Seneca: The Man and His Letters
I was recovering from one of my early adult crises when I stumbled on Letters from a Stoic. It changed my life. Wrapped in ancient philosophy of stoicism, the letters are a collection of moral epistles from Seneca to his friend Lucilius on how to lead “the good life”, a life of discipline, emotional maturity and happiness. Seneca was a famous Roman senator, an advisor to emperor Nero and one of the most celebrated stoics of all time.
Stoicism is a philosophy that believes our character is the only guarantee to a carefree happiness. It postulates that true happiness will never be found in the outside world, it must be sought within. It holds that what matters in life is not what happens to us but how we react to it. Stoicism also believes that the key to true happiness lies in delayed gratification, moderation and the pursuit of virtue. It urges man to the life of wisdom, moral courage, endurance, self-control and justice. The collection of these virtues according the stoic philosophy enables man (and woman) to ‘be self-sufficient, immune to suffering, superior to the wounds and upsets of life’
The letters are a timeless guide to a virtuous and a fulfilling life.
Though they were originally meant for a friend, the way they are written indicates Seneca wrote them for posterity. But while Seneca preached the life of stoicism, he had his own moral failings and sometimes practiced otherwise. His critics argue he was not a true stoic and cannot be placed on the same moral seat as Zeno (founder of stoicism) and Marcus Aurelius whose lives completely mirrored their teachings. They say, Seneca was an advisor to a sociopathic emperor Nero who committed an unimaginable evil under his watch while he did nothing. He was even made to defend the evil emperor after he murdered his own mother.
Unlike Aristotle who challenged and distanced himself from the moral atrocities of his advisee, Alexandra the Great, Seneca was ‘silent, amassing wealth and living in opulence’ as Nero bathed in evil and caused havoc. These are serious indictments against the legacy of Seneca yet I don’t believe he was any less of a stoic, his teachings any less profound than other stoics. If anything, they only confirm his humanity, his susceptibility to the same human frailties as any one of his contemporaries.
While he strove for the life of perfection, he was by no means perfect. He had his flaws some of which he admitted and corrected before his death. He was forced to commit suicide by Nero who accused him of plotting to kill him after he resigned.
“We who are recovering from a prolonged spiritual sickness are in the same condition as invalids who have been affected to such an extent by prolonged indisposition that they cannot once be taken out of doors without ill effects” — Seneca
The letters explore many themes including nature, endurance, love, friendship and loss. I will now deal with some of the themes that have had the most impact on me personally.
On Living in Accordance with Nature
While Seneca was not lazy and didn’t encourage the life of apathy, he believes we should live in harmony with nature, accepting the natural order of things. He encourages us to accept the hands we are dealt with by nature and care less about what others think of us. And instead of being dissatisfied with our identities based on socially constructed standards, Seneca urges us to always embrace ourselves even as we work to improve some aspects of our spiritual, physical and moral identities.This is where riches lies as he writes:
“If you live in harmony with nature you will never be poor; if you live according to what others think, you will never be rich.”
On Friendship
Contrarily to modern belief that friendship should be based on reciprocity, Seneca admonishes us to enter friendships with the mindset of doing for our friends and expecting nothing in return. He also knew that our lives are largely defined by our friendships, therefore, he cautions us to be careful, even judgmental before forming them. But once in it, we must give it all ‘our heart and soul’, staying committed not only in good times but also in bad times. That we must never hesitate to trust our friends, even if we have reasons to believe otherwise. Loyalty and trust for Seneca are keys to flourishing friendship.
“After friendship is formed you must trust but before that you must judge.”
On Love
I used to think that love is a one-way street, something you receive without giving until I met Seneca. He didn’t only radically change my perspective on love but he also encouraged me to start reaching out more to those I love and care about. Most of us often think we should always be at the receiving end of our relationships, be it sexual or family. We crave for love but don’t want to love. Seneca teaches us to love if we want to be loved and to give if we want to get.
“If you wish to be loved, love.”
On Contentment and Gratitude
In this goal-oriented era, it’s easy to feel disappointed with our lives especially when compared with those ‘ahead of us’. We don’t want to consider the circumstances that have shaped our journeys or how our stories differ from those of others we are killing ourselves to catch, day in, day out.
Most of us are constantly under pressure and often feel the need to catch up with people who’ve ‘out done’ us so much so that we forget to stop, reflect on our old selves and express gratitude for our lives.Here Seneca wants us to compare ourselves with our yesterday and be content, grateful for what we have and the blessings of life. He informs us that regardless of how bad we think things might be going, someone, somewhere is envying us for the very life we are dissatisfied with.
“The life of folly is empty of gratitude, full of anxiety: it is focused wholly on the future”
On conforming with the crowd
For some of us, ‘being cultured and well-educated’ means living a life that is diametrically opposed to that of the masses. Seneca disagrees. While the highly educated and aristocrats live a ‘better life’ and are expected to contribute more in terms of values, knowledge and nation building, he does not think they should live a life completely apart from the masses. He wants their inner lives to be different but their outer lives to conform with the crowd. Seneca knew it would be difficult to live a world apart from those you seek to reform. You will be too detached from their daily experiences which will hinder your ability to serve them well. So, he believes one should strike a balance between his values, ideals and those of the masses.
“One life should be a compromise between the ideal and popular morality”
Letters from a Stoic is not your regular novel book. It is a difficult read and might take you weeks to complete it. While it has a lot of useful stuff, it also contains a lot of dried and meaningless passages. You will find some of those completely irrelevant. Nevertheless, it is a good book, one of the best I have ever read on the formula to happy and satisfying life.
Check it out someday!
