Letters from a Stoic 76 - On Learning Wisdom in Old Age

On Learning Wisdom in Old Age

Seneca attended philosophy lectures in his advanced years.  How timely this letter comes to me.  Just this week, I have mapped out the path I plan to take in order to pursue a B.A. in Philosophy in my mid-40's after having secured a B.S. and MBA twenty years ago.  My courses begin August 2, 2021 and I aim to have my degree by early 2025.  The moonshot goal is to then pursue an M.A. in Philosophy; perhaps finishing that degree around 2028, and then continue to work in my career for a few more years and then perhaps to retire and pursue a dream of teaching philosophy at a community college.

Some people might be a bit surprised by someone studying philosophy in their later years, but Seneca's responses are wise.

what is more foolish than refusing to learn, simply because one has not been learning for a long time? ... Men of all ages are admitted to this class-room. ...  You should keep learning as long as you are ignorant, – even to the end of your life ... "As long as you live, keep learning how to live."

He notes there are many in classes learning how to be a good flute and piper player, but very few are in attendance on the subjects of "What is a good man?" and "How to be a good man."  He notes that

the majority think that even these few [people attending philosophy lectures] are engaged in no good business; they have the name of being empty-headed idlers. [and he hopes he may] be blessed with that kind of mockery; for one should listen in an unruffled spirit to the railings of the ignorant.

Indifferents and preferred indifferents will come and go.  But that which is up to us needs to be learned, and reinforced in order to live well.

Money will come of its own accord; titles will be given to you; influence and authority will perhaps be thrust upon you; but virtue will not fall upon you by chance. Neither is knowledge thereof to be won by light effort or small toil; but toiling is worth while when one is about to win all goods at a single stroke. For there is but a single good, – namely, that which is honourable.

The remainder of the letter covers the topic of the Good, which he has discussed in previous letters.  He does make a few additional, finer points on the topic in this letter.

Everything is estimated by the standard of its own good. The vine is valued for its productiveness and the flavour of its wine, the stag for his speed. We ask, with regard to beasts of burden, how sturdy of back they are; for their only use is to bear burdens. If a dog is to find the trail of a wild beast, keenness of scent is of first importance; if to catch his quarry, swiftness of foot; if to attack and harry it, courage. In each thing that quality should be best for which the thing is brought into being and by which it is judged.  And what quality is best in man? It is reason; by virtue of reason he surpasses the animals, and is surpassed only by the gods.

Stoics will say "live according to Nature."  What is the human's unique Nature, which she does not share with any other being?  It is her rational virtue or excellence.  Seneca will then build on this important concept.

Reason is the human's unique feature.  While we share many other features with plants and animals, we possess reason "which is peculiarly [our] own."  And this feature alone will lead to our happiness.  He writes,

What then is peculiar to man? Reason. When this is right and has reached perfection, man's felicity is complete. ...  if a man has brought his reason to perfection, he is praiseworthy and has reached the end suited to his nature. This perfect reason is called virtue, and is likewise that which is honourable.

On this feature and basis ought we to judge if a person is good or bad.  And it is only on this basis that the good resides.  To judge a man good or bad based on health, riches, genes, possessions misses the mark.  A person may or may not have these things and still be judged a good person.  And equally true is the fact that a bad person may or may not possess all these things.

Therefore, that attribute of man whereby he is approved or disapproved is his chief and only good.  You do not doubt whether this is a good; you merely doubt whether it is the sole good. If a man possess all other things, such as health, riches, pedigree, a crowded reception-hall, but is confessedly bad, you will disapprove of him. Likewise, if a man possess none of the things which I have mentioned, and lacks money, or an escort of clients, or rank and a line of grandfathers and great-grandfathers, but is confessedly good, you will approve of him. Hence, this is man's one peculiar good, and the possessor of it is to be praised even if he lacks other things; but he who does not possess it, though he possess everything else in abundance, is condemned and rejected. ... Each thing is praised in regard to that attribute which is taken as its standard, in regard to that which is its peculiar quality.

Seneca reiterates what makes a person good.

He is good, however, if his reason is well-ordered and right and adapted to that which his nature has willed.  It is this that is called virtue; this is what we mean by "honourable."

In this statement, we can see the tripartite division, with "well-ordered" aligned to the discipline of assent or logic, "right" aligned to the discipline of action or ethics and "adapted" to the discipline of desire or physics.

He later writes "every good is in the soul" which is another way of saying the good is up to us; it is something that we are entirely responsible for choosing or not.  It is in this space which our equanimity, contentment and happiness resides.  Pursuit of indifferents will not lead to happiness.  Trying to avoid our fate or lot in life will not lead to happiness.  If we take this route, we cheat ourselves.

He continues,

All the actions of life, taken as a whole, are controlled by the consideration of what is honourable or base ... A good man will do what he thinks it will be honourable for him to do, even if it involves toil; he will do it even if it involves harm to him; he will do it even if it involves peril; again, he will not do that which will be base, even if it brings him money, or pleasure, or power.

Excellence of character leads to equanimity, enduring joy and a good life.

how much more can be accomplished by virtue, which does not act impulsively or suddenly, but uniformly and with a strength that is lasting!

And this is achieved only from within your soul.  It cannot be achieved via externals.

it will never be possible for any virtue to be won and held, if there is anything outside itself which virtue must take into consideration.

Seneca echoes the strong Stoic sentiment and implied trust in Nature or the Cosmos.  Many moderns today have a hard time accepting this.  But it is difficult to separate this important aspect of Stoic philosophy without having the entire framework collapse.  If a person has a hard time thinking about gods, he should consider if he understands that the Stoic god is not the same as the Christian, Muslim, Jewish or even oriental based religious gods.

Any opinion, however, which is at variance with truth, is wrong.  A good man, you will admit, must have the highest sense of duty toward the gods. Hence he will endure with an unruffled spirit whatever happens to him; for he will know that it has happened as a result of the divine law, by which the whole creation moves. This being so, there will be for him one good, and only one, namely, that which is honourable; for one of its dictates is that we shall obey the gods and not blaze forth in anger at sudden misfortunes or deplore our lot, but rather patiently accept fate and obey its commands. 

He further explains the pursuit of the good with an example about how someone can demonstrate excellence of soul.

ask yourself whether, at the call of duty, you would be willing to die for your country, and buy the safety of all your fellow-citizens at the price of your own; whether you would offer your neck not only with patience, but also with gladness.

When I read this part of the letter, I noted that the assumption would have to be that the country aspires to the good as well.  I'm not sure I'd be willing to die for a tyrant, but rather for the betterment and ideals of my country.  I think Seneca is alluding to Cato, who fought for the ideals of the Republic, rather than giving in to the tyranny of Caesar.

The thought experiment further proceeds with regard to how some people might prevent you from dying for your country and your response might reveal if you are focused on the good or not.  Some might say,

"Your deed will speedily be forgotten," or "Your fellow-citizens will offer you scant thanks."

But the wise man

will answer: "All these matters lie outside my task. My thoughts are on the deed itself. I know that this is honourable. Therefore, whithersoever I am led and summoned by honour, I will go."

Focus on what is up to you - your soul - your character.  All externals mean nothing.  When judging something, limit the quality to the object being judged.

A dwarf is not tall, though he stand upon a mountain-top; a colossal statue will still be tall, though you place it in a well.

So when you observe people, try to limit your judgement based on the thing that is up to him.  We make a false judgement when we judge people by what they wear or what they possess.

This is the error under which we labour; this is the reason why we are imposed upon: we value no man at what he is, but add to the man himself the trappings in which he is clothed.

Rather, we are to

Consider his soul, its quality and its stature, and thus learn whether its greatness is borrowed, or its own.

