12: The Pleasures Of Old Age?

     According to Graver and Long, Seneca was in his 60's when he composed the Letters on Ethics; so it is not surprising that the subject of old age comes up frequently in them. For example, in the twelfth letter, Seneca tells Lucilius about a recent visit to one of his villas (apparently, Seneca had three of them, but his wealth is not the focus of this post). When Seneca arrived at his villa near the city, he was distressed about the decaying condition of the building and complained to the property manager. Seneca was also upset about the poor health of the trees on his land, claiming that they were not being properly watered or fertilized. The manager reminded Seneca that the trees were old and -- since he had planted them himself many years ago -- Seneca realized that the same could be said about him.
     Seneca wrote to Lucilius:
          "My suburban villa has done me a service; it has brought my age before me at every turn. Let us embrace old age and love it. It is full of pleasure if you know what use to make of it. Fruit is sweetest just before it spoils, boyhood most attractive as it is departing; when one is devoted to wine, it is the last drink that brings the most pleasure --  the one that puts you under, giving the final push to inebriation. Every pleasure saves its greatest delights for its last moments. The most pleasurable time of life is on the downhill side, but before the drop-off. Even the time that stands at the very brink has its own pleasures, I believe. Or if not, then it has this instead: one no longer feels the need of any. How sweet it is to have worn out one's desires and left them behind! ... Every day, then, should be treated as though it were bringing up the rear, as though it were the consummation and fulfillment of one's life."
     I am 56 years old, soon to be 57, which is considered middle age in most of the modern world (although perhaps it would have been considered old age in ancient Rome). But there are certainly times when I do feel old. For instance, these days I have to remind myself that if I drink more than one glass of wine or -- what is more likely in my case -- one bottle of ale in the evening, then I will have a splitting headache the next morning. Nevertheless, I will try to keep Seneca's advice in mind.
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      Seneca, Letters on Ethics to Lucilius, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 12, 4-5, page 49, and 8, page 50. 

11: Nature Versus nature

     As mentioned in my post of 1/19/18, one of the fundamental teachings of Stoicism is that its adherents should strive to live "in accordance with nature." However, in his eleventh letter to Lucilius, Seneca uses the word nature in more than one sense. The issue came up in the context of a visit to Seneca by a young friend of Lucilius. Seneca was impressed by this young person's talent and intelligence, and was charmed when he blushed out of modesty:
          "I suspect he is one who will retain this tendency even when he has fully grown up and has rid himself of every fault -- even when he is wise. For natural flaws of body or mind are not removed by any amount of wisdom: what is innate and implanted may be mitigated by treatment but not overcome. ... These things are not eliminated either by training or by any amount of practice; no, nature exerts its force, using these flaws to remind even the strongest of what their nature is. I am sure that blushing is one of these things; for even in the soberest of grown men it still arises, and suddenly too. ... such characteristics are not cast out by any amount of wisdom. If wisdom could erase all defects, it would have nature itself under its charge. All contributions made by the circumstances of one's birth and one's bodily temperament will remain with us after the mind has at length managed in large part to settle itself. None of these can be ordered down, any more than they can be summoned at will."
Seneca also mentions several Roman politicians who struggled with blushing well after their youth was over.
     The Stoic emperor Marcus Aurelius lived in the century following Seneca's death. In his Meditations, Marcus shows a knack for boiling things down to their essence -- which is probably why he is still being read, almost two thousand years later. According to Marcus: "... don't treat anything as important except doing what your nature demands, and accepting what Nature sends you." So according to the Stoics, each of us has his or her own personal nature (with a small "n"), but we are all subject to Nature (with a capital "N").
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References:
     Marcus Aurelius, Meditations: A New Translation, with an Introduction, by Gregory Hays (The Modern Library, New York, 2003), Book 12, 32, page 169. 
      Seneca, Letters on Ethics to Lucilius, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 11, 1-4, pages 46-47, and 6, page 47. 

24: Negative Visualization

     As mentioned in my post of 3/18/18 ("An Artist At Friend-Making"), I have not agreed with all of the advice that Seneca imparts to his friend Lucilius. But I did come across some guidance in Letter 24, that I can't argue with. Seneca begins that letter by recounting Lucilius' anxiety about a lawsuit that has been filed against him by an enemy. Seneca refuses to tell his friend to be optimistic about the outcome of the case. Instead, he counsels Lucilius:
          "But what I will do is lead you down a different road to tranquility. If you want to be rid of worry, then fix your mind on whatever it is that you are afraid might happen as a thing that definitely will happen. Whatever bad event that might be, take the measure of it mentally and so assess your fear. You will soon realize that what you fear is either no great matter or not long lasting. ... since many external factors have a bearing on the outcome, hope for the best but prepare yourself for the worst. ... Observe what each thing has inside, and you will learn: there is nothing to fear in your affairs but fear itself."
     William Irvine, in his A Guide to the Good Life, describes this psychological tool as "negative visualization." The concept is also discussed in a chapter on Seneca in Oliver Burkeman's The Antidote. I have had a chance to employ negative visualization in my own life recently, due to a physical health issue. A series of tests on my heart have confirmed the good news that -- contrary to the opinions of some -- I do in fact have a heart; the bad news is that there appears to be something wrong with it (probably not life-threatening, fortunately). Throughout these tests, the fifth of which is scheduled for later this month, I have tried to keep in mind that the findings may not ultimately prove to be positive. However, by using negative visualization, I have been much less anxious about the outcome than I would have been before coming across Stoic thought. 
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References:
     Oliver Burkeman, The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking (Faber and Faber, Inc., New York, 2012), Chapter 2, pages 23-50.
     William B. Irvine, A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy (Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, 2009), Chapter 4, pages 65-84.
    Seneca, Letters on Ethics to Lucilius, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 24, 2, page 85, and 12, page 87.