Supplemental Notes on Seneca
Philosophy 2 - Epperson
Seneca: Roman stoic: wrote around 48-50 ce
ON THE SHORTNESS OF LIFE
A letter to Paulinus, a Roman administrator in charge of the grain supply...
People complain that life is too short, but it is sufficiently long enough for our "most ambitious
projects" if we invest our time carefully.
The problem is that we squander our time on luxury and indifference... (1)
We fail to "rise and lift our eyes to the discernment of truth" because we are "chained down to
lust." (2)
We are greedy with money and time, watchful of our freedom, etc, but only as regards cheap
issues. We let social structures (political issues/job-related issues, being "fake" at parties, etc...)
ROB us of not money or "freedom," but HAPPINESS and TRUE FREEDOM. We are like this
because we THINK WE WILL LIVE FOREVER.(3)
Often, the people most prosperous in the above areas complain that they would like to step down
and have leisure time/non-celebrity time... (4)
Cicero was one of these... (5)
People who spend all their time drunk or lusting are similar to the above, but even more
lamentable... (7)
"The least concern of the pre-occupied man is LIFE."
It takes a great man, one who rises high above human frailty, to allow none of his time to be
frittered away; such a man's life is very long, because he devotes every available minute of it to
HIMSELF..."
(NOTE: CONCURS NICELY WITH EASTERN TRADITIONS. Go figure...)
People don't place any value on TIME ITSELF, only on the object for which time is asked (time
for a vacation, etc...) Because it is substanceless, not visible. But it is "the most valued
commodity!" (8)
Seneca: The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca
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The stupidest people of all are people who brag of their foresight and "plan ahead," preoccupied
with work so that their later years will be better. They are nothing more than procrastinators.
"Expectancy is the greatest impediment to living: anticipation of tomorrow loses today." (9)
Our past is everlasting and free from anxiety, and should be examined cheerfully, but this is a
privilege of a serene and untroubled mind. Busy people or people who have WASTED their time
won't to this because their CONSCIENCE reminds them that they screwed up. The past is
depressing; their life vanishes, then.
Ironically, all most people care about is the PRESENT. But that is fleeting, almost non-existent
when their attention is so distracted. It's the PAST that's important; it's like a savings account
one would like to keep checking on, happy with its progress. (10)
Most people who HAVE leisure time spend it in IDLE OCCUPATION, doing frivolous things...
(12)
Even scholarly pursuits are often stupid wastes of time on issues or projects that would, if the
student kept the stuff to himself, give him absolutely NO PLEASURE AT ALL... (13)
The only people who REALLY LIVE are PHILOSOPHERS. They annex not only their own
lifetime and experience, but that of all ages past. And they are not fearful of the future, since they
know how to deal with it. They utilize ALL time, making their lives very long. Only
philosophers have anything of value to offer people. (14)
LETTER 92: THE HAPPY LIFE
The body exists to serve the soul. The soul has two parts, rational and irrational. The irrational
serves the rational, and the rational--human reason. Divine reason--is soverign over all things
and subordinate to none, and our reason has this same quality because it is derived from the
divine. (Aristotelian)
It follows that the happy life depends solely on attaining PERFECT REASON. That alone keeps
the soul from being submissive--keeps us safe from Fate. It assurs self-sufficiency (Epicurean)
We must: safeguard order in every action; measure and decorum, a will without malice; and
benign, focussed reason.
Some believe that the supreme good CAN be augmented a little by Fate. It's like "not to be
content with daylight unless a tiny flame adds its illumination."
The irrational soul has TWO PARTS:
1) spirited, ambitious, passionate
2) passive, unforceful, devoted solely to pleasure and appetite
Seneca: The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca
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Many philosophers have stupidly emphasized the latter over the former. Both are important, the
former mostly, when bridled by PROPRIETY DICTATED BY REASON. "Health" is not the
good, but CHOICE OF HEALTH is.
Many have, in emphasizing the latter, argue that the wise man need the proper appliances to
achieve the supreme good--food, clothing, health, etc... S argues that the distance between
wretched and happy is huge, and the wise man has already attained happiness. Then, if
misfortune happens--illness, etc--WHY CAN'T THE SAME POWER THAT GAVE HIM
HAPPINESS push him an inch or two to the next level--namely of being "very happy"?
There is a great difference between an OBSTRUCTION to truth and an IMPAIRMENT.
Obstructions do not detract from VIRTUE; they merely make its light dimmer, like an eclipse
does to the sun. But the sun keeps shining, nevertheless, with the same power.
Seneca: The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca
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