tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75623734285369342032024-02-08T13:51:17.572-06:00MakeAmericaModerateAgainDion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-42184721944989716992019-05-16T05:57:00.002-05:002019-05-20T19:43:16.519-05:00Procrastination I want to begin by apologizing for the time that has elapsed since my last post; sadly, I have been guilty of procrastination. Like most lawyers in the USA, I need to earn mandatory continuing legal education credits to keep my law license. And, like many attorneys, I have put off earning the necessary hours until the reporting period is almost over. So this task will occupy much of the time that I am not working or sleeping for the next several weeks.<br />
It should not be surprising to readers of this blog that Seneca warned about the dangers of procrastination. In his treatise <i>On The Shortness Of Life</i>, he says --<br />
"<b>Hear the cry of the greatest of poets [Virgil], who sings his salutary song as if inspired with divine utterance: Each finest day of life for wretched mortals is ever the first to flee. 'Why are you holding back?' he says. 'Why are you slow to action? If you don't seize the day, it slips away.' Even when you've seized it, it will still slip away; a</b><b>nd so you must compete with time's quickness in the speed with which you use it, and you must drink swiftly as if from a fast-moving torrent that will not always flow. This too the poet very aptly says in chastising interminable procrastination: not each best 'age' but east best 'day.' Carefree and unconcerned even though time flies so quickly, why do you project for yourself months and years in long sequence, to whatever extent your greed sees fit? The poet is speaking to you about the day -- about this very day which is slipping away. So can there be any doubt that each finest day is ever the first to flee for wretched mortals -- that is, the preoccupied? Old age takes their still childish minds unawares, and they meet it unprepared and unarmed; for they've made no provision for it. Suddenly, unsuspecting, they've stumbled upon it, without noticing that it was drawing nearer every day. Just as conversation or reading or some deep reflection beguiles travelers and they find that they've reached their destination before being aware of approaching it, so with this ceaseless and extremely rapid journey of life, which we make at the same pace whether awake or sleeping: the preoccupied become aware of it only at its end."</b><br />
The fact that I have just celebrated the 19th anniversary of my 39th birthday should make me even more aware of the dangers of procrastination -- for if I am too preoccupied, old age will sneak up on me. <br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Seneca,</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><i style="font-weight: 400;">On The Shortness Of Life</i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, translated by Gareth D. Williams, in</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> <i>Hardship & Happiness</i></span><i style="font-weight: 400;"> </i><span style="font-weight: 400;">(University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2014) Book 9, 2-5, page 119.</span></b><br />
<br />Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-88836868673403884532019-02-28T06:12:00.001-06:002019-02-28T06:12:25.310-06:0029/75: Faults In the passage quoted in my previous blog post, Seneca expresses the hope that his own faults will die before him. But in Letter 29 to Lucilius, Seneca discuses the faults of their mutual friend Marcellinus:<br />
"<b>He can still be saved, but only if a hand is extended to him right away. Indeed, there is a danger that he will drag the rescuer down with him; for his intellect is very forceful, but tending just now toward ill. Nonetheless, I will go to meet this danger; I will dare to show him his faults. He will do what he usually does: he will pass it off with jokes that would make even a mourner laugh; he'll make fun of himself first, and then make fun of me; he'll deflect everything I am about to say. He'll scrutinize our [Stoic] school and find objections to throw at our philosophers -- payoffs, girlfriends, gluttony."</b><br />
A list of what the Stoics (or at least Seneca) considered to be faults can be found in his Letter 75; it includes anger, lust, desire, and fear. Seneca goes on to equate faults with mental infirmities:<br />
<b>"The infirmities are faults that have become ingrained and hard, like greed and ambition. These are conditions that bind the mind much more tightly and have begun to be permanent afflictions. To give a brief definition, an infirmity is a persistent judgment in a corrupted person that certain things are very much worth pursuing that in fact are only slightly worth pursuing. Or, if you prefer, we can define it this way: it is being overly concerned with things that one ought to pursue either casually or not at all, or considering something to be of great value when in fact it is either of some lesser value or of no value at all."</b><br />
On some days, it seems to me as though a list of my own faults would be far too long for just one blog post. However, on others days, I believe that I have come to the point in life where I know the things which are worth pursuing -- as well as those things that are not.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, <i>Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i>, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 2015), Letter 29, 4-6, page 99; Letter 75, 11-14, page 238.</span>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-77962942305616007242019-01-14T05:56:00.001-06:002019-01-14T05:56:29.432-06:0027: What Should We Desire? I want to begin by wishing my readers -- all four of them -- a belated Happy New Year. My New Year's Resolution is to write more blog posts in 2019 than I did in 2018, but whether or not I will be able to do so depends in part on the challenges presented by my mother's declining health (mentioned in the previous post).<br />
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There is a sense in which New Year's Resolutions are about desire, because they reflect what we want to achieve or attain or acquire in the next 12 months. In Letter 27 to Lucilius, Seneca has the following to say to his friend regarding desire:<br />
<b>"Loud and clear I tell myself: 'Count your years, and you will be ashamed to have the same wishes and intentions you had as a child. Give yourself this gift as your day of death approaches: let your faults die before you. Dismiss those turbulent desires that cost you so much: they do harm both ahead of time and after the fact. Just as the worry over criminal acts does not depart, even if they are not discovered at the time, so also with wrongful desires: remorse remains when they themselves are gone. They are not solid, not dependable: even if they do no harm, they are fleeting. Look about, rather, for some good that will remain. There is none but that which the mind discovers for itself from out of itself. Virtue alone yields lasting and untroubled joy. Even if something does get in the way of that joy, it is interrupted only as daylight is by clouds, which pass beneath but do not overcome it.' When will it be your lot to attain that joy? You have not been idle up to now -- but pick up the pace. Much work remains to be done; and you must be the one to put in the attention and toil if you want results. This is not something that can be delegated." </b></div>
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My own desires seem to have evolved as I have grown older. When I was younger, for example, pleasures were never far from my mind. Now that I am middle-aged, I spend more time pondering virtue. I would like to believe that this is the result of me becoming wiser with age; however, a cynical person might observe that I am just experiencing one of the inevitable consequences of aging -- as pleasures become less frequent, we desire other things in their place.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, <i>Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i>, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 2015), Letter 27, 2-4, page 95.</span><br />
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Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-75113760999023415162018-12-20T06:55:00.001-06:002018-12-23T17:37:00.577-06:0026/49: Rehearsing For Death? Since the passing of my mother-in-law Faye, discussed in the previous post, the subject of death has been on my mind. Over the past few months, I have also watched my Aunt Judith deal with the return of her cancer in an aggressive form and with the physical pain that this is bringing her, which she has faced courageously. Last but not least, after recently falling and breaking her hip, undergoing surgery, as well as working with all manner of therapists (occupational, speech, etc.), my mother Patricia has been suffering physically -- and mentally, as advancing Parkinson's Disease increasingly impacts her brain.<br />
