Hence that in man is alone a good which alone belongs to man. For we are not now seeking to discover what is a good, but what good is man’s. And if there is no other attribute which belongs peculiarly to man except reason, then reason will be his one peculiar good, but a good that is worth all the rest put together.
If any man is bad, he will, I suppose, be regarded with disapproval; if good, I suppose he will be regarded with approval. Therefore, that attribute of man whereby he is approved or disapproved is his chief and only good.
You do not doubt whether this is a good; you merely doubt whether it is the sole good. If a man possesses all other things, such as health, riches, pedigree, a crowded reception hall, but is confessedly bad, you will disapprove of him.
Likewise, if a man possesses none of the things which I have mentioned, and lacks money, or an escort of clients, or rank and a line of grandfathers and great-grandfathers, but is confessedly good, you will approve of him.
Hence, this is man’s one peculiar good, and the possessor of it is to be praised even if he lacks other things; but he who does not possess it, though he possess everything else in abundance, is condemned and rejected.
If any man is bad, he will, I suppose, be regarded with disapproval; if good, I suppose he will be regarded with approval. Therefore, that attribute of man whereby he is approved or disapproved is his chief and only good.
You do not doubt whether this is a good; you merely doubt whether it is the sole good. If a man possesses all other things, such as health, riches, pedigree, a crowded reception hall, but is confessedly bad, you will disapprove of him.
Likewise, if a man possesses none of the things which I have mentioned, and lacks money, or an escort of clients, or rank and a line of grandfathers and great-grandfathers, but is confessedly good, you will approve of him.
Hence, this is man’s one peculiar good, and the possessor of it is to be praised even if he lacks other things; but he who does not possess it, though he possess everything else in abundance, is condemned and rejected.
—from Seneca, Moral Letters 76
When searching for our highest good, that which is specific to our human nature, it is critical not to confuse the essence with the accidents. If I happen to have a gift with words, they say I should be a lawyer, and if I happen to be good with numbers, the tell me to study engineering, and if I happen to be tall, they put me on the basketball team. They are missing the forest for the trees.
No. What stands behind any our individual temperaments, what all of us share in common? It is that pesky power of free judgment, which settles the worth of any other capacity. Will I practice the law with honesty? Will I construct a machine with responsibility? Will I play in the game fairly? Will I, first and foremost, be a man of character, regardless of where I find myself?
All the other qualities of our lives will pale in comparison to the virtues that guide them. To miss this necessary fact is, I will dare to say, the root of all our troubles, the very reason we so often find ourselves in conflict and in misery. Return to the source, and you restore the sanity.
I am now very careful about what I view to be a profit, a success, or a victory. Sure, I may have won the contract, but at what expense to my soul? Observe very carefully how people offer their approval or disapproval, because it reveals everything about their deepest priorities. As Plato said, is it good because we desire it, or do we desire it because it is good?
Where I now work, a place full of folks who consider themselves cultured and pious, I honestly believe the best man I know is the fellow who does the gardening. He praises someone for being “a stand-up guy”, and he admonishes someone for being a “snake”. While I don’t imagine he has ever read Seneca, he understands perfectly what it means to judge solely by the standard of personal honor. He is wiser than any of us so-called professionals.
If we strip away the bells and whistles, what is left of the man? The riches, the fame, the talent, or the charm will come and go, while at the core is either a stand-up guy or a snake, a gentleman or a scoundrel. We ignore this insight at our own peril.
I don’t know that being sincere and loving will win me any popularity contests, though it will certainly put me in the right company.
When searching for our highest good, that which is specific to our human nature, it is critical not to confuse the essence with the accidents. If I happen to have a gift with words, they say I should be a lawyer, and if I happen to be good with numbers, the tell me to study engineering, and if I happen to be tall, they put me on the basketball team. They are missing the forest for the trees.
No. What stands behind any our individual temperaments, what all of us share in common? It is that pesky power of free judgment, which settles the worth of any other capacity. Will I practice the law with honesty? Will I construct a machine with responsibility? Will I play in the game fairly? Will I, first and foremost, be a man of character, regardless of where I find myself?
All the other qualities of our lives will pale in comparison to the virtues that guide them. To miss this necessary fact is, I will dare to say, the root of all our troubles, the very reason we so often find ourselves in conflict and in misery. Return to the source, and you restore the sanity.
I am now very careful about what I view to be a profit, a success, or a victory. Sure, I may have won the contract, but at what expense to my soul? Observe very carefully how people offer their approval or disapproval, because it reveals everything about their deepest priorities. As Plato said, is it good because we desire it, or do we desire it because it is good?
Where I now work, a place full of folks who consider themselves cultured and pious, I honestly believe the best man I know is the fellow who does the gardening. He praises someone for being “a stand-up guy”, and he admonishes someone for being a “snake”. While I don’t imagine he has ever read Seneca, he understands perfectly what it means to judge solely by the standard of personal honor. He is wiser than any of us so-called professionals.
If we strip away the bells and whistles, what is left of the man? The riches, the fame, the talent, or the charm will come and go, while at the core is either a stand-up guy or a snake, a gentleman or a scoundrel. We ignore this insight at our own peril.
I don’t know that being sincere and loving will win me any popularity contests, though it will certainly put me in the right company.
—Reflection written in 10/2013
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