Our experts can deliver a "On the Tranquility of Mind": Seneca on Possessions essay. You will get an email reminder before your . Thus, just as though you were making a perilous voyage, you may from time to time put into harbour, and set yourself free from public business without waiting for it to do so. It is believed that Solon and Arcesilaus used to drink deep. Yet whenever he is ordered to return them, he will not complain to fortune, but will say: I thank you for this which I have had in my possession. "[5] It had nothing to do with taste or care, but was a piece of learned luxury, nay, not even learned, since they amassed it, not for the sake of learning, but to make a show, like many men who know less about letters than a slave is expected to know, and who uses his books not to help him in his studies but to ornament his dining-room. We should choose for our friends men who are, as far as possible, free from strong desires: for vices are contagious, and pass from a man to his neighbour, and injure those who touch them. All these symptoms become aggravated when their dislike of a laborious misery has driven them to idleness and to secret studies, which are unendurable to a mind eager to take part in public affairs, desirous of action and naturally restless, because, of course, it finds too few resources within itself: when therefore it loses the amusement which business itself affords to busy men, it cannot endure home, loneliness, or the walls of a room, and regards itself with dislike when left to itself. Neither should you engage in anything from which you are not free to retreat: apply yourself to something which you can finish, or at any rate can hope to finish: you had better not meddle with those operations which grow in importance, while they are being transacted, and which will not stop where you intended them to stop. Consolation to Helvia, and On Tranquility of Mind. text on each page is almost the same, this saves time by allowing for minor adjustments on each page, rather than re-creating the [18] The work opens with Serenus asking Seneca for counsel, and this request for help takes the form of a medical consultation. The mind cannot use lofty language, above that of the common herd, unless it be excited. TLDR. Here is Seneca's Of Peace of Mind in a few different formats. To me, my dearest Serenus, Athenodorus seems to have yielded too completely to the times, to have fled too soon: I will not deny that sometimes one must retire, but one ought to retire slowly, at a foot's pace, without losing one's ensigns or one's honour as a soldier: those who make terms with arms in their hands are more respected by their enemies and more safe in their hands. Next we must form an estimate of the matter which we mean to deal with, and compare our strength with the deed we are about to attempt: for the bearer ought always to be more powerful than his load: indeed, loads which are too heavy for their bearer must of necessity crush him: some affairs also are not so important in themselves as they are prolific and lead to much more business, which employments, as they involve us in new and various forms of work, ought to be refused. Aurelius was an emperor, Seneca was an advisor to Nero and a poet, and Epictetus was the founder of a successful Hellenistic school. The proofreading went pretty quickly and painlessly. Let a man, however, withdraw himself only in such a fashion that wherever he spends his leisure his wish may still be to benefit individual men and mankind alike, both with his intellect, his voice, and his advice. . The position in which I find myself more especially (for why should I not tell you the truth as I would to a physician), is that of neither being thoroughly set free from the vices which I fear and hate, nor yet quite in bondage to them: my state of mind, though not the worst possible, is a particularly discontented and sulky one: I am neither ill nor well. The archive.org website has a collection of scanned, copyright-free books (with raw OCR text for each page), including . no comments yet. The chief magistrate of the Carthaginians. But what difference does it make? Let us now consider in a general way how it may be attained: then you may apply as much as you choose of the universal remedy to your own case. I treasure your kindness and appreciate your The most we can do, he argues, is accept every card life deals us, be it winning or losing, as temporarily borrowed from the deck to which it must ultimately return. You are wealthy: are you wealthier than Pompeius? He who fears death will never act as becomes a living man: but he who knows that this fate was laid upon him as soon as he was conceived will live according to it, and by this strength of mind will gain this further advantage, that nothing can befall him unexpectedly: for by looking forward to everything which can happen as though it would happen to him, he takes the sting out of all evils, which can make no difference to those who expect it and are prepared to meet it: evil only comes hard upon those who have lived without giving it a thought and whose attention has been exclusively directed to happiness. This is called the 'merged' view. You have filled public offices: were they either as important, as unlooked for, or as all-embracing as those of Sejanus? According to Seneca - how does one achieve "tranquility of mind."