When analysing the insights of great philosophers, I love to look at their biographies and see the practical implications. Do their biographies reflect the benefits of their insights? Did their choices prove particularly perceptive and clever?
Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) passed the biography test with flight colours. His choices mirrored his philosophy and all his friends admired his inspiring, reflective personality.
I view as a minor issue that some of Seneca’s actions do not match his philosophical ideals. The contradictions occurred at an early stage in his career as a philosopher; eventually, Seneca came to his senses and amended his errors.
Seneca was born into a wealthy, prominent family in one of the largest provinces of the Roman Empire: Hispania. At that point, the governance of Rome was evolving from a republic into an empire, but Hispania was far away from the central seat of power.
Not only was Seneca born into wealth, but also into culture. His father was highly educated and deployed his best efforts to develop Seneca’s skills. Early in life, Seneca was sent to Rome to take lessons from rhetoricians, philosophers and lawyers.
Indeed, Seneca enjoyed an excellent education and lived an easy life in his youth, but one should not conclude that those factors predestined him for greatness. I contest the assumption that Seneca would become great just because he had been dealt all the cards.
Seneca: Coping with severe illness early in life
For what concerns his privileged education, Seneca was far from unique. In the early Roman Empire, there were several hundred wealthy, influential families that could afford the best education for their children.
Hispania was an important province, but the Roman Empire was immense. Senators and procurators governed provinces in today’s Greece, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, France, Romania and the Mediterranean islands. My list of territories is not exhaustive. I just want to convey that wealthy Roman families numbered at least a few hundred.
Despite his family’s vast resources, Seneca was confronted with major problems in his late teens. He contracted a severe respiratory illness that almost killed him. He struggled for years to keep a normal lifestyle, but fell behind his peers in terms of physical fitness and stamina.
Seneca would later look back at those years, and feel lucky that he had survived at all. Based on Seneca’s own writings, Historians have speculated about his medical condition. Was it tuberculosis, asthma, or some type of severe allergy?
Despite the lethargy and despondency caused by his illness, Seneca did one extremely positive thing: He devoted his down time to studying, devouring book after book.
By “books,” I mean paper rolls, not bound books as we have in our century. The ancient Roman authors wrote on paper rolls that correspond each to approximately twenty pages of printout and had them copied by a calligrapher or amanuensis.
Seneca’s remarkable choice despite severe illness
Seneca made a remarkable choice, considering that he could have died any moment. How many severely ill people do you know that devote their meagre energies to self-development? I do not know any myself and I doubt that they are many.
In his 28th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca reflected about his own choice. At the time of his illness, he was not yet a fully-fledged Stoic philosopher, but had already reached the conclusion that a man’s primary value is his self-made soul.
Even in adverse circumstances, Seneca found the right path. Instead of falling prey to despondency and immobility, he used his energies productively.
In doing so, Seneca was putting a major Stoic principle into practice: Make the best of each day, even if you cannot identify the winning path right away.
In his late twenties, Seneca regained his health and resumed a normal life. He started writing, taking part in literary circles, making speeches and occasionally defending legal cases. Little by little, he earned the reputation of being a thoughtful, highly cultivated individual.
Seneca facing another devastating blow
Seneca became a Roman senator shortly after his thirty-fifth birthday. This means that he was representing his family in the Roman senate, which primarily consisted of large landowners.
Life seemed to smile to Seneca in his mid-thirties. His lung condition was a memory of the past, and his personal qualities had earned him loyal friends in Rome.
Unfortunately, the political situation in Rome had evolved into absolutism, where all power was held by the Emperor. The Roman Senate had become a consultative body. The republican check-and-balances had practically disappeared.
Shortly after turning forty-five, Seneca suffered one of the most severe reversals of his life. Claudius (10-54 AD), the man who occupied the imperial throne, issued an edict declaring Seneca guilty of adultery with Julia Livilla, a noblewoman, and exiled him to Corsica, an island on the Mediterranean Sea.
When Seneca learned the details, he was devastated. He had no possibility to contest the accusation, no right to a judicial review of the charges; the Emperor held the supreme authority, and his edict was immediately executable.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all sorts of situations, I recommend my book “Asymmetry: The shortcut to success when success seems impossible.”
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