For the Stoics in general, and for Seneca in particular, death was not something to be feared. Rather, in Letter 26 to Lucilius, the older Seneca advises his younger friend to <b>"rehearse for death"</b> (quoting Epicurus again). In the forty-ninth letter, Seneca goes on to flesh out this thought:<br />
<b>"What am I up to? Death is after me; life is on the retreat. Teach me something I can use against that! Don't let me run from death any longer; don't let life run away from me! <u>Encourage me to face what is difficult; give me the serenity to accept what I cannot avoid. </u>Expand the narrow confines of my remaining time. Teach me that the goodness of a life depends not on how long it is but on how it is used; and that it is possible -- in fact quite common -- for a person to have a long life that is scarcely a life at all. Say to me before I sleep, 'It's possible you will not wake up,' and when I rise, 'It's possible you will never sleep again.' Say to me when I go out, 'It's possible you will not return,' and when I return, 'It's possible you will never leave.' You are wrong if you think that it is only aboard ship that 'life is but an inch away from death.' The interval is the same wherever you go. There death is in full view, but everywhere it is just as close to us." [Emphasis added]. </b> <br />
By the way, I mentioned in my post of 12/2/17 that Seneca has been acknowledged as the original essayist in Western history. However, the passage above suggests that he could also be described as the author of the Serenity Prayer's first draft.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, <i>Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i>, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 2015), Letter 26, 8-10, page 94; Letter 49, 9-11, pages 143-144.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Wikipedia, 12/8/18, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></span>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-46712432156800861252018-11-26T06:00:00.001-06:002018-11-26T06:00:14.305-06:0028: A Citizen Of The World My mother-in-law Faye Striftis Kalesperis passed away earlier this month. Faye spent most of the first three decades of her life in and around the city of Corinth, Greece, and used to boast that she immigrated to America "by TWA, honey" (that is, not on a crowded ship with the <i>hoi polloi</i>). She became a naturalized American citizen and, for more than 20 years, taught the Greek language at a parochial elementary school in the southern Chicago suburbs; the last decade of her life was spent in a Grecian-themed nursing home in the northern Chicago suburbs; the fact that many of the staff spoke Greek must have been a great comfort to her in final years.<br />
Seneca (like all of the Stoics that I have read) believed that every human being was first and foremost a citizen of the world. In the twenty-eighth letter to Lucilius, for example, Seneca reminds his friend -- <b>"We should live with this conviction: 'I was not born in any one spot; my homeland is this entire world.'"</b> More to the point are the following remarks of Epictetus, a former Greek slave who opened his own school of Stoic philosophy several decades after Seneca's death:<br />
<b>"If what philosophers say about the kinship of God and man is true, then the only logical step is to do as Socrates did, never replying to the question of where he was from with, 'I am Athenian,' or 'I am from Corinth,' but always, 'I am a citizen of the world.' ... But anyone who knows how the whole universe is administered knows that the first, all-inclusive state is the government composed of God and man. ... So why not call ourselves citizens of the world ... ?"</b><br />
Faye was proud of the legacy bequeathed to Western civilization by the ancient Greeks, and she was proud to be a naturalized citizen of the United States. In contemporary American politics, unfortunately, immigration has become a controversial and divisive issue. However, we would do well to remember the cosmopolitan teachings of the Stoics.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, <i>Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i>, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 2015), Letter 28, 4, page 97.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Epictetus, <i style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;">Discourses and Selected Writings</i>, Translated and Edited by Robert Dobbin (Penguin Classics, London, 2008), <i style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;">Discours</i><i style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;">es</i>, Book I, 9, 1-6, pages 24-25.<b style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"> </b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></span>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-72956048224216177502018-11-09T06:16:00.002-06:002018-11-09T19:18:28.128-06:0025: Someone To Watch Over Me (And You) I apologize to my regular readers for the unusual length of time between posts, but my elderly mother fell and broke her hip last month; the good news is, her surgery was successful, and she is now in a rehabilitation facility; so my duty to family came first. Speaking of obligations -- note the smooth transition -- in Letter 25 to Lucilius, Seneca reminds him that it is their duty (as friends) to help two mutual friends overcome their faults. Seneca also goes on to provide Lucilius with an antidote for the latter's faults. Once again, Seneca finds a quote from his old frenemy Epicurus to summarize the advice. According to Seneca, the late Greek philosopher once told one of his followers to do everything as if he (Epicurus) were watching him. Seneca writes:<br />
<b>"Assuredly it is beneficial to set a watch on yourself and to have someone to look up to, someone who you think will make a difference in your plans. To be sure, it is much grander if you live as if some good man were always present and held you in his gaze. But I am satisfied even with this: let everything you do be done as if watched by someone. Solitude encourages every fault in us. Once you have progressed far enough to have some reverence even for yourself, then you may dismiss your tutor; meanwhile, put yourself under the guardianship of men of authority. Let it be Cato, or Scipio, or Laelius, or someone else at whose coming even desperate characters would suppress their faults, while you go about making <i>yourself</i> the person in whose company you would not dare to do wrong. When you have done that, and have begun to have some worth in your own eyes ... ." </b><br />
For those -- like me -- who were not Classics majors in college, Cato the Younger was a politician who fought (unsuccessfully) for the survival of the Roman republic in its final years; Scipio Africanus was the general who, by campaigning against Carthage, forced Hannibal to withdraw his army from Italy; and Gaius Laelius was apparently renowned for his wisdom. Fortunately, America history provides no shortage of more recent role models: Abraham Lincoln, Jane Addams, and Martin Luther King Jr. come to mind.<br />
However, if you are going to select someone to watch over you, I suggest that you choose a dead person. Living legends, unfortunately, always have the possibility of disappointing their admirers, as long as they remain alive. Take the case of Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Wheaton College, a conservative Christian school in the Chicago suburbs that was also Hastert's alma mater, named a political institute after him when he retired from Congress: the J. Dennis Hastert Center for Economics, Government, and Public Policy. But it was later discovered that, prior to beginning his political career, when Hastert had taught and coached the boys' wrestling team at an Illinois high school, he took more than an athletic interest -- to put it politely -- in some of his underage students. Because the statute of limitations on the underlying crimes had expired, Hastert was instead charged with lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (among other felonies). Hastert ended up pleading guilty to other charges and was sentenced to prison. Needless to say, Wheaton College had to rename its Center.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, <i>Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i>, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 2015), Letter 25, 4-6, pages 91-92.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Wikipedia, 10/23/18, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Hastert.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></span>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-65534256275182956042018-10-08T12:30:00.002-05:002018-10-08T15:05:54.426-05:0023: Emptiness, West And East The twenty-third letter to Lucilius finds Seneca moving away from the campaign to get his friend to retire from the position of provincial governor. Seneca begins by telling Lucilius that he is not going to write about banalities like how mild the weather has been; instead, Seneca will talk about something that will benefit both of them: an exhortation toward excellence of mind -- <b>"Would you like to know what it is that such excellence is founded upon? It is this: don't rejoice in empty things. ... As for your paltry body, it is true that nothing can be done without it, but think of it as a necessary thing rather than as something great. The pleasures it accumulates are empty, short, and regrettable ... ."</b><br />
While the concept of emptiness did not play a major role in Seneca's philosophy, the idea figures prominently in Mahayana Buddhism. Like Theravada Buddhism, which began in ancient India and spread south to what is now Sri Lanka, the Mahayana school began in India but spread north to Tibet and northeast to China. According to Kazuaki Tanahashi, in his excellent <i>The Heart Sutra: A Comprehensive Guide to the Classic of Mahayana Buddhism</i>, the Heart Sutra is the scripture most often recited by Mahayana Buddhists around the world. The Heart Sutra begins with Avalokitesvara, who was one of the Buddha's senior disciples, answering the question posed by another senior disciple, Sariputra:<br />
<b>"O, Sariputra, a Noble Son or Daughter who wishes to engage in the profound activities of the Perfection of Wisdom should consider thusly ... Form is empty. Emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than form, nor is form other than emptiness. Similarly, sensations, conceptions, formations, and consciousness are empty. Sariputra, in that way all phenomenon are emptiness. They have no characteristics. They are not born. They do not cease. There is no defilement. There is no lack of defilement. There is no taking away, and there is no filling. O Sariputra, therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, no conception, no formations, no consciousness. There is no eye, no nose, no ear, no tongue, no body, no mind. There is no form, no sound, no scent, no taste, no touch, and no phenomenon. There is no visual sphere, and on through to no mental sphere, up to: there being no sphere of mental consciousness either. There is no ignorance, nor is there anything from elimination of ignorance to there being no aging and death, up to: there being no end to aging and death either. ... There is no primordial wisdom, there is no attainment, and there is no non-attainment. ... Because there is no obstruction to the mind, there is no fear. ... " </b><br />
This English translation, by the way, is one of several set forth in an appendix to Tanahashi's work, along with translations from multiple Asian languages. It was translated from Tibetan by Christian P.B. Haskett. Personally, I find this view of emptiness to be fascinating. But I am also troubled by the idea's philosophical -- especially ethical -- implications: if everything is empty, then isn't everything permitted? That is, why not just say or do whatever brings you pleasure, regardless of the impact it has on others?<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, <i>Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i>, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 2015), Letter 23, 1, page 82; 6, page 83.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Kazuaki Tanahashi, <i>The Heart Sutra: A Comprehensive Guide to the Classic of Mahayana Buddhism</i> (Shambhala, Boston & London, 2014), Appendix 1: Texts for Comparison, pages 225-226.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></span>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-32272316243647894092018-09-27T06:31:00.001-05:002018-09-27T06:31:16.648-05:0022: Tranquility And Politics In the twenty-second letter to Lucilius, Seneca continues the campaign to get his friend to retire from an <b>"ambitious [political] career."</b> Toward the end of the letter, Seneca talks about the importance of tranquility. In his separate dialogue <i>On Tranquility Of Mind</i>, Seneca delves more deeply into the relationship between politics and tranquility. The other participant in the dialogue is Annaeus Serenus, a younger relative of Seneca. Serenus begins the dialogue by asking for Seneca's advice in dealing with anxiety. Serenus notes that he entered the political life following the Stoic teaching to be of service to humankind, but that he has found no tranquility in the public sector. If Serenus wishes to attain tranquility, Seneca says:<br />
<b>"We must perform a self-assessment before all else, because we generally think ourselves able to do more than we actually can: one man is tripped up by confidence in his eloquence, another has demanded more from his inherited property than it could sustain, another has weighed down a weak constitution with strenuous duty. The modesty of some is not suited to public life, which needs a confident gaze, and the arrogance of others does not suit the court; others do not keep their anger under control, and any cause for indignation carries them away into rash words; ... for all such men, retirement is more advantageous than business. A fierce and impatient nature should avoid the provocations of frankness that will bring it harm. ... You must consider whether your nature is more suited to active business or leisured study and meditation, and lean in the direction your power of intellect will carry you. Isocrates laid hands on Ephorus and took him away from public life, believing him to be better suited to composing records of history. In fact, coerced intellects respond badly; when nature resists, effort is wasted. ... I think Democritus was following this principal when he began, 'Whoever wants to live tranquilly should not do much business, private or public.' Surely he was referring to superfluous affairs. For if they are essential, then not just many but countless tasks have to be done both privately and publicly; but when no binding duty summons us, we should check our activities." </b><br />
In my own case, I'm not sure that I had either the immodesty or the "confident gaze" necessary for great success in the public sector. However, since Rahm Emanuel has recently announced that he will not seek a third term as mayor of Chicago, two former bosses (and friends) of mine have entered the mayoral race: Paul Vallas and Gery Chico. Each of them has both the immodesty and the confident gaze -- as well as, most importantly, the talent -- to be a good mayor, so I will have a difficult decision to make early next year.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, <i>Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i>, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 2015), Letter 22, 7, page 80.</span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Seneca,</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><i style="font-weight: 400;">On Tranquility Of Mind</i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, translated by Elaine Fantham, in</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> <i>Hardship & Happiness</i></span><i style="font-weight: 400;"> </i><span style="font-weight: 400;">(University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2014) Book 6, 2, page 192; Book 7, 2, page 193; Book 13, 1-2, pages 201-202. </span></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></b>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-33520603739326761962018-09-04T05:41:00.001-05:002018-09-14T19:04:40.556-05:0021: Bipartisanship Now And Then Senator John McCain's recent death and funeral have caused me to reflect upon the idea of bipartisanship. Some of my international readers may not know John McCain's history, apart from his loss in the 2008 American presidential election to Barack Obama. McCain attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. After graduating, he served his country as a military pilot during the Vietnam War. Shot down over what was then North Vietnam, McCain was injured, captured, and spent five years as a prisoner of war. Although McCain was the son and grandson of U.S. Navy Admirals, he refused to use his connections to get himself released ahead of his fellow prisoners. After the war, McCain went on to serve the state of Arizona as a Republican in the U.S. House and then the Senate, the latter for three decades. McCain developed the reputation as a politician who was willing to work across the aisle and was the co-sponsor, among other legislation, of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (popularly known as McCain/Feingold). At McCain's funeral at the National Cathedral, he was eulogized both by former Republican President George W. Bush and by former Democratic President Obama. There is perhaps no more damning indictment of President Donald Trump's character than the fact that McCain and his family did not wish Trump to attend any of the Senator's memorials.<br />
As noted in my post of 12/30/2017 -- "2: Virtue Or Pleasure?" -- Seneca frequently quotes the philosopher Epicurus in his letters to Lucilius, despite the fact that Epicurus was the founder of a rival philosophical school. Seneca's twenty-first letter includes two quotations from Epicurus, the second of which is on the subject of desire. Apparently, Epicurus once wrote to his follower Idomeneus that if he wished to make their mutual friend Pythocles rich, he should subtract from the former's desires rather than add to his money. Seneca goes on to tell Lucilius:<br />
<b>"This saying is too clear to need interpretation, and too well phrased to need improvement. My only addition is to remind you not to refer it only to wealth: its import will be the same wherever it is applied. If you want to make Pythocles honorable, what you must do is not add to his accolades but subtract from his desires. If you wish to make Pythocles experience constant pleasure, what you must do is not add to his pleasure but subtract from his desires. If you wish to make Pythocles live a long and complete life, what you must do is not add to his years but subtract from his desires. You need not regard these sayings as belonging to Epicurus: they are public property. I think philosophers should adopt [Roman] senatorial practice. When someone has stated a judgment that pleases me in part, I ask him to divide his opinion, and I follow the part I approve. These splendid sayings of Epicurus ... ."</b><br />
My hope is that the passing of John McCain will remind Americans (and others) of the importance of the ancient concept of bipartisanship.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, <i>Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i>, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 2015), Letter 21, 7-9, page 77.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Wikipedia, 9/1/2018, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain</a>.</span><br />
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<br />Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-83750688046101670882018-08-28T05:46:00.001-05:002018-09-08T19:15:08.518-05:0020: Is Life Long Or Short? In the twentieth letter to Lucilius, Seneca continues the campaign to encourage his friend to retire from a position as provincial governor: <b>"For it will be to my credit if I manage to extricate you from that place where you are now floundering without hope of escape." </b>As noted in my previous post, one of Seneca's arguments in favor of retirement is that it gives one the leisure time necessary for contemplating the important issues in life. <br />
Seneca's separate treatise, <i>On The Shortness Of Life</i>, advances another argument in favor of retirement: that time is an immaterial yet precious commodity. The essay is addressed to Pompeius Paulinus, who was the father of Seneca's wife Pompeia Paulina. Apparently, Paulinus was in charge of the Roman grain supply, a stressful job back in the day when famine was an ever-present threat and source of political instability. Seneca begins by telling Paulinus that life is actually long enough for those who devote their days to worthwhile pursuits (like philosophy). However, for those who waste their time, life is indeed short. Seneca devotes a substantial portion of the work to discussing the many activities that he believes preoccupy people, including: pursuing trade on every land and every sea; striving after the wealth of others or complaining about their own; climbing the social ladder; chasing clients (or being chased by them); consorting with prostitutes; drinking to excess; and -- my personal favorite -- speculating about <b>"useless literary questions"</b> (Seneca's example is inquiring into how many rowers Ulysses had aboard his ship in the <i>Odyssey</i>). Those who have spent their careers pursing political ambitions, Seneca notes, often say that when they reach the age of 50 or 60, they will retire and then devote themselves to the pursuit of wisdom. But Seneca observes that there is no guarantee that one will have many years of life left after retirement; the future is uncertain.<br />
Accordingly, near the end of the essay, Seneca advises Paulinus to retire from his high-pressure occupation sooner rather than later, so that he may spend his remaining time with the likes of Socrates, Epicurus, Zeno, and Aristotle -- <b>"The greater part of your life, and certainly the better part, has been given to the state: take some of your time for yourself as well." </b>Even though I am not retired, as someone who left the public sector after a twenty-nine year career, these words are especially meaningful to me.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, <i>Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i>, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 2015), Letter 20, 1, pages 72-73.</span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Seneca,</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><i style="font-weight: 400;">On The Shortness Of Life</i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, translated by Gareth D. Williams, in</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> <i>Hardship & Happiness</i></span><i style="font-weight: 400;"> </i><span style="font-weight: 400;">(University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2014) Book 8, 1-4, page 118; Book 13, 1-2, pages 123-124; Book 14, 1-5, pages 125-126; Book 18, 1, </span></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">page 130.</span></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></b>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-4978908670311479722018-08-09T06:07:00.002-05:002018-08-10T19:05:26.885-05:0019: Leisure Then And Now It was around this time last year that I decided to retire from the urban school district where I had been working for the past 22 years, so -- even though I am now freelancing -- the subject of retirement has been on my mind recently. In the nineteenth letter to Lucilius, Seneca advises his friend to retire from a position as provincial governor:<br />
<b>"If you can, ease yourself out of that occupation of yours -- and if you can't, then tear yourself away! We have wasted enough time. Old age is upon us: time to start getting our luggage together. Surely no one can object to that. We have lived at sea; let us die in harbor. ... 'How shall I get out?' you say. However you can. Think how many risks you have taken for money, how many labors you have endured to gain fame. You should be just as bold in pursuit of leisure; otherwise you must grow old amid the cares of provincial governorships and then amid responsibilities in the city -- amid the storm, amid waves ever renewed, which you cannot escape even with moderation and quiet living. You want to rest, but what of that? Your success wants otherwise. And you're still letting it grow! The more you achieve, the more you will have to fear." </b><br />
My career has not resulted in much fame or success -- at least not so far -- but two thousand years after Seneca wrote, leisure is something that people still hope for in retirement: resting, spending more time with family and friends, traveling, refocusing on an old hobby or starting a new one. However, Seneca's conception of leisure is different than ours (or at least than most of ours). In his separate treatise <i>On Leisure</i>, Seneca begins by considering the traditional Stoic teaching that one should remain in active service up until the end of life, working for the common good. Yet Seneca argues that -- even later in life -- when someone has completed her official service, she can still devote herself to the contemplation of truth, seek a coherent intellectual basis for life, and practice it. Seneca contends that one can serve the commonwealth with devotion even in leisure, or perhaps even better in leisure, by inquiring into issues such as <b>"... what virtue is, whether it is one or many, and whether a person is made good by nature or by training ... ."</b><br />
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<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-2437943984255437284" itemprop="description articleBody" style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 570px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"> Seneca, </span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;">, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 19, 1-2, 8, pages 70-71.</span><b style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </b></span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Seneca,</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><i style="font-weight: 400;">On Leisure</i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, translated by Gareth D. Williams in</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> <i>Hardship & Happiness</i></span><i style="font-weight: 400;"> </i><span style="font-weight: 400;">(University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2014) Book 1, 4; Book 2,</span></b><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> 1-2; Book 4, 1-2; pages 222-224.</span></b><br />
