Romans had a hunch

The Romans believed that everyone at birth was assigned a divine tutor, a Genius, as they would call it. The Genius would stay with its protégé and guide their actions for the course of their lifetime.

They had a hunch that we may not be as much in control as we like to think. That there are forces at play beyond our own creativity, ambition, and willpower that alone can determine our actions and their outcomes.

If you believe that there’s a Genius, then you can’t get too enamored of yourself for your accomplishments or beat yourself too hard when you fall short. Neither it makes sense to idolize or crucify others for their achievements and mistakes anymore.

The Genius was usually depicted as a snake. Image by Sailko, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons