Seneca, Moral Letters 19.1

Letter 19: On worldliness and retirement

 

I leap for joy whenever I receive letters from you. For they fill me with hope; they are now not mere assurances concerning you, but guarantees. 

 

And I beg and pray you to proceed in this course; for what better request could I make of a friend than one which is to be made for his own sake? If possible, withdraw yourself from all the business of which you speak; and if you cannot do this, tear yourself away. 

 

We have dissipated enough of our time already; let us in old age begin to pack up our baggage. Surely there is nothing in this that men can begrudge us. We have spent our lives on the high seas; let us die in harbor.

 

Not that I would advise you to try to win fame by your retirement; one's retirement should neither be paraded nor concealed. Not concealed, I say, for I shall not go so far in urging you as to expect you to condemn all men as mad and then seek out for yourself a hiding-place and oblivion; rather make this your business, that your retirement be not conspicuous, though it should be obvious.

 

—from Seneca, Moral Letters 19

I now read from Seneca’s letters daily, and I find myself so drawn into the relationship between Seneca and Lucilius that I start to think of Seneca as the wise old teacher, and of Lucilius as the eager young student. I sometimes forget that Lucilius is hardly a boy at all, but already a grown man with a very important job. Age is, of course, in what we make of it, though this particular letter reminds me how those with wisdom are obliged to share it with those who are still seeking after wisdom. 

 

Stoicism, or more broadly any way of life that follows nature and reason, will implicitly be in contrast to the thoughtless conventions of this world. While the “Hipster Stoics” tell us that we can be rich and popular by buying their products, those of us in the trenches know that it doesn’t work out that way. In order to live well, you must be in the world, but not of it. Act with understanding and love, while never expecting money or fame as a consequence. 

 

No, it is not easy. I struggle every day with figuring out how to engage with others, treating them with dignity and respect, while avoiding the social norm of reducing people to objects for my convenience. Where is that middle ground between running away and selling myself out? 

 

Keep yourself virtuous and pure within, while never succumbing to the vice and the dirt around you. That is the challenge, and it is the only decision that really matters in this life. All the rest is bullshit. 

 

Withdraw from all the games, finding contentment in just being decent and kind. Nothing else matters, because nothing else “out there” defines you. You are how you choose to live, not where you might find yourself to be. 

 

Retirement? Am I not supposed to wait for that until I’m an old man? Distinguish. Retire from being a slave to power and position, and do that immediately. There will always be work to do, and the work will never be about a paycheck. It will be about your character. 

 

Not conspicuous, but obvious.

 

There is the key. Don’t hide it, and don’t flaunt it. Do your thing, and share it, but never, under any circumstances, try to sell it. You are not a product for profit, but a person made to act with conscience and conviction. You are worth far more than any amount of money you could make by reducing yourself to a commodity, or sacrificing yourself as an image. 

 

Stop being a drone, right now. Start being a person, for what little time you have left. 

—Reflection written in 8/2012