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Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-24379439842554372842018-07-23T05:53:00.003-05:002018-07-23T05:53:59.318-05:0018/87: 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:<br />
<b>"That which can belong to the vilest and most despicable kinds of people is not a good. </b> <b>But wealth can belong to the pimp and the manager of gladiators. </b><b>Therefore wealth is not a good. ...</b><br />
<b> That which is good does not come of what is bad. </b><b>But wealth comes of avarice.</b><b> Therefore wealth is not a good. ...</b><br />
<b> If the pursuit of something brings many bad results, that thing is not a good. </b><b>Our pursuit of wealth brings many bad results. </b><b>Therefore wealth is not a good."</b><br />
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<b> "who blushes in a shabby carriage will boast of an expensive one."</b> 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.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, </span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 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</span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-90303304424214746552018-07-18T05:24:00.000-05:002018-07-18T05:24:01.413-05:0017: Is Poverty Carefree? The seventeenth letter to Lucilius discusses another topic on which I have to agree to disagree with Seneca, at least in part. This letter begins with Seneca chiding his friend Lucilius about the latter's decision -- which he justifies by trepidation about poverty -- to continue in the family business and save money for the future rather than retire and devote himself to the study of philosophy. Seneca writes:<br />
<b>"Trust me: you should make philosophy your advocate. It will persuade you not to linger over your balance sheet. No doubt your aim, the purpose of all your delay, is to ensure that you need not fear poverty. But what if poverty is actually something to pursue? Many have found riches an obstacle to the philosophical life: poverty is untrammeled, carefree. When the trumpet sounds, the poor know that they are not the ones under attack; when the alarm of fire is raised, they look around for the exit, not for their belongings. When a poor person is about to embark, there is no tumult at the harbor, no bustling throng along the beach, attendants all of a single person; no pack of slaves standing around ... . Hunger is cheap; it is the palate that is expensive. Poverty is content to satisfy the immediate wants. Why, then, do you refuse to take as your companion one whose habits it is sensible for the wealthy to imitate? If you want to have time for your mind, you must either be poor or resemble the poor. Study cannot be beneficial without some time for frugality, and frugality is just voluntary poverty. So away with your excuses!"</b><br />
<b> </b>I live about a mile away from one of the largest temporary homeless shelters in Chicago, and the residents there are among the least carefree people I have ever seen; rather, they appear to be suffering from chronic stress (among other maladies). Thus, I cannot agree with Seneca's argument that poverty is carefree. Seneca was born into a prosperous provincial family, and by the time he sat down to write the <i>Letters</i> late in his life, he was probably one of the wealthiest men in the Roman Empire; he seems, therefore, to have had no personal experience with poverty. However, in Seneca's defense, it must be noted that he attributed much of his success to good fortune.<br />
Like Seneca, President Trump was born into prosperous family; like Seneca, Trump went on to build substantial personal wealth (although we do not know exactly how rich he is, because he will not release his income tax returns). But unlike Seneca, Trump attributes his success to "genius" -- instead of admitting that (after being given a head start in life) he has also been very lucky in business, as well as in politics.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, </span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 17, 2-5, pages 64-65</span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><br />
<br />Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-29441954691724214152018-07-10T05:45:00.001-05:002018-07-10T05:45:58.065-05:0016: Self-Examination In the sixteenth letter to Lucilius, Seneca touches upon some of his favorite subjects, including philosophy. Seneca tells Lucilius that he has made progress in wisdom, but advises his friend: "Shake yourself out; check yourself over; look at yourself in different ways. Above all, consider whether the progress you have made has been in philosophy, or in life itself."<br />
Seneca gives a more complete example of self-examination in his treatise <i>On Anger</i>. As noted in my post of 11/9/17, Seneca argues in this work that anger is an extremely destructive emotion for individual humans in particular and the human race in general. As a way to make sure that anger is eliminated, Seneca has the following guidance for his brother Annaeus Novatus:<br />
<b>"Your anger will cease and become more controllable if it knows that every day it must come before a judge. Is there anything finer, then, than this habit of scrutinizing the entire day? What sort of sleep follows this self-examination -- how peaceful, how deep and free, when the mind has been either praised or admonished, when the sentinel and secret censor of the self has conducted its inquiry into one's character! I exercise this jurisdiction daily and plead my case before myself. When the light has been removed and my wife has fallen silent, aware of this habit now that's now mine, I examine my entire day and go back over what I've done and said, hiding nothing from myself, passing nothing by. For why should I fear any consequence from my mistakes, when I'm able to say, 'See that you don't do it again, but now I forgive you. In that discussion you spoke too aggressively: from now on don't get involved with people who don't know what they're talking about. People who have never learned don't want to learn. You admonished that fellow more candidly than you should, and as a result you didn't correct him, you offended him; in the future consider not just whether what you say is true but whether the person you're talking to can take the truth. A good man delights in being admonished, but all the worst people have the hardest time putting up with correction.'"</b> <br />
Seneca goes on to recount other humorous instances where he let anger get the best of him: the bruising remarks of others at a banquet; a rich man's door keeper mistreating his friend; being seated in a place of less distinction than another; and giving someone who spoke ill of his talent a dirty look.<br />
However, in keeping with Seneca's legal metaphor, I think it makes sense to have a statute of limitations where self-examination is concerned. That is, one should not keep judging and re-judging the same actions and words. I'm not sure what the precise cutoff point should be -- a day, a week, a month? -- but there must be one. In my own case, I have to admit that I probably spend too much time ruminating about past decisions, whether of the previous day or of the previous decade. In keeping with the founding principle of this blog, I need to moderate my tendency to cover the same mental ground over and over again.<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">References: </b><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 16, 1-2, page 62.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca,</span><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"> </span><i style="font-size: 15.4px;">On Anger</i><span style="font-size: 15.4px;">, translated by Robert A. Kaster in</span><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"> </span><i style="font-size: 15.4px;">Anger, Mercy, Revenge </i><span style="font-size: 15.4px;">(University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2010); Book 36, 1-5, pages 91-92. </span></span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </span><br />
