This is part of our 3-part series on the three greatest Stoic philosophers: Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus. Here you will find a brief introduction to Seneca, suggested readings, three exercises/lessons from him, as well as a selection of quotes. You can also read our introduction to Stoicism if you are not familiar with the philosophy.
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intro
Author Nassim Taleb likes to tell the story of Thales of Miletus, an ancient Greek philosopher who, as Nassim jokes, was “tired of his friends joking that ‘those who can, do, others philosophize.'” he took it seriously: after a few clever moves, he won a large sum of money that allowed him to confirm that his quest for philosophy was genuine. to show that this was not a case of him denouncing wealth as “sour grapes” due to an inability to succeed.
and Seneca was another philosopher for whom the theme of wealth and riches took center stage. how can a so-called stoic philosopher ever be one of the richest people in the roman empire? this paradox alone makes Seneca one of the most fascinating figures of antiquity and worthy of our study. But as we’ll explore below, this is just one of many thought-provoking aspects of his life.
was born in southern spain more than 2,000 years ago and educated in rome. he was the son of Seneca the elder, a well-known Roman writer and later in life the uncle of the poet Lucan. Seneca pursued a career in politics and became a high-ranking financial clerk. During this period he also wrote tragedies as well as his consolation for Marcia, which is part of his works on consolation.
His life took a sharp turn in the year 41 AD. once claudius became emperor, he exiled seneca to the island of corsica for alleged adultery with julia livilla, the emperor’s niece and caligula’s sister. during his exile, he wrote a letter to her mother consoling her during her exile. Eight years later, in another twist, Agrippina, mother of the future Emperor Nero and wife of Claudius, obtained permission for Seneca to return and for him to become her son’s guardian and adviser. Nero later became one of the most notorious and tyrannical emperors in the history of the Roman Empire, raising even more questions about Seneca’s character. Not surprisingly, Seneca’s wealth came largely while he was in Nero’s service. It is worth mentioning at this point that Seneca’s death, in the year 65 AD, occurred by order of Nero himself (who thought that Seneca was part of a plot against him whose objective was to assassinate Nero and replace him with Cayo Piso). /p>
Throughout all those turbulent periods, Stoicism remained a constant in his life. Seneca’s exposure to philosophy came from Attalus, a Stoic philosopher who was one of Seneca’s earliest teachers. Seneca was also an admirer of Cato, whose name appears regularly in his writings. However, Seneca did not limit himself to Stoicism alone: he borrowed liberally from other schools, as we see him quoting Epicurus in several instances. After his death Seneca was an influence on notable figures such as Erasmus, Francis Bacon, Pascal, Montaigne up to modern days as we are seeing a revived interest in him. Two notable examples among many include bestselling author and former marketer Nassim Taleb, who devoted an entire chapter to Seneca in his latest book, as well as writer and entrepreneur Tim Ferriss, who published a Seneca audiobook and has often referred to Seneca in his popular blog.
and the strong interest in it, of course, is not surprising. Seneca not only wrote about philosophy, but he used it the way it should be used: to manage and navigate through the ups and downs of fortune. and those he knew very well, from enormous wealth to exile and worthy handling of his own student nero’s suicide order.
There are lessons for all of us, no matter what we are currently facing.
before doing so, the question remains. How do you make sense of such a life? the philosopher who was beyond rich, tutor to one of the most terrible emperors in the history of the roman empire, but his moral writings would urge us to be better people. In an article in the New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert writes that while some, such as critic Robert Hughes, have labeled Seneca “a hypocrite almost without equal in the ancient world,” more recent scholars offer a more nuanced view. “It is possible,” she writes, “from his point of view, to see Seneca as a hypocrite and a morally restraining force.” it is important to note here that Seneca was self-aware to understand this. as he wrote, “I am not a wise man and never will be.”
he understood very well that he was imperfect and was forced to walk incredibly difficult paths. his life was a life of wealth, power, ambition, politics, but also, to the best of his ability, of philosophy, introspection and self-awareness.
notable works & suggested reading
something that stands out about Seneca is that he is one of the most entertaining and readable ancient philosophers. Part of this was because his most notable works came in the form of letters. We have two main recommendations for you to take:
On the brevity of life, this collection of three short letters might be the best introduction to Seneca. the main one, about the brevity of life, is a rigorous reminder about the non-renewal of our most important resource: our time. one of his most famous quotes comes from this writing and is worth reflecting on: “we are not given a short life, but we shorten it, and we are not underprovided, but we waste it”.
