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 Retirement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Retirement. 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.
Thursday, August 9, 2018
19: 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:
"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."
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 On Leisure, 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 "... what virtue is, whether it is one or many, and whether a person is made good by nature or by training ... ."
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"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."
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 On Leisure, 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 "... what virtue is, whether it is one or many, and whether a person is made good by nature or by training ... ."
______________
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 19, 1-2, 8, pages 70-71.
Seneca, On Leisure, translated by Gareth D. Williams in Hardship & Happiness (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2014) Book 1, 4; Book 2, 1-2; Book 4, 1-2; pages 222-224.
Seneca, On Leisure, translated by Gareth D. Williams in Hardship & Happiness (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2014) Book 1, 4; Book 2, 1-2; Book 4, 1-2; pages 222-224.
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