? Video script of 'The Art of Tranquility (Seneca's Wisdom)'. That is enough. For this reason, sometimes slight mishaps have turned into remedies, and more serious disorders have been healed by slighter ones. "Why do you want to construct a fabric that will endure for ages? 100% Upvoted. How to maintain a tranquil mind amongst social upheaval and turmoil, addressed to Serenus. (It should be noted that this review refers to the 2005 Penguin Great Ideas edition of ON THE SHORTNESS OF LIFE, translated by C. D. N. Costa, which includes the three essays, "On the Shortness of Life," "Consolation to Helvia," and "On Tranquility of Mind.") G. Merritt Thus in the houses of the laziest of men you will see the works of all the orators and historians stacked upon bookshelves reaching right up to the ceiling. This dislike of other men's progress and despair of one's own produces a mind angered against fortune, addicted to complaining of the age in which it lives to retiring into corners and brooding over its misery, until it becomes sick and weary of itself: for the human mind is naturally nimble and apt at movement: it delights in every opportunity of excitement and forgetfulness of itself, and the worse a man's disposition the more he delights in this, because he likes to wear himself out with busy action, just as some sores long for the hands that injure them and delight in being touched, and the foul itch enjoys anything that scratches it. L. ANNAEI SENECAE AD SERENVM DE TRANQUILLITATE ANIMI I. Knowing to what sorrows we were born, there is nothing for which Nature more deserves our thanks than for having invented habit as an alleviation of misfortune, which soon accustoms us to the severest evils. What this state of weakness really is, when the mind halts between two opinions without any strong inclination towards either good or evil, I shall be better able to show you piecemeal than all at once. "Silence is a lesson learned through life's many sufferings."-. We must humour our minds and grant them rest from time to time, which acts upon them like food, and restores their strength. September 19, 2021. (TLDR: You're safe there are no nefarious "third parties" lurking on my watch or shedding crumbs of the "cookies" the rest of the internet uses. When it has spurned aside the commonplace environments of custom, and rises sublime, instinct with sacred fire, then alone can it chant a song too grand for mortal lips: as long as it continues to dwell within itself it cannot rise to any pitch of splendour: it must break away from the beaten track, and lash itself to frenzy, till it gnaws the curb and rushes away bearing up its rider to heights whither it would fear to climb when alone. From: L. Annaeus Seneca, Minor Dialogs Together with the Dialog "On Clemency"; Translated by Aubrey Stewart, pp. I have long been silently asking myself, my friend Serenus, to what I should liken such a condition of mind, and I find that nothing more closely resembles it than the conduct of those who, after having recovered from a long and serious illness, occasionally experience slight touches and twinges, and, although they have passed through the final stages of the disease, yet have suspicions that it has not left them, and though in perfect health yet hold out their pulse to be felt by the physician, and whenever they feel warm suspect that the fever is returning. The inner curve is the one to take, not only in running races and in the contests of the circus, but also in the race of life; even literary pursuits, the most becoming thing for a gentleman to spend money upon, are only justifiable as long as they are kept within bounds. But I fear that custom, which confirms most things, implants this vice more and more deeply in me. [16][17], Compared with the other two works, the intention of De Tranquillitate Animi is more therapeutic. If you ask one of them as he comes out of his own door, "Whither are you going?" I will not hastily leave the subject of a great man, and one who deserves to be spoken of with respect: I will hand thee down to all posterity, thou most noble heart, chief among the many victims of Gaius. Which does the most good, he who decides between foreigners and citizens (as praetor peregrinus), or, as praetor urbanus, pronounces sentence to the suitors in his court at his assistant's dictation, or he who shows them what is meant by justice, filial feeling, endurance, courage, contempt of death and knowledge of the gods, and how much a man is helped by a good conscience? That is completely true even nowadays. SERENUS: When I made examination of myself, it