18/87: Is Wealth A Good?

     As noted in my previous post, I cannot agree with Seneca's characterization of poverty as carefree. However, he continues the discussion of poverty and wealth in his eighteenth letter to Lucilius. Even though Seneca was wealthy, and would not forbid Lucilius from possessing riches, he advised his friend that Lucilius could be happy without wealth. This advice seems to be based on the traditional Stoic teaching that wealth is not one of the goods. Jumping forward to Letter 87, Seneca restates for Lucilius -- in the form of syllogisms -- some of the classic Stoic arguments regarding wealth:
          "That which can belong to the vilest and most despicable kinds of people is not a good.   But wealth can belong to the pimp and the manager of gladiators. Therefore wealth is not a good. ...
          That which is good does not come of what is bad. But wealth comes of avarice. Therefore wealth is not a good. ...
          If the pursuit of something brings many bad results, that thing is not a good. Our pursuit of wealth brings many bad results. Therefore wealth is not a good."
      I find Seneca's arguments about wealth to be more persuasive than his contentions about poverty. The fact that Seneca was willing to test his theories in the real world likewise supports their persuasiveness. He begins the eighty-seventh letter by telling Lucilius about a recent trip. Apparently, Seneca traveled in a country wagon pulled by mules, slept on his cloak, and dined on a simple diet of dried figs along with bread. Seneca's credibility -- and one of the qualities in him that I find to be most charming -- is also enhanced by the fact that he is willing to be honest about his own faults. Seneca confessed to Lucilius that he did not like being seen by other travelers in such a simple vehicle, and blushed when those in a more glamorous carriage passed by. Seneca observes that the person "who blushes in a shabby carriage will boast of an expensive one." The frugal habits he admires and approves of are not yet firmly established in him, Seneca admits; he has made only a little progress on the path to wisdom, Seneca says, because he still cares too much about the opinions of others.
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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 18, 13, page 69; Letter 87, 15-28, pages 303-305, and 2-5, page 300.