<br />Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-36232330569451389642018-06-18T05:46:00.000-05:002018-06-19T20:49:24.779-05:0015: On A Lighter Note ... In looking back on my most recent blog posts, one could fairly accuse me of focusing on the darker side of things. However, in the course of reading Seneca, I have learned that not all of his letters are unrelentingly serious. In the fifteenth letter, for example, Seneca advises his friend Lucilius to focus more attention on mental health rather than on the body's condition. Regarding exercise, Seneca writes:<br />
<b>"It is foolish, dear Lucilius, and unbefitting an educated man, to busy oneself with exercising the muscles, broadening the shoulders, and strengthening the torso. You may have great success with your training diet and your bodybuilding, but never will you match the strength and weight of a prime ox. Besides, your mind is then weighed down by a more burdensome body, and is less agile as a result. Restrict your body, then, as much as you can, and give more latitude to the mind. Those who are obsessed with such a regimen incur many discomforts. ... Drinking and sweating -- a life full of heartburn! There are ways of exercising that are easy and quick, that give the body a workout without taking up too much time -- for time is what we have to keep track of more than anything: running, and arm movements with various weights, and jumping, either the high jump or the long jump, or the dance jump ... . Choose whichever you like, and make it easy by practice. But whatever you do, return quickly from the body to the mind and exercise that, night and day. A moderate effort is enough to nourish it, and its exercise is such as neither cold nor heat will hamper, nor even old age. Tend to the good that gets better with time. I am not telling you to be always pouring over a book or tablet: the mind should have some respite, but to relax, not to become lax."</b><br />
In my own life, I spent a significant amount of time lifting weights during my mid-teens to mid-twenties, with the public reason that it would make me a better athlete, but with the private hope that I would end up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his Mr. Olympia days. While I did become somewhat stronger and more muscular, no one would have mistaken me for a professional bodybuilder. In my late twenties through late forties, my main form of exercise was distance running, yet I was never more than a middle-of-the-pack runner, even on my fastest days. Following a leg injury, I had to give up running, and switched to walking; recently, I decided to add some circuit training to increase my heart rate (as my cardiologist advised). Because it seems like the thing my body is best suited for is sitting on the sofa and drinking beer, I think Seneca would agree that the time spent on my blog is time well spent.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, </span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 15, 2-6, page 60</span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-30153421806839725192018-06-09T13:39:00.001-05:002018-06-12T18:39:04.693-05:00The Hand Of Fate? Regular readers of this blog may recall that I have discovered in the past few months, based on a series of tests, that I have heart-related health issues. I was ultimately referred to a specialist who confirmed last Friday that I have high blood pressure and a low "ejection" -- not "erection" -- fraction, which apparently means that my heart does not pump blood as efficiently as it should. (In addition, I have recently learned, courtesy of the Cook County vital records office, that my paternal grandfather dropped dead at the age of 40 of a heart attack). My cardiologist put me on two prescription medications, which are designed to reduce blood pressure and the risk of a heart attack; she also advised me to cut my sodium intake and exercise more.<br />
So the concept of fate has been on my mind recently. It is a subject that Seneca wrote about often, although perhaps not as often as he wrote about fortune. One of the most succinct statements of Seneca's thinking on fate is actually from one of his separate discourses -- <i>On Providence</i>, which is also addressed to his friend Lucilius:<br />
<b>"I am coerced into nothing. I suffer nothing unwillingly. I do not serve god, but rather I agree with him -- all the more so because I know that all things come to pass by a law that is fixed and is decreed for eternity. The fates lead us, and the amount of time that remains for each person was stipulated at our first hour when we were born. Cause hangs on cause. Things both private and public are drawn along in a long order of events. Each thing must be suffered bravely because all things do not simply occur, as we think, but rather they arrive. It was decided long ago what you would have that you could rejoice about, what you would have that you could cry about. And however much the lives of individuals seem to be distinguished by great variety, the total comes to one thing: the things we receive perish, as will we. Why, then, do we get angry? Why do we complain? We were made ready for this. Let nature use its bodies as it wants. We should be joyful and courageous toward all things, and we should consider how nothing perishes that is ours. What belongs to a good man? To offer himself up to fate. It is a magnificent consolation to be carried away with the universe. Whatever it is that has commanded us to live in this way, to die in this way, binds the gods too with the same necessity. Human and divine are carried along equally on a course that cannot be revoked."</b><br />
The concept of fate is difficult for modern people (myself included) to accept, perhaps because we want to believe that things happen to us for a reason. However, I can now see how belief in fate could be comforting on one level. After all, it discourages people from ruminating about why things -- particularly unwelcome things -- happen to them and to those close to them.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, <i>On Providence</i>, translated by James Ker in <i>Hardship & Happiness </i>(University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2014), Book 5, 6-9, page 294. </span><br />
<br />Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-23165768957193783152018-05-29T05:43:00.002-05:002018-05-29T05:43:12.472-05:0014: What Should The Wise Person Avoid? As noted in my post of 3/18/18 ("An Artist At Friend-Making"), I agree with much but not all of the advice that Seneca dispenses in his letters to Lucilius. Another example of a passage that troubles me is the following from the fourteenth letter:<br />
<b>"Even so, let us avoid not only danger but also discomfort, as much as we can, and retreat into safety, constantly devising ways of keeping away the objects of fear. If I am not mistaken, those objects are of three kinds. We fear poverty; we fear disease; and we fear the violent deeds of those more powerful than ourselves. Among all these, the one that has most impact on us is the threat from another's power, for this arrives with a great deal of noise and activity. ... Imagine here the jail, the cross, the rack, the hook ... the limbs torn apart by chariots driven in different directions ... and everything else that savagery has devised. ... Let us therefore make an effort to avoid giving offense. At one time it is the populace we have to fear; at another, if the state is ruled in such a way that the senate has charge of most matters, the men of most influence there; at another, individuals in whom is vested the power of the people and over the people. To have all these as friends would require much effort: it is enough if we do not have them as enemies. Thus the wise person will never provoke the anger of those in power, but will steer clear of it, just as one steers clear of a storm at sea. ... The wise person ... avoids the power that will do him harm, being cautious all along not to be seen avoiding it. For this too is part of safety, to be circumspect in pursuing it, since evasive action amounts to condemnation."</b><br />
This advice is puzzling for at least two reasons. First, in many of his letters, Seneca holds the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates out as a "role model" (to use a modern phrase) for others to emulate. However, Socrates spent most of his life interrogating fellow Athenians, many of whom were powerful politicians who did not appreciate his relentless questions. Eventually, Socrates was put on trial -- and convicted and sentenced to death -- for repeatedly provoking the anger of those in power<i> </i>(although technically he was charged with corrupting the young and not believing in the gods of the city).<br />
Second, Seneca himself had a long and high-profile career in Roman public life, which was full of ups and downs. As old age approached, Seneca attempted to retire to his estates and focus on writing. But in one of the great ironies of classical western history, the Emperor Nero -- who Seneca was recalled from exile to tutor during the former's youth -- ended up sentencing his former teacher to death. Ultimately, Seneca was permitted to commit suicide and decided to take hemlock (the same poison that Socrates had consumed).<br />
