Might it have been purer if he had stuck to the contemplative life? Might he have emerged cleaner and less compromised?
Sure. It would have been better, in many ways, for Seneca to stay away from Nero. Or at the very least, to leave earlier. But Seneca's time in politics was not without its redeeming qualities. First off, because, surely, he mitigated some of Nero's worst impulses. But the second reason is more interesting, all these centuries later, for us readers. Because Seneca's time in power, and in proximity to power, profoundly informed his writing and his understanding of the human condition.
His essays on clemency, on anger, on so many topics, would not have been possible nor as remotely as insightful, if they had been written solely from his desk. Instead, Seneca's writings were shaped in the room where it happened, participating in issues of global significance, meeting and getting to know the powerbrokers of his time. He served as consul himself, meaning that he had real weight on his shoulders. He felt the burden of leadership, the pressure of impossible choices, and the toll of moral compromise in real time.
In his beautiful novel on Rome—Augustus, which you can grab from the Painted Porch—John Williams has the emperor dismiss the idle thoughts of distant observers. "It is empty, the philosophers say," he writes, "but they have not known power, as a eunuch has not known a woman and thus can look upon her unmoved." Seneca, like Marcus Aurelius, like Cato, like Cicero, was not an academic. The best Stoics were in the arena—literally and figuratively. They may have ultimately been dismissive of power and fame, but no one can say it was because of sour grapes. They knew it up close…and they were able to report their findings back to us.
This philosophy we are studying is not an idle enterprise. It is not to be done at remove, from the safety of the ivory tower or anonymity of social media. Its best insights and practices are formed in the sweat and dust of life, in the midst of big decisions and high stakes. And that's what makes them worth listening to—because their philosophy was lived, not imagined.
Over 14 days, you'll be guided through the core ideas of Stoicism: Who the Stoics were, what they believed, how they built resilience, and most importantly, how you can use their timeless wisdom in your own life, starting today.
In 14 CUSTOM emails delivered daily (~20,000 words of exclusive content), you'll learn:
The things a Stoic does
The things a Stoic doesn't do
The Stoic's secrets to success
The Stoic's secrets to resilience
The Stoic's secrets to productivity
What sets Stoicism apart from other philosophies
How to live your best life
The live cohort begins November 10th and enrollment is now open. If you've been meaning to get serious about this, don't wait—growth doesn't happen later, it happens now.
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