It is easy to keep a clear mind during a sunny day, when all elements are in our favour: good health, a regular income, old friends that appreciate us, and a loving family around us. It is a different story to keep our wits when things fall apart and keep getting worse.
Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) devised the perfect recipe for staying calm and focused in times of trouble. I am convinced that his recipe works because, in history, many people had practised it successfully. I regard this aspect of Seneca’s philosophy as one of the most valuable.
For Seneca, the purpose of philosophy is the acquisition and practice of virtue. What did he mean exactly? In the 34th Letter to Lucilius, he defined a virtuous person as “someone who will refuse to commit evil acts under any circumstances.”
Moral clarity depends on virtue, not on the memorisation of sayings from philosophers. A conscientious student can learn a large number of texts by heart, but his rote learning will not do him any good in a crisis.
Seneca knew that adversity will make a person’s true moral stature visible, for better or for worse. It brings forth the best in virtuous people, and the worst in evil ones.
Seneca: which lifestyle enables mental clarity?
When we are under pressure, we must make quick decisions relying on our beliefs. Seneca was referring to our deep-rooted views of what’s good and what’s evil, of the need to respect other people’s rights, and our levels of self-confidence, self-reliance, and self-development.
If our beliefs are consistent and virtuous, we will make the right decisions automatically, just as Seneca had predicted. On the contrary, if our beliefs are inconsistent or unethical, we will panic in times of adversity and commit one error after another.
How do we keep a clear mind in a crisis? Seneca argues that we must take action before the risks materialize. Virtuous must be acquired early in life and practised assiduously, so that they become automatic.
A crisis doesn’t change individuals fundamentally, explained Seneca. It just prompts them to display their ethical values and practical skills as they are, without delays or embellishments.
Seneca and the habit of frugality
The 87th and 94th Letters to Lucilius enumerate some of the vices and virtues that can save or break a person during a crisis. Seneca condemns sternly the habit of making excessive expenditures or going into debt beyond what we are able to repay.
Seneca considers it harmful to embrace a lifestyle that leads us to borrow sizeable amounts of money just to stay afloat. His praise goes for Cato (234-149 BC) and his frugality, recalling Cato’s habit to travel on horse, instead of a carriage, and carry his own possessions on two bags with him on the horse.
I must, however, clarify that Seneca was not encouraging us to refrain from making necessary expenditures. His concept of frugality is different from blind penny-pinching.
The fact that Cato had adopted a fairly modest lifestyle did not prevent him from speaking in favour of a new sewerage in Rome. When he was elected censor in 184 BC, he carried out the project with great determination despite the high cost.
Seneca regards mental clarity as a consequence of ethically correct behaviour, not as a cause in itself. In order to preserve our mental sharpness in a crisis, we should keep practising the Stoic virtues day after day, in particular prudence, risk aversion and simplicity.
When it comes to keeping a clear mind, skills can prove of great help, explains Seneca in the 88th Letter to Lucilius. He praises individuals who are proficient in cooking, navigation, or grammar because those skills can help them earn a living and remain self-reliant, come what may.
When confronted with severe setbacks, a clear mind plays a crucial role in taking quick, effective actions. In the 91st Letter to Lucilius, Seneca describes in detail the consequences of the fire at Lyon, and how it put thousands of people to the test. Are we ready to survive and thrive in the face of large problems?
Seneca’s insights and Mark Twain
I recommend reading the biography of Mark Twain (1835-1910) to anyone who wants to see a practical implementation of Seneca’s prescriptions for mental clarity. Twain developed a personal philosophy close to Stoicism and conducted his life in a manner that Seneca would have praised.
In his twenties and thirties, Twain did all kinds of jobs (pilot of ships on the Mississippi, journalist) without a clear idea how to progress. He acquired the Stoic virtue of self-reliance, which became the backbone of his behaviour for the rest of his life.
Twain achieved a breakthrough in his early thirties: one of his short stories was reprinted by newspapers nationwide. His name (actually his pen name, since his real name was Samuel Clemens) became known to thousands of Americans.
Seneca would have admired Twain’s cool-headed focus on his work, which enabled him to produce one successful book after another during the ensuing two decades.
Unfortunately, Twain had failed to acquire the Stoic virtue of prudence to the same extent as the virtue of self-reliance. He did well as a writer and public speaker, but then wasted all his earnings in disastrous investments.
When he was in his fifties, Twain lost millions of dollars (I am counting the dollars in today’s terms) on mining ventures, the manufacturing of typesetting machines, and publishing. He moved to Europe, which was considerably cheaper at that time, with the goal of reducing his expenditures, but his debts were far too large.
Seneca would have admired Twain’s equanimity in the face of severe trouble. In addition to his debts, he was confronted with the death of his beloved wife. Nonetheless, he kept going ahead one step at a time, working hard and eventually paying off his creditors.
Most people would have collapsed under the huge pressures endured by Twain. His good habits enabled him to maintain his mental clarity and make the right decisions when things were falling apart. Seneca himself would not have done it better. Let us remember the lesson and put it into practice each day.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all sorts of situations, I recommend my book “Against all odds: How to achieve great victories in desperate times.”
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