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<b style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">References:</b><br />
<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Plato and Aristophanes, <i>Four Texts on Socrates</i>, Translated with Notes by Thomas G. West and Grace Starry West (Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1984), pages 16-24, discussing Plato's <i>Apology of Socrates</i>.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, </span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 14, 3-8, pages 56-57</span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><br />
<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></b>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-47956518035460263942018-05-21T05:46:00.001-05:002018-05-21T05:46:16.310-05:0013: Stoic Advice For The Anxious My career transition has been more anxiety-provoking than I had expected. Readers of this blog may recall that I took early retirement last year, after twenty-two years with the same organization (during which time I did have several different jobs, yet twenty-two years is a long time to spend with one employer, especially in the modern economy). As a contract attorney, I have already had three different jobs in only three months. I expect that I will become accustomed to this new reality sooner rather than later, but it has been a major change for a creature of habit such as myself.<br />
In his thirteenth letter to Lucilius, Seneca addresses his friend's struggle to achieve tranquility:<br />
<b>"'How am I to know,' you say, 'whether the causes of my anxiety are real or empty?' Here is your measuring stick. We are tormented either by things past, or by things to come, or both. Concerning things present it is easy to make a judgment: if your body is at liberty, and healthy, if you are not in pain from any injury, then we can wait and see what is to come; today is not an issue. 'Still, it is to come.' First, find out whether there is firm evidence that trouble is on the way. For all too often we worry about what we merely suspect. Rumor plays tricks on us ... . Yes, dear Lucilius, we are too quick to give way to opinion. We do not demand evidence of the things that frighten us, or check them out carefully; we quail, and take to our heels, like the army that breaks camp because of a dust cloud kicked up by a herd of cattle, or like people who are terrified by an anonymous item of gossip. In a way, empty causes produce even more trepidation. Real dangers have an inherent limit; anything that arises from uncertainty, though, is given over to conjecture and to unrestrained anxiety. Hence our most pernicious, our most uncontrollable fears are the crazy ones. Our other fears are unreasonable; these are unreasoning. So let us look carefully at the facts." </b><br />
In retrospect, my own fear of being permanently unemployed was unreasoning rather than evidence-based. It did take me six months to find a new job. However, I now realize that I could have cut my search time in half by starting with current technology -- Indeed.com ultimately worked for me -- instead of relying on traditional job hunting methods (such as "networking").<br />
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<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Seneca, </span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 13, 7-9, pages 53-54.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-43104571255601817282018-05-07T06:15:00.001-05:002018-05-07T06:15:12.384-05:0098: Fortune And Misfortune One of the concepts that comes up most frequently in Seneca's letters to his friend Lucilius is fortune. If one were to make a list of the letters in which the word "fortune" appears and a list of the letters in which it does not occur, I think the first list would be longer than the second. In Letter 98, for example, Seneca writes:<br />
<b>"All the things that fortune favors become fruitful and pleasant only if those who possess them are also in possession of themselves and not in the power of their property. It is a mistake, Lucilius, to judge fortune responsible for anything that is good or bad for us. Fortune merely gives us the material for good and bad things -- the preliminaries for what will either turn out to be good or bad within us. For the mind is more powerful than every act of fortune: by itself the mind guides its affairs one way or the other, and is the cause of a happy or unhappy life for itself. A bad mind turns everything into bad, even things that have arrived looking excellent. A mind that is upright and sound corrects fortune's wrongs, softens its hardness and roughness with the knowledge of how to endure, receives prosperity with gratitude and moderation, and shows firmness and fortitude in face of adversity. You could be sensible, do everything with good judgment and never exceed your strength, but you will not achieve the good that is sound and beyond threat unless you are secure in dealing with what is insecure."</b><br />
In my own case, I have had a brush with misfortune recently (thankfully not a very serious brush, but a brush nonetheless). Regular readers of this blog may recall that I took early retirement last year, and that it was several months before I found another job. Eventually, I accepted a position as a contract attorney on a project that was supposed to last six months. However, after three months, myself and the other 20 or so other lawyers on the project were told -- with less than one day's warning -- that the job was ending early (we were not told why). Following Seneca's advice, I attempted to focus my mind on finding another position, and -- fortunately -- found a new project within about a week. Although this job is expected to last around a month, I hope the episode has taught me the importance of not dwelling upon what many would characterize as "bad luck" (the modern term for misfortune) but rather to be comfortable with insecurity.<br />
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<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, </span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 98, 2-3, pages 386-387.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><br />
<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></b>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-5058695563320760052018-04-30T05:30:00.002-05:002018-04-30T05:30:54.039-05:0012: The Pleasures Of Old Age? According to Graver and Long, Seneca was in his 60's when he composed the <i>Letters on Ethics</i>; 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.<br />
Seneca wrote to Lucilius:<br />
<b>"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."</b><br />
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.<br />
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<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Seneca, </span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 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.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-14374632546777724842018-04-23T08:45:00.001-05:002018-04-23T08:45:33.386-05:0011: 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:<br />
<b>"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 <i>all</i> 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."</b><br />
Seneca also mentions several Roman politicians who struggled with blushing well after their youth was over.<br />
The Stoic emperor Marcus Aurelius lived in the century following Seneca's death. In his <i>Meditations</i>, 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: <b>"... don't treat anything as important except doing what your nature demands, and accepting what Nature sends you."</b> 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").<br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; font-size: 15.4px;"><b>References:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><b> </b>Marcus Aurelius, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Meditations: A New Translation, with an Introduction, </i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">by Gregory Hays</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">(The Modern Library, New York, 2003), Book 12, 32, page 169.</span> </span><br />
<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Seneca, </span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 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.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-56419392467230272252018-04-09T05:46:00.002-05:002018-04-10T19:18:13.898-05:0024: 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:<br />
<b>"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."</b><br />
