Amongst all insights gained by Seneca, his recipe for handling pessimism is particularly remarkable. I find it perennial in its validity and universal in its applications. Few philosophers have analysed this issue as profoundly as Seneca, and even fewer have come up with useful recommendations.
I can sum up Seneca’s recipe for handling pessimism in one brief metaphor. Instead of adopting a fearful, worrisome view of the world, we should imitate the insouciance of dogs, cats or any other wild species.
On good and bad days, they keep walking around, looking for food. They fail in most of their attempts to chase a prey or obtain food, but they keep trying nonetheless. Even when they succeed, they seldom get their favourite food, but they enjoy it anyway.
Last but not least, when things turn for the worse, they look for solutions without exaggerating the problem. Their attention and capabilities are focused on addressing the problem at hand, leaving no time for blowing up future risks out of proportion.
Seneca did not employ the metaphor of animal insouciance, but his Letters to Lucilius provide advice that corresponds one hundred per cent to this metaphor. I am referring in particular to the 49th, the 92nd and the 24th Letters.
Seneca on using one’s time effectively
In the 49th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca addresses the question of how to face adversity. Life is full of crises, some of them heavier than others. When Seneca wrote the 49th Letter, he was surrounded by war and violence, fearing for his own safety.
Even in the worst circumstances, it pays to keep going and making the best of each day, Seneca concludes. “Some people live a long life, but they waste most of their time,” he notes. It’s up to us to seize the available opportunities each day without wasting time with complaints. Thus, my metaphor for dogs and cats, or wild animals.
Seneca considers a pure time waste to engage in pessimistic thinking. In his own situation, amidst bitter military hostilities, he could spend the whole day agonizing over the risk that “this might be the last day of my life.”
Such a pessimistic attitude is useless and counterproductive. We should rather imitate cats and dogs in their ability to stay relatively insouciant in times of trouble. They keep going each day, not wasting time agonizing over potential risks.
Seneca complements this important insight in the 49th Letter to Lucilius, where he reminds us of the human ability to deal with adversity. I would call it a formula for attaining happiness to the maximum extent possible. The philosopher knows how to deal with negative elements and make the best of each day.
In the original Latin text, Seneca is referring to any material setback, external or internal. For instance, he is talking about health problems as much as material poverty. I have translated this concept by “negative elements beyond his control.”
Seneca on the capabilities of the human soul
In my metaphor, I refer to the animals’ contentment in cases where they do not find their favourite type of food. This covers the great majority of cases. Nonetheless, they are happy to eat whatever is available and call it a day.
We should not grow pessimistic by the fact that we have not yet achieved our goals, or due to the uncertainty of ever getting to our desired destination, argues Seneca.
In the 92nd Letter to Lucilius, Seneca affirmed that we can deal successfully with anger. It has taught me that our soul enables us to deal with negative issues and elevate us above a purely perceptual level. In this area, we are far better equipped than dogs, cats or any other creature.
Seneca emphasises the need to maintain our equanimity and keep pessimism at bay. In this respect, I must mention Publius Rufus Rutilius (2nd century BC) as an illustration of the human ability to deal with setbacks and still find happiness.
Rutilius was twice prosecuted on dubious ground, absolved the first time, but the second time sent into exile. Nonetheless, he settled down in Smyrna and built a successful, happy life from scratch. He even found the time to write a history book.
His approach to dealing with pessimism keeps its validity today. Instead of building a new life, Rutilius could have despaired and collapsed. I have personally witnessed people fall sick due to pessimism or preoccupations that later turned out to be exaggerated. We should not repeat their mistakes.
Seneca’s insights and Gustave Eiffel
The French engineer Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) supplies a modern example of Seneca’s philosophy on pessimism. In spite of the major achievements in his early career, Eiffel was vastly criticised in newspapers for his daring projects and endured the damage of litigation and conviction.
Eiffel’s family origins were modest, and only through hard work did he manage to graduate from the Central School for Art and Manufacturing in Paris. Normally, this should have led to some modest job in manufacturing, but Eiffel kept going in his chosen direction despite his initial lack of professional and family recommendations.
He came up with the idea that metal structures could lead to massive cost savings in railway bridges and, little by little, he obtained commissions to carry out his projects.
It did not take long for newspapers to publish the first bitter criticism of Eiffel’s plans, predicting the collapse of his bridges and other structures. Seneca would have praised Eiffel for his equanimity, which kept him going despite heavy opposition.
Eiffel was forty-five years old when he completed the Maria Pia Bridge in Porto, Portugal, over the Douro River. The long iron arch proved sufficient to hold trains and road traffic, just as Eiffel had predicted.
By using toy-size models, Eiffel had succeeded in gaining the confidence of investors, despite the hostility in newspapers. His serenity during the construction exemplifies Seneca’s ideas perfectly, often stepping forward himself to test the solidity of his constructions.
Eiffel faced opposition as well when he designed the inner iron structure for the Statue of Liberty in New York. He was fifty-two years old at that time. Many forecasted that the statue would prove unable to sustain the winter storms, but Eiffel was sure of his calculations. The statute still holds well today.
Seneca: equanimity keeps pessimism at bay
Five years later, Eiffel built a tower for the Paris Universal Exhibition, three-hundred meter high. Newspapers attacked the project relentlessly, predicting that it would collapse.
Eiffel did not break down emotionally despite the massive public pressure. Loyal to Seneca’s recipe, he just kept going in his chosen direction. He remained calm, instead of blowing the obstacles out of proportion. Each day, he practised the Stoic virtue of equanimity.
His success proved unequivocal and the Eiffel Tower was to remain the tallest building in the world for three decades. Each step of the way, Eiffel had to come up with creative solutions, such as building special scaffolding and a steam-powered lift to bring the materials up the tower. If he had paid attention to the critics, he would have been taken over by pessimism.
Eiffel became the target of litigation four years later due to a failed financial scheme to build a canal in Panama. Despite having his name savaged by newspapers and being condemned in court, he took the setback philosophically and kept living for another quarter of a century.
Seneca provided a strong recipe for dealing with pessimism, but its implementation requires steady action. Eiffel provides a modern illustration that is worth studying in detail because it combines financial, professional and reputation reversals. In all cases, Seneca’s philosophy proved stronger than the obstacles.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice, I recommend my book titled “Against all odds: How to achieve great victories in desperate times.”
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