Stoicism is often presented as a purely reactive philosophy. Its role is to toughen the soul for enduring setbacks, adversity, and eventually death; and its goal is the reduction of emotional pain, devoting little energy to solving the root problems.
Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) was the most prolific Stoic author in Ancient Rome, but his recommendations are far more dynamic than those made by previous Stoic thinkers such as Zeno of Citium (334-262 BC).
I would define their difference as follows: Where Zeno had advised to retreat and quit, Seneca called for firmness, serenity, and recovery to the maximum possible extent.
Zeno viewed every battle as lost in advance. His philosophy aims at consoling the victim for the incurred losses, telling him that it could have been worse, and that his suffering is not so relevant anyway because we are all going to die some day.
In times of trouble, Zeno prepared himself to deal with the worst case. His efforts were primarily devoted to psychological counselling. He employed grandiose words, but did very little in terms of practical action. Essentially, it was all talk.
In contrast, Seneca will consider a battle lost only when the situation is truly hopeless, that is, when there is absolutely no objective chance of turning the situation around; life is already hard enough to give up what we have without resistance.
Seneca: the purpose of Stoic virtues
Seneca’s 45th Letter to Lucilius presents the idea of Stoicism as a springing board to better things; the purpose of philosophy is preparation, not consolation; it’s all about using adversity for growing stronger and achieving happiness in the future.
In this 45th Letter, Seneca recounts that Socrates (470-399 BC) had adopted an inexpensive lifestyle consisting of eating simple meals, wearing simple clothes and walking barefoot.
At first sight, it seems that Socrates had embraced poverty and discomfort out of religious conviction, but Seneca corrects that impression by telling us that Socrates had a goal in mind.
The purpose of Socrates’ deprivations was to build character strength, that is, self-reliance he could use in situations that prompt him to choose between his own comfort and the truth.
Self-discipline and patience constitute crucial Stoic virtues, but Seneca’s interpretation is active and alert, not withdrawn and otherworldly. Socrates’ modest lifestyle had the purpose of providing important benefits in the future.
In his 45th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca applies this principle to all types of adversity. For instance, when people go through a difficult period, it frequently happens that they are abandoned by their friends. Social isolation will make their suffering more painful.
Nonetheless, Seneca sees a benefit to be drawn from those situations. “They enable us to recognize our true, real friends,” he says. Those are the people that have stayed loyal to us in difficult times.
Seneca’s conclusion is unmistakable. We should keep close to our loyal friends in the future, and let go of the people who had abandoned us. It would be erroneous to categorize them as friends.
Seneca: the link between patience and purpose
What about endurance? Seneca gives the example of Scipio Africanus (236-183 BC), the general who led the Roman army during the Second Punic War. Despite his high rank, Scipio ate the same food as his soldiers each day, and slept on the ground each night, just like his soldiers.
Scipio had imposed on himself a harsh lifestyle for a reason. He was not trying to please the gods, or increase his popularity amongst the troops. No, Scipio’s objective was to maintain his alertness and strength to the highest level.
A clear pattern emerges from those three examples. Socrates was walking barefoot because he expected to benefit from it. I can say the same about Scipio sleeping on the ground. Even the social isolation during hard times can deliver a benefit.
The link between virtue and purpose is crucial for grasping Seneca’s version of Stoicism. In particular, it throws new light on Seneca’s concept of patience.
Seneca’s 45th Letter to Lucilius characterises Stoic virtues as alert and active. When we view patience from this perspective, we should increase our resolve to draw benefits from obstacles and setbacks.
The 45th Letter to Lucilius is recommending us to learn “to feel at home anywhere.” We should pursue health, happiness, success and prosperity, but when we experience failure, we should still figure out how to extract some benefit from it.
Seneca didn’t view patience as dead time waiting for things to improve, but as a rational response to delays. It’s the resolve to make the best of each day, practise our skills, learn new ones or figure out how to advance our cause otherwise.
The worst we can do is to give up hope and regard patience as time to be wasted. If we stop trudging forward, we run the risk of overindulgence and decay, like general Lucius Licinius Lucullus (118-57 BC), who was wiped out due to his poor self-discipline.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all sorts of situations, I recommend my book “Undisrupted: How highly effective people deal with disruptions.”