Welcome to Sundays with Seneca on Perennial Meditations. Join the search for ancient lessons for modern living in the writing and Stoic philosophy of Lucius Annaeus Seneca.
In a letter known today as On Values, Seneca wrote,
“Has that friend of yours already made you believe that he is a good man? And yet it is impossible in so short a time for one either to become good or be known as such. Do you know what kind of man I now mean when I speak of “a good man”? I mean one of the second grade, like your friend. For one of the first class perhaps springs into existence, like the phoenix, only once in five hundred years. And it is not surprising, either, that greatness develops only at long intervals; Fortune often brings into being commonplace powers, which are born to please the mob, but she holds up for our approval that which is extraordinary by the very fact that she makes it rare.
This man, however, of whom you spoke, is still far from the state which he professes to have reached. And if he knew what it meant to be “a good man,” he would not yet believe himself such; perhaps he would even despair of his ability to become good. “But,” you say, “he thinks ill of evil men.” Well, so do evil men themselves; there is no worse penalty for vice than it is dissatisfied with itself and all its fellows. […]
Seneca continues,
Do you remember how, when you declared that a certain person was under your influence, I pronounced him fickle and a bird of passage and said that you held him not by the foot but merely by a wing? Was I mistaken? You grasped him only by a feather; he left it in your hands and escaped. You know what an exhibition he afterward made of himself before you, how many of the things he attempted were to recoil upon his own head. […]
Therefore, with regard to the objects, we pursue and strive for with great effort, we should note this truth; either there is nothing desirable in them, or the undesirable is preponderant. Some objects are superfluous; others are not worth the price we pay for them. But we do not see this clearly, and we regard things as free gifts when they really cost us very dear.
Our stupidity may be clearly proved by the fact that we hold that “buying” refers only to the objects for which we pay cash, and we regard as free gifts the things for which we spend our very selves. These we should refuse to buy if we were compelled to give in payment for them our houses or some attractive and profitable estate, but we are eager to attain them at the cost of anxiety, of danger, and of lost honor, personal freedom, and time; so true it is that each man regards nothing as cheaper than himself.
Let us, therefore, act, in all our plans and conduct, just as we are accustomed to acting whenever we approach a huckster who has certain wares for sale; let us see how much we must pay for that which we crave. Very often, the things that cost nothing cost us the most heavily; I can show you many objects, the quest, and acquisition of which have wrested freedom from our hands. We should belong to ourselves if only these things did not belong to us.
I would therefore have you reflect thus, not only when it is a question of gain but also when it is a question of loss. “This object is bound to perish.” Yes, it was a mere extra; you will live without it just as easily as you have lived before. If you have possessed it for a long time, you lose it after you have had your fill of it; if you have not possessed it long, you lose it before you have become wedded to it. “You will have less money.” Yes, and less trouble. […]
No one feels they have been lost, but his mind tells him it has been so. He that owns himself has lost nothing. But how few men are blessed with ownership of self! Farewell.”
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
P.S. My apologies for not providing an audio version today!