became evident, Seneca, that some of my vices are uncovered and displayed so openly that I can put my hand upon them, some are more hidden and lurk in a corner, some are not always present but recur at intervals; and I should say that the last are by far the most troublesome, being like roving enemies that spring . Untamed ambition, Seneca admonishes, stands in the way of meeting life on its own terms with calm consent acceptance that is the supreme prerequisite for tranquility of mind. December, 2012 Seneca's, On Tranquility of Mind is a dialogue written to Annaeus Serenus. Both of these qualities, both that of altering nothing, and that of being dissatisfied with everything, are enemies to repose. There is a menu command to identify a set of grids as the default for new pages. The program does the bulk of the work of output preparation, but additional hand-editing is required afterwards. So deeply has this evil of being guided by the opinion of others taken root in us, that even grief, the simplest of all emotions, begins to be counterfeited. you will be pierced and hacked with all the more wounds because you know not how to offer your throat to the knife: whereas you, who receive the stroke without drawing away your neck or putting up your hands to stop it, shall both live longer and die more quickly." How far happier is he who is indebted to no man for anything except for what he can deprive himself of with the greatest ease! Ready and determined, I follow the advice of Zeno, Cleanthes, and Chrysippus, all of whom bid one take part in public affairs, though none of them ever did so himself: and then, as soon as something disturbs my mind, which is not used to receiving shocks, as soon as something occurs which is either disgraceful, such as often occurs in all men's lives, or which does not proceed quite easily, or when subjects of very little importance require me to devote a great deal of time to them, I go back to my life of leisure, and, just as even tired cattle go faster when they are going home, I wish to retire and pass my life within the walls of my house. Spain, at about the same time as Christ.1 His father, Marcus Annaeus Seneca, was an imperial procurator2 who became an authority on rhetoric, the art of public speaking and debate.3 He was the father not only of our Seneca, who speaks of his old-fashioned strictness,4 but also of Novatus, later known as Gallio, the governor of Achaea who declined to exercise jurisdiction The next point to these will be to take care that we do not labour for what is vain, or labour in vain: that is to say, neither to desire what we are not able to obtain, nor yet, having obtained our desire too late, and after much toil to discover the folly of our wishes: in other words, that our labour may not be without result, and that the result may not be unworthy of our labour: for as a rule sadness arises from one of these two things, either from want of success or from being ashamed of having succeeded. A soldier is not merely one who stands in the ranks and defends the right or the left wing of the army, but he also who guards the gatesa service which, though less dangerous, is no sinecurewho keeps watch, and takes charge of the arsenal: though all these are bloodless duties, yet they count as military service. few (http://gutenberg.org), and while they have Since we, however, have not such strength of mind as this, we ought at any rate to diminish the extent of our property, in order to be less exposed to the assaults of fortune: those men whose bodies can be within the shelter of their armour, are more fitted for war than those whose huge size everywhere extends beyond it, and exposes them to wounds: the best amount of property to have is that which is enough to keep us from poverty, and which yet is not far removed from it. You must decide whether your disposition is better suited for vigorous action or for tranquil speculation and contemplation, and you must adopt whichever the bent of your genius inclines you for. Life will follow the path it began to take, and will neither reverse nor check its course. It is of no use for you to tell me that all virtues are weakly at the outset, and that they acquire strength and solidity by time, for I am well aware that even those which do but help our outward show, such as grandeur, a reputation for eloquence, and everything that appeals to others, gain power by time. Questions are welcome. The editable text is shown in blue, to make it easier to distinguish from the text in the image. LibriVox recording of Of Peace of Mind, by Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Kanus had no fear of this: the good faith with which Gaius carried out such orders as these was well known. But whenever my spirit is roused by reading some brave words, or some noble example spurs me into action, I want to rush into the law courts, to place my voice at one man's disposal, my services at another's, and to try to help him even though I may not succeed, or