Philosophy teaches us to act, not to speak.

“What is wisdom?, it is, Always desiring the same things, & always refusing the same things.”

On Practising what you Preach

I ask & beg of you, on your part, that you let wisdom sink into your soul, & test your progress, not by mere speech or writings, but by stoutness of heart & decrease of desire;

Prove your words by your deeds.

Far different is the purpose of those who are speech-making & trying to win the approbation of a throng of hearers, far different that of those who allure the ears of young people & idlers by many-sided or fluent argumentation.

Philosophy teaches us to act, not to speak.

it exacts of every person that they should live according to their own standards, that their life should not be out of harmony with their words, & that, further, their inner life should be of one hue & not out of harmony with all their activities.

This I say, is the highest duty & the highest proof of wisdom,

that deed & word should be in accord, that a person should be equal to themselves under all conditions, & always the same.

“However,” you reply, “who can maintain this standard?”, Very few, to be sure; but there are some; It is indeed a hard undertaking, & I do not say that the philosopher can always keep the same pace; However one can always travel the same path.

Observe yourself then, & see whether your dress & your house are inconsistent, whether you treat yourself lavishly & your family meanly, whether you eat frugal dinners & yet build luxurious houses.

You should lay hold, once for all, upon a single norm to live by, & should regulate your whole life according to this norm.

Some people restrict themselves at home, yet strut with swelling port before the public; such discordance is a fault, & it indicates a wavering mind which cannot yet keep its balance.

Therefore, to omit the ancient definitions of wisdom & include the whole manner of human life, I can be satisfied with the following:

“What is wisdom?, it is, Always desiring the same things, & always refusing the same things.”

For this reason people do not know what they wish, except at the actual moment of wishing; no one ever decided once & for all to desire or to refuse, Judgment varies from day to day, & changes to the opposite, making many a person pass their life in a kind of game.

“Nevertheless, what” you say, “will become of my crowded household without a household income?”, If you stop supporting that crowd, it will support itself; or perhaps you will learn by the bounty of poverty what you cannot learn by your own bounty.

Poverty will keep for you your true & tried friends; you will be rid of the people who were not seeking you for yourself, but for something which you have.

Is it not true however, that you should love poverty, if only for this single reason, – that it will show you those by whom you are loved?, O when will that time come, when no one shall tell lies to compliment you!

Accordingly, let your thoughts, your efforts, your desires, help to make you content with your own self & with the goods that spring from yourself; &

commit all your other prayers to Divinity’s keeping!

What happiness could come closer home to you?, Bring yourself down to humble conditions, from which you cannot be ejected; & in order that you may do so with greater alacrity, the contribution contained in this letter shall refer to that subject; I shall bestow it upon you forthwith.

“May not a person, however, despise wealth when it lies in their very pocket?”, Of course; one also is great-souled, who sees riches heaped up round them &, after wondering long & deeply because they have come into their possession, smiles, & hears rather than feels that they are theirs.

It means much not to be spoiled by intimacy with riches; & one is truly great who is poor amidst riches, “Yes, but I do not know,” you say, “how the person you speak of will endure poverty, if one falls into it suddenly.”

Nor do I, Epicurus, know whether the poor person you speak of will despise riches, should they suddenly fall into them; accordingly, in the case of both, it is the mind that must be appraised, & we must investigate whether the person is pleased with their poverty, & whether my people are displeased with their riches.

It is the mark, however, of a noble spirit not to precipitate oneself into such things on the ground that they are better, but to practise for them on the ground that they are thus easy to endure.

They are easy to endure, Lucilius; when however, you come to them after long rehearsal, they are even pleasant; for they contain a sense of freedom from care, – & without this nothing is pleasant.

I hold it essential, therefore to do as I have told you in a letter that great people have often done: to reserve a few days in which we may prepare ourselves for real poverty by means of fancied poverty.

There is all the more reason for doing this, because we have been steeped in luxury & regard all duties as hard & onerous.

Rather let the soul be roused from its sleep & be prodded, & let it be reminded that nature has prescribed very little for us.

No person is born rich; Every baby, when they first sees light, is commanded to be content with milk & cloth.

Such is our beginning, & yet empires are all too small for us!

Farewell.

Seneca, StoicTaoist.

Withdraw yourself, we have dissipated enough of our time;

For when we leave the job behind, we are left with Peace in mind; Hence, be slated.

A trifling debt, makes a person your debtor, a large one makes them an enemy.

Choose not what you eat, but with whom do you eat with; fill not the belly, & nourish the heart.

On Worldliness and Retirement

If possible, withdraw yourself from all the business of which you speak; & if you cannot do this, tear yourself away; We have dissipated enough of our time already; let us in old age begin to pack up our baggage.

You cannot keep, lurking in the dark;

Peace, you can claim for yourself without being disliked by anyone, without any sense of loss, & without any pangs of spirit.

For what, will you leave behind you that you can imagine yourself reluctant to leave? Your clients? But none of these people court you for yourself; they merely court something from you.

You have been, thrust into an existence which will never of itself put an end to your wretchedness & your slavery; Withdraw your chafed neck from the yoke; it is better that it should be cut off once for all, than galled for ever.

If you retreat to privacy, everything will be on a smaller scale, but you will be satisfied abundantly; in your present condition, however, there is no satisfaction in the plenty which is heaped upon you on all sides.

Would you, rather be poor & sated, or rich & hungry?

Prosperity is not only greedy, but it also lies exposed to the greed of others & as long as nothing satisfies you, you yourself cannot satisfy others.
Even so, you say “how can I take my leave?” Any way you please; Remember & Reflect how many hazards you have ventured for the sake of money & how much toil you have undertaken for a title!

At this point, I should like to quote a saying of Maecenas, who spoke the truth when standing on the very summit:

“There’s thunder even on the loftiest peaks.”

However that may be, I shall draw on the account of Epicurus:

“You must reflect carefully beforehand with whom you are to eat & drink, rather than what you are to eat & drink; For a dinner of meats without the company of a friend is like the life of a lion or a wolf.”

It is however, a mistake to select your friend in the reception-hall or to test them at the dinner-table;

The most serious misfortune for a busy person who is overwhelmed by their possessions is, that one believes others to be their friends when they themselves is not a friend to them, & that one deems their favours to be effective in winning friends, although, in the case of certain people, the more they owe, the more they hate.

A trifling, debt makes a person your debtor ,a large one makes them an enemy.

What, you say “do not kindnesses establish friendships?” They do, if one has had the privilege of choosing those who are to receive them & if they are placed judiciously, instead of being scattered broadcast.

Therefore, while you are beginning to call your mind your own, meantime apply this maxim of the wise:

Consider that it is more important who receives a thing, than what it is one receives.

Farewell,
Seneca, StoicTaoist.