Seneca,

Whew.  There’s a lot here.  I’ve never been to Baiae, but I have spent some time on an Adriatic island called Olib.  That sort of Mediterranean island life certainly is pleasant.  Time moves differently in place like that.

You mention that a wise man might choose to wear certain colors, as befits the simple life.  That reminds me of Cato (IIRC), choosing to wear the darkest dyed fabric he could find when light purple and red were the fashion.

EDIT:  Found it.

“And in general Cato esteemed the customs and manners of men at that time so corrupt, and a reformation in them so necessary, that he thought it requisite, in many things, to go contrary to the ordinary way of the world. Seeing the lightest and gayest purple was then most in fashion, he would always wear that which was the nearest black; and he would often go out of doors, after his morning meal, without either shoes or tunic; not that he sought vain-glory from such novelties, but he would accustom himself to be ashamed only of what deserves shame, and to despise all other sorts of disgrace.”

— http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/cato_you.html

The fact that these material things, such as the place we live, the colors we might adorn ourselves, the furnishing of our homes, etc., are all indifferents might seem confusing to some.  That these material things themselves are indifferents is not questioned; but how we handle them most certainly is not.

Thank you for the letter.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

“…[Ye]t the first steps in the approach to [virtue] are toilsome, because it is characteristic of a weak and diseased mind to fear that which is unfamiliar. The mind must, therefore, be forced to make a beginning; from then on, the medicine is not bitter; for just as soon as it is curing us it begins to give pleasure. One enjoys other cures only after health is restored, but a draught of philosophy is at the same moment wholesome and pleasant.”

My own practice seemed to have plateaued a few months back.  More than a few, now maybe.  And in the last couple weeks, even begun to slip.  This is a good call to action.  Thank you for it.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

“You are mistaken if you think that only on an ocean voyage there is a very slight space a between life and death. No, the distance between is just as narrow everywhere. It is not everywhere that death shows himself so near at hand.”

This letter, as Friday’s was, is full of parable and analogy.  The call to simple writing is a good one for philosophers.  While we might baffle the crowd with bullshit, if we have something of value which can be stated simply, simply put, we should.

The image of the city preparing for the invaders, the men at arms preparing for battle, the old men and women heaping up fortifications, … and us, positing a riddle, or helping?

Thank you for the letter.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

The swiftness of time is all the more reason to delimit the present.  To circumscribe it with attention, we focus and make better use of this short allotment of ours.

This letter has several quote-worthy passages.  I’m enjoying it and looking forward to its conclusion on Monday.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

Your letter today has a sobering message.  Rather than the “intellectual masturbation” of handling certain logical problems, our focus on ourselves, and thence our aid to others, is about our manner of life.

Does handling The Liar instil self-control?  Not by itself.  I can see a case in which such sorts of academic works could be a spiritual discipline of sorts however that doesn’t often seem to be the case.

Thank you for letter.  I’m thinking on it quite a bit this morning.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

“I propose to value them according to their character, and not according to their duties. Each man acquires his character for himself, but accident assigns his duties.”

There is an important lesson here.  One which, as I think I mentioned yesterday about people who are rude to table servers.

““He is a slave.” His soul, however, may be that of a freeman. “He is a slave.” But shall that stand in his way? Show me a man who is not a slave; one is a slave to lust, another to greed, another to ambition, and all men are slaves to fear.”

I’m hung up on “may be that of a freeman.”  It’s my own position that every human has the soul of a freeman.  While there is perceived security or safety sometimes under the yoke, every heart yearns to be free.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

The idea that the manner and style of the way we discourse or dialogue is an important one for philosophers.  It is not easy to bridge the gap between the specificity of, say, an academic style all the while maintaining and approachability of common conversation.

A useful reminder.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

Your letter bring up an interesting point today, or rather the second part of the letter from yesterday.  First, that the convoluted and hypothetical twists of certain logical problems, while interesting, don’t do much if anything to help us towards virtue.

A point does need to be made, as is implicit even here in your letter, however.  That while the paradoxes and riddles are not helpful in and of themselves, we still need to be proficient in the use of logic.

Your statement against the paradoxes is an argument:  one a good philosopher needs to be able to parse, weight, judge, and either assent or refute.  For a philosopher, Logic is indispensable, as your own argument here today proves.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

Your point about choosing a single path is one which until my recent studies I might have disagreed with.  The idea of philosophical eclecticism is sort of trendy.  Not syncretism, mind you, of which Stoicism is arguable a good example, but there mere plucking and  keeping of what seems pleasant or favorable.

It seems then we should choose path partly based on where it leads.  Stoic philosophy has never (and hopefully never will) claim to be ‘the one true path.’  It is in part this humility and uncertainty that I find attractive.

The question then of the Sage arises, whether it be achievable, or a mere measure.  I suppose whether the Sage can ever exist is a moot point; since we know for sure we can endeavor to be one.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.