Therefore, a practicing Stoic ought to dwell on how he will react various situations.  More specifically, he will practice negative visualization or premeditatio malorum.  Seneca writes,

I have always threatened myself with them, and have prepared myself as a man to meet man's destiny." If an evil has been pondered beforehand, the blow is gentle when it comes. ... the wise man accustoms himself to coming trouble, lightening by long reflection the evils which others lighten by long endurance. We sometimes hear the inexperienced say: "I knew that this was in store for me." But the wise man knows that all things are in store for him. Whatever happens, he says: "I knew it."

Letters from a Stoic 71 - On the Supreme Good

On the Supreme Good

Advice should be unique and as timely as possible.

For advice conforms to circumstances; and our circumstances are carried along, or rather whirled along. Accordingly, advice should be produced at short notice; and even this is too late; it should "grow while we work,"

A coach will take the same approach, by observing the student and see the gaps between the standard and what the student lacks.  If the coach can give the feedback in the moment, the student will learn better and more quickly.

A great many flounder in life (including me) because we have been programmed by our parents, friends, teachers, clergy leaders and others.  And these people, perhaps, have been floundering too, guessing as they go along.  Many of us have no choice but to learn as we live.  Better would be to figure out the Supreme Good first and then endeavor to achieve it.

As often as you wish to know what is to be avoided or what is to be sought, consider its relation to the Supreme Good, to the purpose of your whole life. For whatever we do ought to be in harmony with this; no man can set in order the details unless he has already set before himself the chief purpose of his life.

Calvin was on to something when he quipped to his teacher! (source)

Seneca further states

The artist may have his colours all prepared, but he cannot produce a likeness unless he has already made up his mind what he wishes to paint.  The reason we make mistakes is because we all consider the parts of life, but never life as a whole.

If we begin with the end in mind (live according to Nature), our mistakes may be fewer, en route to our art of living well.

He references the example of the archer and the sailor.

The archer must know what he is seeking to hit; then he must aim and control the weapon by his skill. Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbour he is making for, no wind is the right wind.

And what is the Supreme Good?

the Supreme Good is that which is honourable.  Besides (and you may be still more surprised at this), that which is honourable is the only good; all other goods are alloyed and debased.  If you once convince yourself of this, and if you come to love virtue devotedly.

He continues a little later in the letter:

there is nothing good except that which is honourable, and all hardships will have a just title to the name of "goods," when once virtue has made them honourable.  Many think that we Stoics are holding out expectations greater than our human lot admits of; and they have a right to think so. For they have regard to the body only. But let them turn back to the soul, and they will soon measure man by the standard of God.

The sole good is our virtuous, excellent, rational, character, which should be noble, wise, honorable, courageous, just and temperate regardless of fate, fortune or circumstances.

He quotes Socrates, who say, "if only virtue dwells with you, you will suffer nothing."

For my part, I love the word: equanimity.  It evokes the idea of not ever being disturbed nor overjoyed by events.  It brings to mind the idea of rationally choosing the wise response and attitude to any given circumstance or event.  It's choosing the wise response to a cancer diagnosis or a promotion.  You neither succumb to despair nor are overcome with joy, respectively.

Seneca writes:

it is by the same virtue that evil fortune is overcome and good fortune is controlled. Virtue, however, cannot be increased or decreased; its stature is uniform.

After providing examples from Cato's life, he notes,

Cato will bear with an equally stout heart anything that thwarts him of his victory, as he bore that which thwarted him of his praetorship. The day whereon he failed of election, he spent in play; the night wherein he intended to die, he spent in reading.  He regarded in the same light both the loss of his praetorship and the loss of his life; he had convinced himself that he ought to endure anything which might happen. 

And despite seeing his beloved Republic fall to a tyrant, he wisely considered that the stars and the earth too will fall someday.  Change is constant, as Seneca observes.

For what is free from the risk of change? Neither earth, nor sky, nor the whole fabric of our universe, though it be controlled by the hand of God. It will not always preserve its present order; it will be thrown from its course in days to come.  All things move in accord with their appointed times; they are destined to be born, to grow, and to be destroyed. The stars which you see moving above us, and this seemingly immovable earth to which we cling and on which we are set, will be consumed and will cease to exist. There is nothing that does not have its old age; the intervals are merely unequal at which Nature sends forth all these things towards the same goal.