William Irvine, in his <i>A Guide to the Good Life</i>, describes this psychological tool as "negative visualization." The concept is also discussed in a chapter on Seneca in Oliver Burkeman's <i>The Antidote</i>. 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. <br />
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<b>References:</b><br />
<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Oliver Burkeman, <i>The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking</i> (Faber and Faber, Inc., New York, 2012), Chapter 2, pages 23-50.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> William B. Irvine, <i>A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy</i> (Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, 2009), Chapter 4, pages 65-84.</span><br />
<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, </span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, 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.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-82902759268913723262018-03-26T06:48:00.000-05:002018-03-26T06:48:12.084-05:0010: What Should One Wish Or Pray For? The subjects of praying and wishing come up often in Seneca's letters to his friend Lucilius. For example, in the tenth letter, Seneca advises Lucilius that, if he is going to pray to the gods, he should ask them for excellence of mind and mental well being before asking for physical health. And in Letter 32, there is the following extraordinary passage:<br />
<b>"There were other things your parents wished for you to have; what I wish for you is to have contempt for all their bountiful wishes. In their prayers, many are robbed to make you rich: whatever they transfer to you, they must take from someone else. My wish is this: may you be your own master; may your mind, which is now driven this way and that by its concerns, come at last to a halt, sure and content in itself; may you come to understand those true goods that belong to you in the moment you understand them, and feel no need of additional years. In order to rise above necessities, to gain one's discharge, to be free, one must live a life that is already complete."</b><br />
The initial purpose of this blog was to explore the concept of moderation. So my readers will perhaps not find it surprising that I consider myself to be an agnostic, one who has not taken a final position on the issue of whether God exists or does not exist (arguably, both extreme positions). Seneca was most certainly not an agnostic, a topic I intend to explore in another post. And -- contrary to Seneca's advice -- when I have prayed, it has usually been for the physical health of those close to me: my wife, during her two battles with cancer; my mother, when her appendix burst and she had to have emergency surgery; and my aunt, during her two battles with cancer (the second of which has just started). I do not think that such prayers are inconsistent with moderation. But perhaps I am guilty of the charge often leveled against moderates -- that we like to have our cake and eat it, too.<br />
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<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, </span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 10, 4, page 45; see also Letter 32, 4-5, page 109.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><br />
<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></b>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-31716526994428696952018-03-18T12:26:00.000-05:002018-03-18T12:26:13.475-05:009: An Artist At Friend-Making In the ninth letter to his friend Lucilius, Seneca discusses one of the disputes between the Stoic school of philosophy (he considers himself to be a Stoic) and their rivals the Epicureans on the issue of whether or not the wise person is self-sufficient. Seneca writes:<br />
<b>"Our position [that of the Stoics] is different from theirs [the Epicureans] in that our wise person conquers all adversities, but still feels them; theirs does not even feel them. That the sage is self-sufficient is a point held in common between us; yet even though he is content with himself, he still wishes to have a friend, a neighbor, a companion. ... He is self-sufficient, not in that that he wants to be without a friend, but in that he is able to -- by which I mean that he bears the loss with equanimity. But in truth he will never be without a friend, for it rests with him how quickly he gets a replacement. Just as Phidias [a famous sculptor in ancient Athens], if he should lose one of his statues, would immediately make another, so this artist at friend-making will substitute another in place of the one who is lost."</b><br />
My late friend Brian Lingle was an artist at friend-making. Brian died suddenly around this time three years ago. At his funeral, our mutual friend John gave a moving (and humorous) eulogy, in which he remarked that many of Brian's friends considered him to be their best friend. In my own case, I went through a major depressive episode around the turn of the millennium, which included one week in the hospital and one month off from work. For a year after that -- and perhaps longer -- Brian would drive to my house every Saturday or Sunday morning (regardless of the Chicago weather) in his barely-functioning old car, so that we could go for a run together along the shores of Lake Michigan. His concern for me, which he showed in actions more than in words, was a major factor in my recovery.<br />
In my reading of Seneca, despite the passage of two thousand years between us, I find myself in agreement with much of what he had to say. But on at least one point I disagree with him: although I have other friends, and hope to make more, I will never find a substitute for Brian.<br />
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<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, </span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 9, 3-5, page 40.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><br />
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Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7562373428536934203.post-46326137059171887752018-03-11T18:21:00.001-05:002018-03-11T18:21:46.961-05:008: Discovering The Right Path Late In Life There are not often explicit transitions between Seneca's letters, but his eighth letter to Lucilius does have such a transition. In the seventh letter, Seneca advised his friend to avoid crowds with phrases like "Direct your goods inward" and "Retreat into yourself". At the beginning of Letter 8, Seneca reports Lucilius' reaction to Letter 7, asking if Seneca's approach is inconsistent with the Stoic teaching to live an active life. Seneca responds:<br />
<b>"Well, do you think this is inaction that I am urging upon you? Here is the reason that I have hidden myself away and closed the doors: to benefit the greater number. Not one of my days is spent in leisure, and I claim a part of the nights for study. I have no time for sleep, until it overcomes me; my eyes are exhausted and drooping with late hours, but I keep them to the task. I have withdrawn not only from society but from business, and especially from my own business. The work that I am doing is for posterity: it is they who can benefit from what I write. I am committing to the page some helpful admonitions, like recipes for useful salves. I have found these effective on my own sores, which, even if not completely healed, have ceased to spread. The right path, which I myself discovered late in life when weary from wandering, I now point out to others."</b><br />
I have no illusions about writing for posterity; however, on a personal level, I do believe that I have recently turned onto a better path. For much of my 29-year career, I seemed to alternate between "individual contributor" jobs and "manager" positions. The management jobs usually paid more, but I found them to be more stressful and less interesting. My current role as a contract attorney is in the individual contributor mode, and -- among other advantages -- I find that I have the mental energy to continue blogging (albeit mostly on the weekends).<br />
Speaking of blogging (and of discovering the right path) <a href="http://realdelia.com/" target="_blank">Real Delia</a> is about finding oneself in adulthood, and I highly recommend it. Full disclosure, Delia Lloyd is my cousin, but don't hold that against her!<br />
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<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Seneca, </span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Letters on Ethics to Lucilius</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 8, 1-3, pages 37-38; see also Letter 7, 8, page 36.</span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </b><br />
<b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></b>Dion Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15800679515855146822noreply@blogger.com2