Lúcio Anneo Sêneca was born in Córdoba incurrentSpain. His father was Anneo Seneca, known as Seneca the Elder. His father was famous as a rhetorician and only one written work remained, entitled Declamations.
Seneca the Younger, as he was calledI love the son, whowe will talk today,He was educated in Rome, having studied rhetoric linked to philosophy. In a short time, he became known as a lawyer and rose politically, becoming a member of the Roman Senate and, later, quaestor.
In Rome, political triumph did not happen with impunity, and Seneca's notoriety aroused the envy of Emperor Caligula.
However, Seneca was saved, as Caligula died before he could destroy him. In this way, Seneca was able to continue living in relative tranquility, but this did not last long. In 41 he was exiled to Corsica on charges of adultery, allegedly with Júlia Livilla, niece of the new emperor Claudius Caesar Germanicus.
In Corsica, Seneca lived for about ten years with great material deprivation. He dedicated himself to studies and wrote several of his main philosophical treatises,in which he exposes the classic Stoic ideals of renunciation of material goods and the search for tranquility of the soul through knowledge and contemplation
In 49, Messalina, first wife of Emperor Claudius, was sentenced to death. The emperor marries, this time, Agrippina. Shortly afterwards, AgrippialreadyHe sent for Seneca to take charge of the education of his son, Nero, making him, in the year 50, Nero's praetor.
Seneca was married to Pompeia Paulina and organized a powerful group of friends.
When Nero was named emperor, Seneca became his main advisor and tried to guide him towards a policy of justice and humanity. For some time, he exerted a beneficial influence on the young man, but, little by little, he was forced to adopt an attitude of complacency towards his situation.increasingly authoritative behaviorary ofyour pupil.
Senecawas widely criticized for his stance towards Nero's tyranny and accumulation of wealth, incompatible with his own philosophical conceptions, and, different from the other filósofos isoics, lived in backgroundtion of lifepublic and amidst the center of power ofRome.
Seneca was acused to participating in the Conjuration of Piso, in 65, he received from Nero the order to commit suicide, which he himself carried out with the same serene spirit with which he preached in his philosophy.
Seneca was a master at writing philosophical texts. He wrote letters about the brevity of life and the tranquility of the soul, about idleness, mourning and anger. These texts became classics of philosophy at the time of the Roman Empire and portray in a sober and in-depth way some of the main problems that tormented philosophers of that period.
They present reflections on the search for serenity in a world troubled by the dissolution of ancient moral values, beliefs and religious tradition, as the Roman Empire grew uncontrollably. Maybe because ofThat's your texts and the storycismhe haswon so muchstrength even in usthese days, here's theworld has if ttransformed into a form tto thefastand overwhelming that Seneca's advice once again brings lucidity in the midst of chaos.
The first of them – From life withdrawn – aims to justify the life dedicated to studies, reconciling it with the duties of public life, orthat is, the participation of manas a member of the State, inyour ddecisions.
According to Seneca, man should seek to beuseful so it seemssane ppublic, as it would be part of our nature to contemplate ittion, the quest to discover beauty and evilnat's isteriaureza.However, heto thediscriminated against the men they chose dedicate yourself to meditation, that is, critical reflection of thought,as this can also be useful to everyone.
Seneca, alit is to be considered thatdo Your point of view, if possible, man should be useful to many; Also, I understood that if it were not possibleible to lifepubilica, man should beuseful, even thoughto few; if it couldn't even be thesefew, that youpile up seruseful at leastto those closest to you or to yourself. Only in this way would he have been able to carry out a work that could be considered of value, that is, in accordance withits role, to the laws of nature.
For the philosopher, O man would have been born for two purposes: the countmplation anddog. That would be our true essenceessence, our actionaccording to natureza.
In "From the Withdrawn Life", Seneca defends the withdrawal from public and political-administrative activities and withdrawal as essential so that man can fulfill his mission of observing and judging everything through the prism of good and honesty, only if he does notcannot beuseful in questsions ppublic, either byimpossibility inical, for your safetyhip,or by questions of sahealth or even lack of opportunity.
