Seneca, Moral Letters 22.3

Shall you then be put out with me, if I not only come to advise you, but also call in others to advise you—wiser heads than my own, men before whom I am wont to lay any problem upon which I am pondering? 

 

Read the letter of Epicurus which bears on this matter; it is addressed to Idomeneus. The writer asks him to hasten as fast as he can, and beat a retreat before some stronger influence comes between and takes from him the liberty to withdraw.

 

But he also adds that one should attempt nothing except at the time when it can be attempted suitably and seasonably. Then, when the long-sought occasion comes, let him be up and doing. Epicurus forbids us to doze when we are meditating escape; he bids us hope for a safe release from even the hardest trials, provided that we are not in too great a hurry before the time, nor too dilatory when the time arrives. 

—from Seneca, Moral Letters 22

 

I often find that people who are eagerly setting out to follow virtue at first assume it must be a Herculean task, calling for superhuman strength of will. While it certainly involves flexing moral muscles we didn’t know we had, it can also be misleading to think that success is a matter of brute force. A true student of the classics, or anyone who is devoted to the improvement of character, learns that a healthy soul is a sensitively balanced soul. 

 

As Aristotle argues, virtue can be considered an extreme, insofar as it stands in opposition to vice, and yet it is more properly a mean, or a moderation, between the extremes of too much and too little of any activity. 

 

In every situation, I am presented with many possible responses, and finding that precious middle ground, where I do not fall into either excess or deficiency, calls for a precise discernment. Hence prudence is not just the contemplation of grand concepts, but the skill of applying them in subtle practice. 

 

To borrow a popular phrase from the business world, it’s not about working harder, it’s about working smarter. I can push as firmly as I wish, though it is of no use if I do not nurture a harmonious insight to guide the way. 

 

Am I, for example, confronted with fear? Courage will not be achieved by lashing out wildly; I must understand how to make my way between cowardice and rashness. Every virtue is like navigating between Scylla and Charybdis. 

 

Move from conviction, while never rushing ahead. Remember that the first opportunity to come along will not necessarily be the best one. Wait until the time is right, but then do not hesitate to act with absolute commitment. It is only patient exercise, which leads to the formation of solid habits, that makes this easier. 

 

It is for this reason that I believe watchfulness to be a condition for constancy. If I am to act, then I should act from an acute awareness; this then allows me to gently act with the order the Nature, never against it. I think of the sharp eyes of a watchman on board a ship, or the focused attention of a cat looking out a window. 

 

Epicurus understands this, and Seneca understands this, and all people of a discerning mind and a willing heart understand this, for stepping lightly with care and concern will always trump rushing in with all guns blazing. 

—Reflection written in 9/2012