Seneca, Moral Letters 27.5

But let me pay off my debt and say farewell: "Real wealth is poverty adjusted to the law of Nature.” 

 

Epicurus has this saying in various ways and contexts; but it can never be repeated too often, since it can never be learned too well. 

 

For some persons the remedy should be merely prescribed; in the case of others, it should be forced down their throats. Farewell. 

—from Seneca, Moral Letters 27 

 

Very many will tell you that you must be rich in order to be happy, and a very few will even tell you that you must be poor in order to be happy, but the Stoic, like the follower of any Wisdom Tradition, knows how happiness is in the quality of the attitude, not in the quantity of the things. 

 

The attention ought to be directed toward working in harmony with Nature, such that the good life for a rational animal will be fulfilled in the exercise of the virtues. 

 

All other circumstances, which are in themselves neither good nor bad for us, take on a meaning that is relative to the measure of character, and so are never to be pursued or avoided for their own sake. 

 

What are the minimum external conditions for attaining peace of mind? How much property, status, or comfort are “required” to find contentment? However much I might prefer to object, I always find that I need far, far less than I initially assumed. 

 

Indeed, if I am totally honest with myself, I recognize why any old opportunity will do just fine, as long as I am focused on becoming a good man instead of a fat man.

 

When push comes to shove, there are no losing situations, only losing mindsets. To build up my own moral autonomy, I am well advised to avoid a reliance on convenience and luxury, and to commit rather to the strength of my principles. 

 

Let me not confuse the greed of the wanting with the responsibility of the needing.

 

Thus, an openness to poverty in the body is a sign of a zeal to be wealthy in the spirit. My fundamental values are revealed by where I assign a man’s credit—do I praise him for owning his own business, or do I revere him for acting with decency and kindness? The one came to him, the other came from him. 

 

Yes, I must remind myself of this every day, perhaps multiple times every day, because it isn’t just an important thing, it is the most important thing.

 

Take careful note of where a man exerts his efforts, and you then uncover his priorities. You now know if you can trust him, or if you should best keep him at arm’s length. 

 

I am always wary of forcing anyone to do anything, though I also know that Nature works in its own mysterious ways. 

 

Seneca is understandably irked by the weakness of a Sabinus or a Satellius, brutally aware of how such charlatans could use a good thrashing to knock some sense back into them. Yet he need not take that job on for himself, as Providence inevitably sets things right, whether with a gentle touch or with a heavy hand. 

 

The Stoic, like the follower of any Wisdom Tradition, knows the difference between serving willingly and being reduced to playing the part while kicking and screaming. 

—Reflection written in 10/2012