Quintus Sextius was a quasi Stoic Roman philosopher, who apparently came from a wealthy, powerful family, and turned down a Senate role from Julius Caesar. He had an interesting argument for Veganism, which is based more around the Greek and Roman ethics of the time. Instead of talking about suffering, it talked about the virtue in the individual. Eating things which have their origin in cruelty causes the person to become accustomed to cruelty. In a way it erodes your virtue and soul.
Of course, if there was anything in Roman society that got you accustomed to cruelty, it was probably politics. The incredibly brutal acts of Caesar were celebrated and praised officially, so it seems like maybe he could have gone into politics to try to temper the cruelty of the State. I mean, they would have just ignored him probably, but most people probably ignored his vegan argument too, so maybe poor Sextius was doomed either way.
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