This is so that we can better care for the disadvantaged in society.
As students in Hong Kong, we are often under pressure to climb the ladder of success. This ends up being something we spend a lot of time and energy on. But Stoicism reminds us that this ladder doesn’t define us. Rather, our character does
If we have ‘much’, it is not for us to hoard, but to use for the Common Good. To follow the ‘Option for the Poor’ is to be a modern Stoic: it is to have the courage to stand up for the marginalised, to live with virtue, and to share what we have.
So, the next time you see someone struggling, don’t just feel sorry for them, don’t just walk past. Remember that they are your fellow citizens in this world. Their dignity is your dignity. Let’s make the choice to pull their circle a little bit closer to ours today and remember to treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.
Mr G Manchester