In the twenty-second letter to Lucilius, Seneca continues the campaign to get his friend to retire from an "ambitious [political] career." Toward the end of the letter, Seneca talks about the importance of tranquility. In his separate dialogue On Tranquility Of Mind, 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:
"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."
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.
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Seneca, Letters on Ethics to Lucilius, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 22, 7, page 80.
Seneca, On Tranquility Of Mind, translated by Elaine Fantham, in Hardship & Happiness (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.
Showing posts with label Public Sector. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Public Sector. Show all posts
Thursday, September 27, 2018
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
20: 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: "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." 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.
Seneca's separate treatise, On The Shortness Of Life, 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 "useless literary questions" (Seneca's example is inquiring into how many rowers Ulysses had aboard his ship in the Odyssey). 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.
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 -- "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." 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.
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Seneca, Letters on Ethics to Lucilius, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 20, 1, pages 72-73.
Seneca, On The Shortness Of Life, translated by Gareth D. Williams, in Hardship & Happiness (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, page 130.
Seneca's separate treatise, On The Shortness Of Life, 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 "useless literary questions" (Seneca's example is inquiring into how many rowers Ulysses had aboard his ship in the Odyssey). 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.
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 -- "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." 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.
_______________
Seneca, Letters on Ethics to Lucilius, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 20, 1, pages 72-73.
Seneca, On The Shortness Of Life, translated by Gareth D. Williams, in Hardship & Happiness (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, page 130.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Philosophers And Bathroom Attendants
Just letting my regular readers know that, in the near future, I hope to start what is intended to be a series of blog posts on Seneca's Letters. But this post -- which also discusses a passage from an ancient thinker -- will be more personal than my usual offerings.
As noted in my 11/26/17 post, Epictetus spent the first part of his life as a Roman slave, but ultimately founded a prominent school of Stoic philosophy in Greece. Epictetus' Discourses, which were transcribed by his student Arrian, include the following passage in Book I, which is relevant to my current job search:
"For one person it is reasonable to be a bathroom attendant, because he only thinks about what punishment and privation lie in wait for him otherwise, and knows that if he accepts the assignment he will be spared that pain and hardship. Someone else not only finds such a job intolerable for him personally, but finds it intolerable that anyone should have to perform it. But ask me, 'Shall I be a bathroom attendant or not?' and I will tell you that earning a living is better than starving to death; so that if you measure your interests by these criteria, go ahead and do it. 'But it would be beneath my dignity.' Well, that is an additional factor that you bring to the question, not me. You are the one who knows yourself -- which is to say, you know how much you are worth in your own estimation, and therefore at what price you will sell yourself; because people sell themselves at different rates."
This passage is meaningful to me because I took early retirement about 5 months ago, after almost 29 years in state and local -- mostly local -- government. I am fortunate enough to be receiving a monthly pension, so my family is certainly not in any danger of starving. However, like many Americans, I do need to continue working for the next several years to help cover health insurance for my wife and me as well as university costs for our children. I graduated from law school just before starting my public sector career and have kept a law license current all these years. But I spent most of that career in management and public policy positions, so it has been years since I actively practiced. Thus, most private sector employers have little interest in hiring someone like me: a lawyer "of a certain age" with no clients. By the way, age may likewise be a factor in the length of time it is taking me to find a job, because I have friends and neighbors who are also in their 50's and who are also having trouble finding professional positions.
To be clear, I am not complaining, which is one of Epictetus' cardinal sins. I am in this situation because of my career decisions, not all of which (in retrospect) may have been prudent. However, the quandary I face is, will I have to end up taking what some people might consider to be a job "beneath my dignity" -- although I do not consider any job that is not illegal beneath my dignity -- or continue to hold out for a professional opportunity that may never materialize?
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References:
Epictetus, Discourses and Selected Writings, translated and edited by Robert Dobbin (Penguin Classics, London, 2008), Discourses, Book I, 2, 8-11, pages 8-9.
As noted in my 11/26/17 post, Epictetus spent the first part of his life as a Roman slave, but ultimately founded a prominent school of Stoic philosophy in Greece. Epictetus' Discourses, which were transcribed by his student Arrian, include the following passage in Book I, which is relevant to my current job search:
"For one person it is reasonable to be a bathroom attendant, because he only thinks about what punishment and privation lie in wait for him otherwise, and knows that if he accepts the assignment he will be spared that pain and hardship. Someone else not only finds such a job intolerable for him personally, but finds it intolerable that anyone should have to perform it. But ask me, 'Shall I be a bathroom attendant or not?' and I will tell you that earning a living is better than starving to death; so that if you measure your interests by these criteria, go ahead and do it. 'But it would be beneath my dignity.' Well, that is an additional factor that you bring to the question, not me. You are the one who knows yourself -- which is to say, you know how much you are worth in your own estimation, and therefore at what price you will sell yourself; because people sell themselves at different rates."
This passage is meaningful to me because I took early retirement about 5 months ago, after almost 29 years in state and local -- mostly local -- government. I am fortunate enough to be receiving a monthly pension, so my family is certainly not in any danger of starving. However, like many Americans, I do need to continue working for the next several years to help cover health insurance for my wife and me as well as university costs for our children. I graduated from law school just before starting my public sector career and have kept a law license current all these years. But I spent most of that career in management and public policy positions, so it has been years since I actively practiced. Thus, most private sector employers have little interest in hiring someone like me: a lawyer "of a certain age" with no clients. By the way, age may likewise be a factor in the length of time it is taking me to find a job, because I have friends and neighbors who are also in their 50's and who are also having trouble finding professional positions.
To be clear, I am not complaining, which is one of Epictetus' cardinal sins. I am in this situation because of my career decisions, not all of which (in retrospect) may have been prudent. However, the quandary I face is, will I have to end up taking what some people might consider to be a job "beneath my dignity" -- although I do not consider any job that is not illegal beneath my dignity -- or continue to hold out for a professional opportunity that may never materialize?
_______________
References:
Epictetus, Discourses and Selected Writings, translated and edited by Robert Dobbin (Penguin Classics, London, 2008), Discourses, Book I, 2, 8-11, pages 8-9.
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