Tao of Seneca: Volume 1
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VOLUME 1 VOLUME 1 The Tao of Seneca, Volume 1 Based on the Moral Letters to Lucilius by Seneca, translated by Richard Mott Gummere. Loeb Classical Library® edition Volume 1 first published 1917; Volume 2 first published in 1920; Volume 3 first published 1925. Loeb Classical Library is a registered trademark of The President and Fellows of Harvard College. Front Cover Design by FivestarBranding™ (www.fivestarlogo.com) Book Interior Design and Typography by Laurie Griffin (www.lauriegriffindesign.com) Printed in U.S.A. THESE VOLUMES ARE DEDICATED TO ALL WHO SEEK TO BETTER THEMSELVES AND, IN DOING SO, BETTER THE WORLD. —Tim Ferriss TABLE OF CONTENTS HOW TO USE THIS BOOK 9 LETTER 1 On Saving Time 17 LETTER 2 On Discursiveness in Reading 19 LETTER 3 On True and False Friendship 21 LETTER 4 On the Terrors of Death 25 LETTER 5 On the Philosopher’s Mean 29 LETTER 6 On Sharing Knowledge 32 LETTER 7 On Crowds 35 LETTER 8 On the Philosopher’s Seclusion 39 LETTER 9 On Philosophy and Friendship 43 LETTER 10 On Living to Oneself 50 LETTER 11 On the Blush of Modesty 52 THOUGHTS FROM MODERN STOICS : Elif Batuman 55 LETTER 12 On Old Age 62 LETTER 13 On Groundless Fears 66 LETTER 14 On the Reasons for Withdrawing From the World 72 LETTER 15 On Brawn and Brains 78 LETTER 16 On Philosophy, the Guide of Life 83 LETTER 17 On Philosophy and Riches 86 LETTER 18 On Festivals and Fasting 90 LETTER 19 On Worldliness and Retirement 95 LETTER 20 On Practicing What You Preach 100 LETTER 21 On the Renown Which My Writings Will Bring You 105 LETTER 22 On the Futility of Half-Way Measures 109 LETTER 23 On the True Joy Which Comes from Philosophy 115 LETTER 24 On Despising Death 119 LETTER 25 On Reformation 127 LETTER 26 On Old Age and Death 130 LETTER 27 On the Good Which Abides 134 LETTER 28 On Travel as a Cure for Discontent 137 LETTER 29 On the Critical Condition of Marcellinus 140 LETTER 30 On Conquering the Conqueror 145 LETTER 31 On Siren Songs 150 LETTER 32 On Progress 154 LETTER 33 On the Futility of Learning Maxims 156 LETTER 34 On a Promising Pupil 160 LETTER 35 On the Friendship of Kindred Minds 162 LETTER 36 On the Value of Retirement 164 LETTER 37 On Allegiance to Virtue 168 LETTER 38 On Quiet Conversation 170 THOUGHTS FROM MODERN STOICS : Jocko Willink 172 LETTER 39 On Noble Aspirations 175 LETTER 40 On the Proper Style for a Philosopher’s Discourse 178 LETTER 41 On the God Within Us 183 LETTER 42 On Values 187 LETTER 43 On the Relativity of Fame 190 LETTER 44 On Philosophy and Pedigrees 192 LETTER 45 On Sophistical Argumentation 195 LETTER 46 On a New Book by Lucilius 200 LETTER 47 On Master and Slave 203 LETTER 48 On Quibbling as Unworthy of the Philosopher 210 LETTER 49 On the Shortness of Life 215 LETTER 50 On Our Blindness and Its Cure 220 LETTER 51 On Baiae and Morals 223 LETTER 52 On Choosing Our Teachers 229 LETTER 53 On the Faults of the Spirit 234 LETTER 54 On Asthma and Death 239 LETTER 55 On Vatia’s Villa 242 LETTER 56 On Quiet and Study 246 LETTER 57 On the Trials of Travel 251 LETTER 58 On Being 255 LETTER 59 On Pleasure and Joy 267 LETTER 60 On Harmful Prayers 274 LETTER 61 On Meeting Death Cheerfully 276 LETTER 62 On Good Company 278 LETTER 63 On Grief for Lost Friends 280 LETTER 64 On the Philosopher’s Task 285 THOUGHTS FROM MODERN STOICS : Donald Robertson 288 LETTER 65 On the First Cause 301 Profiles of Modern-Day Stoics From Tools of Titans: Jocko Willink, Derek Sivers, Sebastian Junger 311 28 Books On Stoicism 339 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK by Tim Ferriss A Few of us consider ourselves philosophers. “Philosophy” usually conjures images of dense textbooks and academic quibbling with no application to real life. It’s fun for professors, perhaps, but a waste of time for the rest of us. I felt this way for decades. Then, in 2004, I found the work of Lucius Annaeus Seneca, better known as Seneca the Younger or simply “Seneca.” Born circa 4 BC in present day Spain and raised in Rome, Seneca was simultaneously an esteemed playwright, one of the wealthiest people in Rome, a famous statesman, and an advisor to the emperor. He had to negotiate, persuade, and strategize his way through life. Far from spouting philosophy from the safety of an ivory tower, he had to constantly deal with uncooperative, powerful human beings and faced disaster, exile, and death head