Wrapping up Seneca's "On Anger"
Seneca, On Anger, Bk. 3 Ch. 42-43
Chapter 42
The opening lines of this chapter sound as if they might have come from an early Christian leader:
Let us be free from [anger], let us clear our minds of it, and extirpate root and branch a passion which grows again wherever the smallest particle of it finds a resting-place. Let us not moderate anger, but get rid of it altogether: what can moderation have to do with an evil habit?1
Subsequent commentary reminds me, however, that Seneca's conceptual universe was not Paul's.
We shall succeed in [getting rid of anger], if only we exert ourselves. Nothing will be of greater service than to bear in mind that we are mortal: let each man say to himself and to his neighbour, “Why should we, as though we were born to live for ever, waste our tiny span of life in declaring anger against any one? why should days, which we might spend in honourable enjoyment, be misapplied in grieving and torturing others? Life is a matter which does not admit of waste, and we have no spare time to throw away…Why do we go out of our way to seek disputes? why do we, forgetful of the weakness of our nature, undertake mighty feuds, and frail though we be, summon up all our strength to cut down other men? [emphasis added]2
Stoicism is akin to Christianity in many of its aims, but its methods bear a closer resemblance to Pharisaism. While I am inspired by the beauty of Seneca’s vision, I’m saddened by its loneliness. I knew Stoicism did not have much place for God (or gods), but to see that so starkly reflected provokes pity. The Stoic dictum seems reducible to: If it is to be, it’s up to me.
In my prideful moments, I’m drawn to this thought.
In my honest ones, I perceive how utterly hopeless it is.
Chapter 43
In the final chapter, Seneca leans into the inevitability of death. Since we’re all trapped by a glued-down hour glass, investing any time in anger and retribution is a fool's errand.
Do you want anything more than death to befall him with whom you are angry? well, even though you sit quiet, he will be sure to die. You waste your pains : you want to do what is certain to be done…Whether you are thinking of extreme or slighter punishments, how very short is the time during which either your victim is tortured or you enjoy an evil pleasure in another’s pain? This breath that we hold so dear will soon leave us: in the meantime, while we draw it, while we live among human beings, let us practise [sic] humanity: let us not be a terror or a danger to any one. Let us keep our tempers in spite of losses, wrongs, abuse or sarcasm, and let us endure with magnanimity our shortlived troubles…3
Wrap-Up and Post On Anger Plans
And so, after about six months at it, we have arrived at the end of On Anger. While I got a lot out of this book, its repetitiveness eventually started to feel pedantic. At least that was my reaction. I’m glad I read it and hope to put it on my re-read list for the future. What did you think of it?
Looking to the future, I plan to begin offering audio versions of the selected readings to my paying subscribers. This will both (1) offer a time-saving option to my paid subscribers and (2) allow me to feel less burdened to have to summarize the entire section. I feel like I’ve been doing far too much of that and not enough personal reflection/exposition on particular passages or themes.
So, beginning next week, paid subscribers should look for an audio release on Monday. Tuesday will continue to be a free, text-only, post. I hope to have you join us next week as we delve into one of Seneca’s Letter of Consolation to Marcia.
Until then, I leave you with this haunting musical warning of how our acts of anger and injustice eventually return to us.
Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. 1912. L. Annaeus Seneca Minor Dialogues : Together with the Dialogue on Clemency. London : G. Bell and Sons, 159.
Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. L. Annaeus Seneca Minor Dialogues, 159.
Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. L. Annaeus Seneca Minor Dialogues, 160-161.