Seneca, Moral Letters 15.7

Fix a limit which you will not even desire to pass, should you have the power. At last, then, away with all these treacherous goods! They look better to those who hope for them than to those who have attained them. 

 

If there were anything substantial in them, they would sooner or later satisfy you; as it is, they merely rouse the drinkers' thirst. Away with fripperies which only serve for show! 

 

As to what the future's uncertain lot has in store, why should I demand of Fortune that she give, rather than demand of myself that I should not crave? 

 

And why should l crave? Shall I heap up my winnings, and forget that man's lot is unsubstantial? For what end should I toil? Lo, today is the last; if not, it is near the last. Farewell.

 

People like to say that “the sky is the limit,” and I do understand that this is intended to inspire us to do great things. How often, after all, was I told that something was impossible, only to be surprised when it was quite possible? How many times did it feel like I couldn’t, and yet it turned out that I really could?

 

I must be on my watch, however, not to become confused about what is truly within my power, for fear that my confidence might be twisted into arrogance. The Stoic will focus on a crucial distinction: while there need never be any restrictions on my own judgments and choices, there will always be restrictions on my fortune and circumstances. 

 

I am the master of myself, which is at it should be, even as I am not the master of the rest of the world, which is also as it should be. Each aspect has its own rightful place, and it fulfills its own distinct role. 

 

No profound metaphysics is required to comprehend this, just some common sense. I will find happiness when I do my part, with complete care and concern, though I will find misery when I vainly try to play king over the whole. 

 

What I decide to do, whatever else may happen, is bound only by what I will make of my freedom; what affects my thoughts, however great the pressure from the outside, depends on what I allow to enter into them. 

 

But while there will be times when it seems that the outside situation is going my way, it will always end up going its own way. To rise above such conditions is liberty, to depend upon them is slavery. 

 

So when Seneca tells Lucilius to set a limit for himself, he is not discouraging him from being the best man that he can be; rather, he is encouraging him to rely first and foremost on his own moral worth, and to temper his desire for external entrapments. As enticing as money, fame, and pleasure might appear, they will always leave us empty, because they aren’t really about us at all. 

 

Care for the body, but show reverence for the soul. Trust the part that can control the urges, not the one that is so easily controlled by them. 

Written in 7/2012