Seneca begins by affirming Lucilius’s understanding that virtue is the sole good: “Your letter has given me pleasure, and has roused me from sluggishness. It has also prompted my memory, which has been for some time slack and nerveless. You are right, of course, my dear Lucilius, in deeming the chief means of attaining the happy life to consist in the belief that the only good lies in that which is honourable.”
"The chief means of attaining the happy life to consist in the belief that the only good lies in that which is honourable."
He explains that those who consider external things as good place themselves at the mercy of Fortune: “For anyone who deems other things to be good, puts himself in the power of Fortune, and goes under the control of another; but he who has in every case defined the good by the honourable, is happy with an inward happiness.”
"For anyone who deems other things to be good, puts himself in the power of Fortune, and goes under the control of another; but he who has in every case defined the good by the honourable, is happy with an inward happiness."
Seneca describes the various ways people are troubled by external circumstances, such as the illness or disgrace of children, unfulfilled passions, or political failures. He notes that the expectation of death causes many to live in constant fear: “But the largest throng of unhappy men among the host of mortals are those whom the expectation of death, which threatens them on every hand, drives to despair. For there is no quarter from which death may not approach.”
"But the largest throng of unhappy men among the host of mortals are those whom the expectation of death, which threatens them on every hand, drives to despair. For there is no quarter from which death may not approach."
He argues that true happiness and calm can only be found by despising external goods and valuing virtue alone: “Whoever makes up his mind to be happy should conclude that the good consists only in that which is honourable. For if he regards anything else as good, he is, in the first place, passing an unfavourable judgment upon Providence.”
"Whoever makes up his mind to be happy should conclude that the good consists only in that which is honourable. For if he regards anything else as good, he is, in the first place, passing an unfavourable judgment upon Providence."
Seneca explains that those who focus on virtue are free from the turmoil that afflicts those who chase after Fortune’s favors: “No one will grapple with him on the way out, or strike him as he departs; the quarrelling takes place where the prizes are. Similarly with the gifts which Fortune tosses down to us; wretches that we are, we become excited, we are torn asunder, we wish that we had many hands, we look back now in this direction and now in that.”
He emphasizes that virtue is self-sufficient and brings true happiness, whereas reliance on external goods leads to instability and distress: “For this reason foresight must be brought into play, to insist upon a limit or upon frugality in the use of these things, since license overthrows and destroys its own abundance. That which has no limit has never endured, unless reason, which sets limits, has held it in check.”
Seneca advises that inner strength and reason are the best defenses against the vicissitudes of Fortune: “If the inner part be safe, man can be attacked, but never captured. Do you wish to know what this weapon of defence is? It is the ability to refrain from chafing over whatever happens to one, of knowing that the very agencies which seem to bring harm are working for the preservation of the world, and are a part of the scheme for bringing to fulfilment the order of the universe and its functions.”
"If the inner part be safe, man can be attacked, but never captured."
He concludes by urging Lucilius to embrace reason and virtue, which will arm him against all hardships: “Love reason! The love of reason will arm you against the greatest hardships… the mere vision and semblance of virtue impel certain men to a self-imposed death.”
"Love reason! The love of reason will arm you against the greatest hardships... the mere vision and semblance of virtue impel certain men to a self-imposed death."
Seneca’s letter underscores the Stoic belief that virtue is the highest good and the true path to happiness, providing a refuge from the distractions and fears that plague those who seek fulfillment in external things.
***** 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 .
