No Honest Work Is Beneath You: A Lesson From Ancient Thebes

I often think of a story from Plutarch whenever someone says a job is beneath them. Epaminondas, the Theban general who later defeated Sparta at Leuctra, was given a lowly city post as an insult. His task was to supervise the cleaning of alleys, including removing refuse and draining stagnant water. He did not reject the work or perform it carelessly. He treated it seriously, and the office gained respect because of how he handled it. The pressure often runs the other way for us. A graduate may reject available work because it does not match a certificate. A shop owner may feel ashamed to sweep in front of the shop. But a title does not create dignity on its own. The seriousness we bring to work can give it dignity. Have you taken a job others considered beneath you, and did their view of it change?

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