Letters from a Stoic Apparently, Seneca was a trusted friend who gave good advice to his friends. now we can read those letters and they can guide us through problems of pain, wealth, anger, poverty, success, failure, education and so many other things. If you prefer audiobooks, you should listen to Tim Ferriss’s recently produced “The Tao of Seneca” collection.
If you’re still curious, we recommend you take a look at Seneca’s works, Dying Every Day, a great biography on Seneca, and grabbing antifragile mentioned above, which has a fascinating chapter dedicated to him. those with an academic bent may find the scholarly work “seneca on trial” valuable if they wish to dig deeper.
3 exercises & seneca lessons
1. find an anchor
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Seneca, in his letters to Lucilius, urges him to choose a role model to provide a standard by which to live. This is, of course, an idea that is by no means unique to Stoicism, but Seneca succinctly explains why it is a necessary step in our quest for the good life. the person of our choice can provide us with principles that can help us navigate even the most difficult and treacherous circumstances, as well as standards by which we can judge our behavior on a day-to-day basis. as seneca wrote,
“so choose a cato or, if cato seems too harsh, a laelius, a man whose character is not so strict. choose someone whose way of life, as well as his words, and whose very face as a reflection of the character behind it, have won your approval. always keep pointing it out for yourself, either as your guardian or as your model. there is a need, in my opinion, for someone as a standard against which our characters can measure themselves. without a rule that makes it against you, you will not make straight what is crooked.”
2. never be a slave to your wealth
Let’s go back to the paradox of philosophy and wealth. One way to think about Seneca’s wealth, as analyzed by Nassim Taleb, is this: Seneca only wanted the positive side of wealth, but he was always willing to use it and never depended on it. he was his master, not his slave. all the good, none of the bad. we need to constantly re-examine whether we are so ensnared by the gifts of good fortune that we are afraid of losing them and thus making them our master. as seneca wrote about the happy life talking about his riches:
“because the wise man does not consider himself unworthy of any gift from the hands of fortune: he does not love wealth but prefers to have it; he admits not in his heart but in his home; and the wealth that is his does not reject it, but he keeps it, desiring that it furnish a greater field for him to practice his virtue.”
as he summed up his attitude of being the master and not the slave of good fortune: “because the wise man has wealth as his slave, the fool as his master.”
3. fight your ego
seneca understood well how our ego can prevent us from learning and progressing. In today’s culture of inflating everyone’s self-esteem, we get used to hearing only praise. little by little we began to buy it more and more. To paraphrase what a journalist wrote about tyrannical leaders, when you keep hearing that you are a superman, you start to believe it. Seneca warned Lucilius against such indulgence:
“The main obstacle is that we are quick to be satisfied with ourselves. if we find someone who calls us good, prudent and principled men, we recognize him. We are not content with moderate praise, but accept as deserved all the flattery that has brazenly heaped on us. we agree with those who call us the best and the wisest, although we know that they often tell many falsehoods: we are so pleased that we want to be praised for a virtue that is contrary to our behavior. a man hears himself called ‘merciful’ while he inflicts torture… so it follows that we don’t want to change because we think we are already excellent.”
seneca quotes
“Think your way through hardships: Tough conditions can be eased, restricted conditions can be widened, and heavy conditions can weigh less for those who know how to endure them.”
“let all your activity be directed to some object, let it have some end in sight.”
“Often, a very old man has no other proof of his long life than his age”.
“we say that nothing happens to the wise against his expectations.”
“Believe me, it is better to understand the balance of your own life than that of the corn trade.”
“we are not given a short life, but we shorten it, and we are not ill supplied, but waste it.”
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p.d. Best-selling authors of the Daily Stoic, Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman, have teamed up again on their new book Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus. In addition to presenting the fascinating lives of all the well-known and lesser-known Stoics, Lives of the Stoics exudes timeless and immediately applicable lessons on happiness, success, resilience, and virtue. The book is available for pre-order and is scheduled for release on September 29!
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meet the Stoics:
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who is paconius agrippinus? an introduction to the opposing red thread
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