Seneca and the art of patience

#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 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 energy will be focused inwards, making them indifferent to #misery and pain. That’s the doctrine Seneca was preaching. In his essay “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. 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). Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/seneca-and-the-art-of-patience/