He quotes Cato again, calling him wise.

"The whole race of man, both that which is and that which is to be, is condemned to die. Of all the cities that at any time have held sway over the world, and of all that have been the splendid ornaments of empires not their own, men shall some day ask where they were, and they shall be swept away by destructions of various kinds; some shall be ruined by wars, others shall be wasted away by inactivity and by the kind of peace which ends in sloth, or by that vice which is fraught with destruction even for mighty dynasties, – luxury. All these fertile plains shall be buried out of sight by a sudden overflowing of the sea, or a slipping of the soil, as it settles to lower levels, shall draw them suddenly into a yawning chasm. Why then should I be angry or feel sorrow, if I precede the general destruction by a tiny interval of time?"

Returning to describing the Supreme Good, he further describes it.

Just as truth does not grow, so neither does virtue grow ... virtue [is] high-spirited and exalted ... Wisdom will bring the conviction that there is but one good – that which is honourable; that this can neither be shortened nor extended, any more than a carpenter's rule, with which straight lines are tested, can be bent. Any change in the rule means spoiling the straight line.  Applying, therefore, this same figure to virtue, we shall say: Virtue also is straight, and admits of no bending.

Therefore, virtue can be applied to any circumstance and you will see if a man measures up to it or fails.  And because so few demonstrate arete, we can be sure to "reserve [our] wonderment for cases where a man is lifted up when all others sink, and keeps his footing when all others are prostrate."

The Stoic sage is one learns and lives according to knowledge and right reason all the time.  The sage truly lives according to Nature.  The Stoic sage

stands erect under any load. Nothing can subdue him; nothing that must be endured annoys him. For he does not complain that he has been struck by that which can strike any man. ... [he is a person] whose virtue is complete, loves himself most of all when his bravery has been submitted to the severest test, and when he not only, endures but welcomes that which all other men regard with fear, if it is the price which he must pay for the performance of a duty which honour imposes, and he greatly prefers to have men say of him: "how much more noble!" rather than "how much more lucky!"

While many of us are mere prokoptons striving to improve, we should do well to remember that we will not attain sage hood in one leap, if ever.  It takes multiple attempts at learning and practicing to approach Stoic sage hood.

Just as wool takes up certain colours at once, while there are others which it will not absorb unless it is soaked and steeped in them many times; so other systems of doctrine can be immediately applied by men's minds after once being accepted, but this system of which I speak, unless it has gone deep and has sunk in for a long time, and has not merely coloured but thoroughly permeated the soul, does not fulfil any of its promises. 

Improvement may come, but so too will setbacks.  The key is to not give up - to continue to strive.

That which is short of perfection must necessarily be unsteady, at one time progressing, at another slipping or growing faint; and it will surely slip back unless it keeps struggling ahead; for if a man slackens at all in zeal and faithful application, he must retrograde. No one can resume his progress at the point where he left off.  Therefore let us press on and persevere. There remains much more of the road than we have put behind us; but the greater part of progress is the desire to progress.

We must strive to be in control of our absolute freedom and therefore our own time.  We cannot delay in letting others decide our attitude and character.  Only then, will we be able to fully use our time allotted to us by Nature.

Let us see to it that all time belongs to us. This, however, cannot be unless first of all our own selves begin to belong to us.

Letters from a Stoic 31 - On Siren Songs

On Siren Songs

Fads, trends, populism, crowd favorites - I've tried to be leery of what the majority desires.  If only the majority were in favor of justice for all, temperance, courage and wisdom, then perhaps I would willingly go along with the crowd.  But usually what the crowd desires is not wise, but foolish.  They will choose the well-worn, popular path.  For this reason, I think, Seneca approves of the "impulse which prompted" Lucilius to "[tread under feet] that which is approved by the crowd.

The phrase "tread under feet" seems to mean to ignore, or oppress or put down.  Therefore, Seneca approves of the idea of going against the crowd, as long as that means one is living philosophically.

