"What," you ask, "will the wise man experience no emotion like disturbance of spirit? Will not his features change color, his countenance be agitated, and his limbs grow cold? And there are other things which we do, not under the influence of the will, but unconsciously and as the result of a sort of natural impulse."
I admit that this is true; but the sage will retain the firm belief that none of these things is evil, or important enough to make a healthy mind break down. Whatever shall remain to be done virtue can do with courage and readiness.
For anyone would admit that it is a mark of folly to do in a slothful and rebellious spirit whatever one has to do, or to direct the body in one direction and the mind in another, and thus to be torn between utterly conflicting emotions.
For folly is despised precisely because of the things for which she vaunts and admires herself, and she does not do gladly even those things in which she prides herself. But if folly fears some evil, she is burdened by it in the very moment of awaiting it, just as if it had actually come—already suffering in apprehension whatever she fears she may suffer.
I admit that this is true; but the sage will retain the firm belief that none of these things is evil, or important enough to make a healthy mind break down. Whatever shall remain to be done virtue can do with courage and readiness.
For anyone would admit that it is a mark of folly to do in a slothful and rebellious spirit whatever one has to do, or to direct the body in one direction and the mind in another, and thus to be torn between utterly conflicting emotions.
For folly is despised precisely because of the things for which she vaunts and admires herself, and she does not do gladly even those things in which she prides herself. But if folly fears some evil, she is burdened by it in the very moment of awaiting it, just as if it had actually come—already suffering in apprehension whatever she fears she may suffer.
—from Seneca, Moral Letters 74
The critic will continue to insist that the Stoic is vainly seeking to suppress his emotions, even as this has never been the case, and so we end up with a twisted caricature of the philosophy, a straw man sneaking his way into even the common dictionary definitions. If you have any affection for Stoicism, you will know how frustrating it is to forever be correcting this stereotype.
Of course, a man will feel, for his reason is made to work in conjunction with his impressions. Sometimes those feelings will be pleasant, and sometimes those feelings will be painful. Sometimes we seek them out deliberately, and sometimes they come to us unannounced. Whatever their peculiar form, however, the Stoic strives to be the master of his passions, understanding why his judgments will always determine his worth.
Lust, gratification, fear, and grief are all emotional states that enslave us, while joy, wish, and caution are all their healthy counterparts. Most importantly, perhaps, I should never surrender to any sort of distress, because each and every circumstance, however overwhelming it may appear, still offers the very same occasion for choosing virtue—I am my only obstacle to acting with dignity, and I am free to conquer my despair on my own terms.
For all my complaining, I honestly have yet to find a situation where prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice did not have the sufficient power to tame my doubts. The conflict is within my thinking, not with anything out there in the world, such that I falsely attribute the good or the evil to the event, instead of my estimation about the event.
“But why would an all-powerful and an all-loving God allow me to suffer such great evils?”
It is when I finally realize how a hardship is not an evil that the scales can fall from my eyes. The evil is in my hesitation to make good out of the hardship.
The critic will continue to insist that the Stoic is vainly seeking to suppress his emotions, even as this has never been the case, and so we end up with a twisted caricature of the philosophy, a straw man sneaking his way into even the common dictionary definitions. If you have any affection for Stoicism, you will know how frustrating it is to forever be correcting this stereotype.
Of course, a man will feel, for his reason is made to work in conjunction with his impressions. Sometimes those feelings will be pleasant, and sometimes those feelings will be painful. Sometimes we seek them out deliberately, and sometimes they come to us unannounced. Whatever their peculiar form, however, the Stoic strives to be the master of his passions, understanding why his judgments will always determine his worth.
Lust, gratification, fear, and grief are all emotional states that enslave us, while joy, wish, and caution are all their healthy counterparts. Most importantly, perhaps, I should never surrender to any sort of distress, because each and every circumstance, however overwhelming it may appear, still offers the very same occasion for choosing virtue—I am my only obstacle to acting with dignity, and I am free to conquer my despair on my own terms.
For all my complaining, I honestly have yet to find a situation where prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice did not have the sufficient power to tame my doubts. The conflict is within my thinking, not with anything out there in the world, such that I falsely attribute the good or the evil to the event, instead of my estimation about the event.
“But why would an all-powerful and an all-loving God allow me to suffer such great evils?”
It is when I finally realize how a hardship is not an evil that the scales can fall from my eyes. The evil is in my hesitation to make good out of the hardship.
—Reflection written in 10/2013
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