In Letters from a Stoic 68, titled “On Wisdom and Retirement,” Seneca offers advice on the value of retirement and solitude for the pursuit of wisdom, while addressing Lucilius’s concerns about public life and its demands.
Seneca starts by endorsing Lucilius’s plan to retire and seek repose: “I fall in with your plan; retire and conceal yourself in repose.” He emphasizes that Stoicism does not mandate public life at all times but rather suggests engaging in it when appropriate: “We Stoics do not urge men to take up public life in every case, or at all times, or without any qualification.”
"We Stoics do not urge men to take up public life in every case, or at all times, or without any qualification."
He advises Lucilius to keep his retirement low-key to avoid attracting undue attention and curiosity: “There is no need to fasten a placard upon yourself with the words: ‘Philosopher and Quietist.’ Give your purpose some other name; call it ill-health and bodily weakness, or mere laziness. To boast of our retirement is but idle self-seeking.”
"To boast of our retirement is but idle self-seeking."
Seneca compares the need for discreet retirement to how animals hide their tracks to avoid detection: “Certain animals hide themselves from discovery by confusing the marks of their footprints in the neighbourhood of their lairs. You should do the same.” He cautions against advertising one’s withdrawal from public life, as it often leads to unwanted attention: “To advertise one’s retirement is to collect a crowd.”
"To advertise one’s retirement is to collect a crowd."
Seneca stresses the importance of self-reflection during retirement, urging Lucilius to critically evaluate and address his own weaknesses: “When you withdraw from the world your business is to talk with yourself, not to have men talk about you. But what shall you talk about? Do just what people are fond of doing when they talk about their neighbours, – speak ill of yourself when by yourself; then you will become accustomed both to speak and to hear the truth.”
"When you withdraw from the world your business is to talk with yourself, not to have men talk about you."
He advises focusing on personal flaws and working towards their improvement, just as one would address physical ailments: “So it is with our souls; there are in them certain parts which are, so to speak, on the sick-list, and to these parts the cure must be applied.” He explains that his retirement is not a retreat from action but a means to pursue greater and more meaningful activities: “I do recommend retirement to you, but only that you may use it for greater and more beautiful activities than those which you have resigned.”
"I do recommend retirement to you, but only that you may use it for greater and more beautiful activities than those which you have resigned."
Seneca critiques the superficial pursuits of public life, highlighting their transient nature and the envy and hatred they attract: “To knock at the haughty doors of the influential, to make alphabetical lists of childless old men, to wield the highest authority in public life, – this kind of power exposes you to hatred, is short-lived, and, if you rate it at its true value, is tawdry.”
Seneca concludes by asserting that old age is an ideal time for achieving wisdom, as it has been tempered by experience and self-reflection: “You need not think, however, that any time of life is more fitted to the attainment of a sound mind than that which has gained the victory over itself by many trials and by long and oft-repeated regret for past mistakes.”
"To knock at the haughty doors of the influential, to make alphabetical lists of childless old men, to wield the highest authority in public life, – this kind of power exposes you to hatred, is short-lived, and, if you rate it at its true value, is tawdry."
Seneca’s letter encourages a balanced approach to retirement, advocating for a life of reflection and self-improvement away from the distractions and superficialities of public life.
***** Letters from a Stoic Key Takeaways is a collection of short key takeaways from the letters sent by Seneca to Lucilius. Read each letter’s key takeways here .
