Patience and endurance have become the archetypal virtues of those who claim to be enlightened. When the situation gets from bad to worse, they are the first to recommend resignation, acceptance and passivity.
Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) is to blame for originating the passive mentality that will accept anything, even the most outrageous abuses. That’s the mentality of inner serenity amidst turbulence and decay.
Even in the face of severe setbacks, Seneca’s followers will look away while repeating to themselves beautiful mantras. All their energies will be focused inwards, rendering them indifferent to misery and pain. That’s the doctrine that Seneca was preaching.
In his dialogue “On the Shortness of Life,” Seneca advises us to concentrate on what’s important, so that we can draw the most happiness from life. He argues that “the human lifespan is long enough if we do not waste it on secondary matters.”
I have translated Seneca’s Latin text by “secondary matters” instead of “short-term pleasures” or “fleeting interests” because I find “secondary matters” closer to Seneca’s original intent.
Seneca was recommending us to stop chasing shiny objects, so that we can concentrate our energies and resources on major achievements. I endorse this insight, but how does it correlate with Seneca’s exhortation to be patient in the face of adversity?
The contradiction is obvious, and I can only wonder why it has been ignored in commentaries about Seneca’s philosophy. I really fail to understand how Stoic thinkers can simultaneously favour activity and passivity, initiative and resignation, clarity and blindness.
Seneca’s concept of patience compared to Aristotle’s
In order to make sense of Seneca’s ideas about patience, we need the “Nicomachean Ethics” and “Eudemian Ethics” written by Aristotle (384-322 BC).
Aristotle had not defined patience as a virtue, since he could not conceive of ethical commandments unrelated to happiness. Seneca never explained why patience is supposed to contribute to human happiness. He only argued that patient people tend to be less unhappy.
For Aristotle, happiness is equivalent to thriving, prosperity, success, health and love. He refers to tangible elements of joy, a state of mind that goes far beyond acceptance or resignation.
Nonetheless, Aristotle was not naive about the difficulties of attaining happiness. He knew that adversity and setbacks occur from time to time, and that no human is exempt from them.
For those occasions, Aristotle recommended resolve, focus, determination and creativity. He viewed obstacles as temporary and manageable, as part of the price we pay for happiness.
Aristotelian philosophy favours persistence over patience. It abhors passivity and defeatism, and preaches alertness. Even in the presence of unassailable obstacles, Aristotelian minds will keep looking for ways to circumvent the problem.
Their progress might be temporarily delayed, but their focus will only grow sharper. Their steps might come to a halt for a while, but only until they replenish their energies.
Aristotelians don’t use the word “patience.” Instead, they’ll speak about “perseverance” in the face of disruption, delays or annoyance. If we want to make sense of Seneca’s insight about patience, we should give it an Aristotelian interpretation.
Seneca’s key example of patience: Themistocles
I find support for my Aristotelian interpretation in Seneca’s 9th Letter to Lucilius, where patience is presented as a waiting time for a better future, not as acceptance and resignation.
In this 9th Letter, Seneca recommends delaying gratification when it serves a higher purpose. I regard it of little relevance whether Seneca meant a philosophical or a tangible purpose. I just want to underline that he employed the word “delay,” not suppress or renounce.
Philosophical coherence is attained if we interpret Seneca’s patience as “waiting time.” If we do so, Seneca’s advice draws closer to the Aristotelian conception of happiness and becomes actionable.
We can achieve an even tighter philosophical consistency if we align Seneca’s concept of patience with his concept of time, especially when it comes to using downtime wisely.
In his dialogue “On the Shortness of Life,” Seneca defends the thesis that the human lifespan is long enough for achieving its principal purposes.
Seneca’s insight does not mean that achievements are linear. Sometimes, there are periods of slow progress, periods that we should devote to learning and self-development. I view this as the most logical interpretation of Seneca’s call for patience.
In his dialogues and Letters to Lucilius, Seneca mentions a few times Themistocles (524-459 BC) as a model of virtue. Let us see how Themistocles’ life exemplifies Seneca’s concept of patience.
Seneca: a practical lesson from Themistocles’ life
After devoting a decade to his political career, Themistocles had become one of the most influential persons in Athens. His popularity was however far from universal. In order to keep his public position, he had to avoid taking unpopular decisions.
Themistocles was in his late thirties when he learned from a reliable source that the Persians were planning to attack Greece and turn it into a province of the Persian empire.
He took the threat seriously, even if it was not immediate. It would take a long time for the Persians to gather a large army, train it properly, and build hundreds of ships to attack Greece.
Themistocles thought extensively about how to counter the threat of a Persian invasion. At first sight, it seemed impossible for the Athenian city-estate to repel a large-scale invasion.
The Athenian population amounted to 300.000, from which only one-fifth were male citizens able to fight in a war. The rest consisted of women, children, elderly persons, etc.
If the Persians attacked with a vast army, this means that the Athenians would be outnumbered, possibly two to one, three to one, or worse, estimated Themistocles.
Even if other Greek cities sent soldiers to support Athens, it would take them days to arrive, and by then, the Persians may have already emerged victorious.
Themistocles devoted large efforts to studying the issue and assessing the alternatives. He talked to military experts about what could be done, and patiently reviewed their proposals.
As a result, Themistocles arrived at the conclusion that the only workable way to defend Athens was to sink all the Persian ships before their troops could disembark. This means that the Athenians would have to build at least two hundred war ships, and recruit and train the crews.
Knowing the correct answer is one thing, but gathering the support of thousands of people is something else. Themistocles did not relent in his efforts. Over and over, he explained the threat, presented his plan, and argued with critics.
Even after Themistocles had secured the budget, he still had to build the two hundred war ships, recruit the crews and train them. The enterprise was enormously complex.
Themistocles’ opponents criticized the project harshly. They didn’t believe that Persia represented a threat, and regarded the construction of two hundred war ships as a waste of money.
Despite the constant criticism, Themistocles kept going. He patiently procured all the materials, had the two hundred ships constructed, and their crews trained.
Themistocles’ persistence eventually saved the day. In 480 BC, the Persians launched a massive naval invasion, but it was all to no avail.
Although vastly outnumbered, the two hundred Greek ships proved sufficient to repel the attack and sink a large part of the enemy fleet. Themistocles had been right from the beginning. His patience and resolve saved the Greek civilization.
Themistocles’ story dispels all doubts about how to interpret Seneca’s call for patience. We are talking about the adamant resolve to do the right thing.
Luckily, Themistocles opted for dealing with the obstacles patiently and determinedly, regarding them as delays, not as valid reasons to give up. That’s a lesson we should not forget.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all kinds of situations, I recommend my book “Against all odds: How to achieve great victories in desperate times.”