He compares the desires of the crowd to a siren song.  Odysseus had to plug the ears of his men so they would not hear the siren song, lest they succumbed to it and dash their ships into the rock.  Similarly, we must plug our ears to the calls of the crowd, which are everywhere!

the song, however, which you have to fear, echoes round you not from a single headland, but from every quarter of the world. Sail, therefore, not past one region which you mistrust because of its treacherous delights, but past every city. Be deaf to those who love you most of all; they pray for bad things with good intentions. And, if you would be happy, entreat the gods that none of their fond desires for you may be brought to pass. What they wish to have heaped upon you are not really good things; there is only one good, the cause and the support of a happy life, – trust in oneself.

Seneca warns that we must be deaf even "to those who love you most all."  What an odd thing to say.  I presume that what he means is that those who love us most, may not have embraced philosophy, and therefore, when they pray for you, they are praying that you become famous, rich, handsome, healthy or some sort of indifferent.  Or they may be praying that you don't die or become ill or fall on so-called misfortune.  Therefore, Seneca says that if you really want to be happy, plead with the gods that your loved ones' prayers are not answered.

I'm not so sure how sound this advice from Seneca is.  I'm not so sure a practicing Stoic would forbid his loved ones to pray for such things, nor would he go out of his way to pray to the gods to not answer the prayers of his loved ones.  At best, a practicing Stoic may be completely nonplussed by such prayers and would not worry if those things came (or not) into his life.  He would view them as indifferents regardless if they came (or not) due to prayers from a loved one or otherwise.

The next part of the letter delves into the subject of work; and I assume he means the subject of gainful employment.  Work, itself, is an indifferent.  Therefore, work can be infused with either virtue or vice.  A practicing Stoic, then would attempt to make his work noble.

Make yourself happy through your own efforts; you can do this, if once you comprehend that whatever is blended with virtue is good, and that whatever is joined to vice is bad. Just as nothing gleams if it has no light blended with it, and nothing is black unless it contains darkness or draws to itself something of dimness, and as nothing is hot without the aid of fire, and nothing cold without air; so it is the association of virtue and vice that makes things honourable or base.

Knowledge of how to make good use of things (indifferents) is the art of philosophy.  The good, therefore, is knowledge.  And evil is lack of knowledge.  Your human craft is to gain knowledge about how to be a good human.

Just as a carpenter learns to work with wood and there are varying degrees of craftsmanship in different carpenters due to knowledge and practice (as well as lack of knowledge and practice), so too we can apply this analogy to what it means to be a good human being.  A good human will seek justice for all (not only justice for some, and not at the expense of others' justice).  A good human being will be disciplined and temperate in eating, entertainment, learning and working.  A good human being will demonstrate courage and honesty.  A good human being learns and demonstrates wisdom.  The medium for the carpenter is wood.  The medium for a human being is work and life.

in order that virtue may be perfect, there should be an even temperament and a scheme of life that is consistent with itself throughout; and this result cannot be attained without knowledge of things, and without the art which enables us to understand things human and things divine. That is the greatest good. If you seize this good, you begin to be the associate of the gods, and not their suppliant.

The 'art' he refers to is philosophy.  If we learn and practice this art, we become equal with the gods.  It does not matter our lot in life, the choice we have is our response to our lot and circumstances in life.  Is our soul worthy to the challenge?  Will you take the path less travelled or will you follow the crowd?

The unique part of *you* has a choice, regardless of circumstances.

What we have to seek for, then, is that which does not each day pass more and more under the control of some power which cannot be withstood. And what is this? It is the soul, – but the soul that is upright, good, and great. What else could you call such a soul than a god dwelling as a guest in a human body? A soul like this may descend into a Roman knight just as well as into a freedman's son or a slave. For what is a Roman knight, or a freedman's son, or a slave? They are mere titles, born of ambition or of wrong. One may leap to heaven from the very slums. Only rise

"And mould thyself to kinship with thy God."