on. Seneca took risks and did big things. His primary philosophy, Stoicism, was founded around 300 BC in Athens and can be thought of as an operating system for thriving in high-stress environments. At its core, it teaches you how to separate what you can control from what you cannot, and it trains you to focus exclusively on the former. Seneca’s Moral Letters to Lucilius—a distillation of his lessons 10 THE TAO OF SENECA | VOLUME 1 learned—changed my life and continues to do so today. You now hold a version of those letters in your hands, complete with origi- nal illustrations, original calligraphy from compatible traditions like Zen, links to free audio, and more. I’m giving away The Tao of Seneca in the hopes that it changes your life, and I promise you that it can. Stoicism was designed for doers, and you’ll be in fine company as a student. Thomas Jefferson had Seneca on his bedside table. Michel de Montaigne had a quote from Epictetus—a handicapped slave turned famous Stoic teacher—carved into the ceiling of his house so he would see it constantly. Every year, Bill Clinton reads Medi- tations by Marcus Aurelius, who was at once a Stoic, emperor, and the most powerful man in the world. Other proponents include John Stuart Mill, bestselling author Tom Wolfe, and Navy vice admiral and Medal of Honor recipient James Stockdale, who cred- ited his survival as a prisoner of war (7.5 years, much of it in a windowless 3' x 9' cement cell) to Stoicism. But far from limited to overcoming the negative, Stoicism can also be used to maximize the positive. For this reason, Stoicism has spread like wildfire throughout Silicon Valley and the NFL in the last five years, becoming a mental toughness training system for CEOs, founders, coaches, and play- ers alike. Super Bowl champions like the Patriots and Seahawks have embraced Stoicism to make them better competitors. In my own life, the results have been incredible. Whether early-stage investments (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Uber, Alibaba, and 50+ others), books translated into 40+ languages (e.g., Tools of Titans), or anything else in the last 20+ years of my life, I credit nearly all of the biggest successes—and biggest disasters averted—to my study of Stoicism and, specifically, the writing of Seneca. FOREwORD: HOw to USE THIS BOOk 11 But keep in mind: reading alone does very little. The ideas in this book are meant to be applied and this requires practice. Why do I fast for at least one three-day stretch each month? Why do I often schedule “suffer camps” of various types, where I might endure cold or eat exclusively rice and beans for 3–10 days? Why might I wear the same type of black t-shirt for a week straight, along with one pair of jeans, all the while remaining unshaven and asking myself, “Is this the condition that I feared?” All of the above examples are how I use just one letter— Letter 18, On Festivals and Fasting (pg 90). Here’s the gist in a few excerpts: Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: “Is this the condition that I feared?” It is precisely in times of immu- nity from care that the soul should toughen itself before- hand for occasions of greater stress, and it is while Fortune is kind that it should fortify itself against her violence. In days of peace the soldier performs maneuvers, throws up earthworks with no enemy in sight, and wearies himself by gratuitous toil, in order that he may be equal to unavoid- able toil. If you would not have a man flinch when the crisis comes, train him before it comes. Let the pallet be a real one, and the coarse cloak; let the bread be hard and grimy. Endure all this for three or four days at a time, sometimes for more, so that it may be a test of yourself instead of a mere hobby. Then, I assure you, my dear Lucilius, you will leap for joy when filled with a pennyworth of food, and you will understand that a man’s 12 THE TAO OF SENECA | VOLUME 1 peace of mind does not depend upon Fortune; for, even when angry she grants enough for our needs. For though water, barley-meal, and crusts of barley-bread, are not a cheerful diet, yet it is the highest kind of pleasure to be able to derive pleasure from this sort of food, and to have reduced one’s needs to that modicum which no unfairness of Fortune can snatch away. These types of practices make you less emotionally reactive, more aware in the present tense, and more resilient.