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Saturday, May 11, 2024

Seneca, Moral Letters 66.14


Why should I not reckon this good among the primary goods, and deem it in so far greater than those other goods which are unattended by danger and have made no trial of fortune, as it is a rarer thing to have overcome a foe with a hand lost than with a hand armed? 
 
"What then?" you say; "shall you desire this good for yourself?" 
 
Of course I shall. For this is a thing that a man cannot achieve unless he can also desire it. Should I desire, instead, to be allowed to stretch out my limbs for my slaves to massage, or to have a woman, or a man changed into the likeness of a woman, pull my finger joints? 
 
I cannot help believing that Mucius was all the more lucky because he manipulated the flames as calmly as if he were holding out his hand to the manipulator. He had wiped out all his previous mistakes; he finished the war unarmed and maimed; and with that stump of a hand he conquered two kings. Farewell. 

—from Seneca, Moral Letters 66 
 
It may seem rather odd, perhaps even a touch perverse, to say that the goods of the second class might be preferable to those of the first. If I can practice the virtues in the comforts of my home, why would I face the hardships of torture or death in a strange land? If the circumstances are to be treated with indifference, where is the shame in choosing the gentler path? 
 
There is surely no shame in it at all, yet if excellence of character is the sincere goal, and if I am not making cheap excuses for myself, hard experience has taught me how I tend to be at my best when the conditions are at their worst. No, I will not seek out pain, but if it comes to me, I know why I should rise to it: Nature has given me a precious opportunity to surpass myself, to succeed in the very way she intended, not in the way of those who merely play it safe. 
 
When my definition of a profit has changed, so too my estimation of the risks will change. While a longer life might bring me more indulgence, the prospect of a shorter life raises the bar and dares me to jump higher. As much as I would be partial to keeping both hands, I will gladly sacrifice the body to improve the soul. Where will I choose to find my Pearl of Great Price? 
 
Mucius only looks like a fool to the grasping man, no pun intended, who measures his worth by his worldly conveniences. For some of us, the Roman saw a chance to act with absolute conviction, and these are the occasions we must never avoid. I do not mind if you mock a man like Mucius, but I will object once you mock him while also claiming to love virtue above all else. 
 
While my own suffering has never been that intense, I recognize how I could not have moved further along the path without braving my own obstacles. I am at least doing something right when the effort of fulfilling a responsibility becomes a joy. I do not permit it to conquer me, hence I am now finally conquering myself. 

—Reflection written in 7/2013 

IMAGE: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Mucius Scaevola before Porsenna (c. 1729) 




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