How to practise Seneca’s art of patience

#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 was the most prolific Stoic author in #ancientrome , 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’s 18th 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 the 5th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca recounts that Socrates (470-399 BC) had adopted an inexpensive lifestyle by 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. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/the-practice-of-senecas-art-of-patience/