to quell the pride of some lawyer who is puffed up by ill-deserved success: but I think, by Hercules, that in philosophical speculation it is better to view things as they are, and to speak of them on their own account, and as for words, to trust to things for them, and to let one's speech, simply follow whither they lead. Take from me, then, this evil, whatever it may be, and help one who is in distress within sight of land. Hence comes melancholy and drooping of spirit, and a thousand waverings of the unsteadfast mind, which is held in suspense by unfulfilled hopes, and saddened by disappointed ones: hence comes the state of mind of those who loathe their idleness, complain that they have nothing to do, and view the progress of others with the bitterest jealousy: for an unhappy sloth favours the growth of envy, and men who cannot succeed themselves wish everyone else to be ruined. But," continues he, "because innocence is hardly safe among such furious ambitions and so many men who turn one aside from the right path, and it is always sure to meet with more hindrance than help, we ought to withdraw ourselves from the forum and from public life, and a great mind even in a private station can find room wherein to expand freely. Responsibility: Seneca ; translated by C.D.N. Let all your work, therefore, have some purpose, and keep some object in view: these restless people are not made restless by labour, but are driven out of their minds by mistaken ideas: for even they do not put themselves in motion without any hope: they are excited by the outward appearance of something, and their crazy mind cannot see its futility. Menu commands (not shown) output the formatted text of the entire book as plain text or as html. Neither ought we always to keep the mind strained to the same pitch, but it ought sometimes to be relaxed by amusement. That is what the great first-century Roman philosopher Seneca examines in a dialogue titled On the Tranquility of Mind, included in the indispensable 1968 volume Stoic Philosophy of Seneca: Essays and Letters (public library). This book is an anthology of Seneca's personal letters, mostly to his friends asking advice on specific circumstances. This is not code that I would write in a Long acquaintance with both good and bad people leads one to esteem them all alike. Whether she moves at her ease and enjoys her just rights, or can only appear abroad on sufferance and is forced to shorten sail to the tempest, whether it be unemployed, silent, and pent up in a narrow lodging, or openly displayed, in whatever guise she may appear, she always does good. Confinement in dens restrains the springs of lions and wild creatures, but this does not apply to human beings, who often effect the most important works in retirement. We ought, however, first to examine our own selves, next the business which we propose to transact, next those for whose sake or in whose company we transact it. Claim yours: Also: Because The Marginalian is well into its second decade and because I write primarily about ideas of timeless nourishment, each Wednesday I dive into the archive and resurface from among the thousands of essays one worth resavoring. Yet I do not advise you to follow after or draw to yourself no one except a wise man: for where will you find him whom for so many centuries we have sought in vain? Do you think that this man who has stripped himself of all fortuitous accessories is a pauper, or one like to the immortal gods? If this labor has made your own life more livable in the past year (or the past decade), please consider aiding its sustenance with a one-time or loyal donation. Yet he does not hold himself cheap, because he knows that he is not his own, but performs all his duties as carefully and prudently as a pious and scrupulous man would take care of property left in his charge as trustee. These remarks of mine apply only to imperfect, commonplace, and unsound natures, not to the wise man, who needs not to walk with timid and cautious gait: for he has such confidence in himself that he does not hesitate to go directly in the teeth of Fortune, and never will give way to her. Will you believe that he passed the ten intervening days before his execution without the slightest despondency? So, what Seneca has in mind is a state of mental tranquility that goes together with confidence and serenity. Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger usually known as Seneca, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. A philosophicall treatise concerning the quietnes of the mind. In this context, to Of Tranquility of Mind will be added engagements with On Leisure, a lesser-read text, and its seeming contradiction to what is recommended by Seneca in On the Brevity of Life . Shall I weep for Hercules because he was burned alive, or for Regulus because he was pierced by so many nails, or for Cato because he tore open his wounds a second time? 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