Seneca on leading a life of moderation

It is easy to preach moderation when one does not have the resources or capability to engage in excesses. If I can afford to eat only bread and cheese, it doesn’t cost me anything to speak against gluttony and luxurious food.Late in life, Seneca was the foremost apostle of moderation, but his previous lifestyle did not always reflect his acquired ideas. Thus, when prompted to declare allegiance to a pure doctrine or inconsistent deeds, I tend to feel closer to the latter.What did Seneca mean by “moderation”? First of all, he was referring to wealth. He knew the widest and broadest meaning of abundance, since he was one of the wealthiest men in Rome.In his 4th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca affirms that wealth isn’t the highest goal in life, and places philosophy above the joys derived from material possessions. Nonetheless, he did not call for poverty or total renunciation.Seneca’s advocacy of moderation is radically different from the Christian defence of poverty as a virtue. For the Christians, wealth is to be freely shared or renounced. I’m speaking of the early Christians as portrayed in the Gospels.For Seneca, wealth is to be enjoyed wisely, so that it doesn’t grow into an obsession driving our life. He categorizes wealth as dangerous because it can easily render us blind to justice or compassion.Pride, according to Seneca, is to be avoided at all costs due to its enslaving power. If we allow wealth to become the driver of our actions, we become slaves, he argues.Steady wisdom is needed to ascertain the right measure in expenditures. We should keep modesty and simplicity as high goals that help us prevent low vices that turn us to fools.Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/seneca-on-leading-a-life-of-moderation/