In his words, “one with full physical capacity, before looking for problems, can place himself in safety and, immediately, dedicate himself to noble arts, living in justified leisure, cultivating virtues that can be practiced in the most absolute retreat”.
Seneca advises that theAddictions accompany us constantly, andtime or outwe are put to the test in the face of our weaknesses. In this way, mEven if we were not seeking anything else healthy, withdrawing in itself could still be beneficial, as it would make us better than we are. Here's how the good man was made to auxiliumcommon with its equals, and the vHis virtues dominate himfor beingendowed with greaterforce, therefore, the withdrawalIt is important so that away from the vWe are compelled to move them away from our soul and return to our nature, toso that we can beuseful totoo much.
Seneca says it is important to understand whenshall wewithdraw from public life,agando:
"What should we think then about the usefulness of withdrawing close to qualified men and choosing an example to guide our lives? This, except in a retired life, cannot be achieved. Only in this way can we achieve what we dream of, in a place where no one interferes in our actions, so that we do not leave aside our purposes.Only in this way can one lead life according to a single principle,instead of fragmenting it with diverse projects.
With this in mind, Seneca continues:
"For example, among all evils, the worst of all is when we decide to change our defects. Going from one thing to another can be pleasant, but at the same time, it is shameful, since our decisions become frivolous. We hesitate and are led here and there. We give up our desires, we complain about what we abandoned, the changes alternate between our ambition and our regret.
One thinginteresting andwhat,Seneca, throughout his works, demonstrates a concern in explaining that for him, although one must be careful with the lack of convictions about the ideals he defends, the important thing is the truth behind the thought, andnot the philosophical school or the thinker who says the affirmsdog. He considers that a universal truth must be used without censorship, even if it runs the risk of being considered frivolous. Therefore, your concern in explaining that there ishe hasideas of Epicurus that he finds useful, even though they arecontrary to theideals of his stoic school.
This explains why he spends some timepo speakingon the issue ofchange of thepinion and thenpost, deduces that those whoo cknow,bringoni follow hernot perguno: “What do you say, Seneca? You abandoned your peersoicos?
ByYes, Seneca attributes to himself the confidence of his friends in his firmness of mind.positioning, when finishing your sentence reflectingOthat, nyou, bons homens: until the last moment of lifeIt isstarIt ismOs emotion, don't give upIt ismOs to work for the common good, to help each person, to consider the power of giving aid to an enemy weakened by age.
Behold, Seneca cares about prove that you are notonin conflict with Stoic doctrine, nor are they against the teachings themselves. AffirmI walk that mEven if he abandoned them, he would be excused, because he would continue to follow their examples, butnot because he follows a law that prohibits saying anything against Zeno and Chrysippus, but because the situation itself, the truthbefore him,it follows their opinion, because, if someone is linked to the position of a single person, their place is not in the curia but, rather, among the party factions.
Well, yesand everything was well explained and the truth was professed openly andimmutable, we would not have to change anything in our decisions.
ByThis Seneca states that theThe two largest philosophical currents, that of the Epicureans and that of the Stoics, disagree with each other on this topic, although in different ways they agree with the withdrawal of life.
For him,Epicurus says: “The wise man should not have access to public business unless he is forced to”. That is, we seehere thatEpicurus says thatto theIt is natural for man to get involved with issuespublic, only the fsour if you see yourself in oneposition that nThere is no better choice.
JonZeno says oppurchase: “Carry out public functions, unless there is any obstacle”. In other words, man was born totion, to seek to beuseful among his own, born to faithandtionpublic,You should only stay away from it if something stops you.
Note the following, imagine that a government is lost in corruptiondog,improprieties andimmoralities of suchformto be a man of lifepublic bemost infamous of the befitting posture ofonewise, should the man move away from gare ppublic?
For rerespond toit isquestion, we must return to the entindemnity of that at naturity of maneh and whatntemplation (i.e. curioity over the world) and theaux-orientedcommon ilium,remember? Then, inyour thepinion the man whohe hashow is thisessence beuseful tous, abandon aRepublic at a time when morality, probity and valores but do notgive waybe instandingcowardly to hide,dopart of the nature ofman?
NWe don't think it matchesas seenion of Seneca nisn't it?
For him, sand the republic is so corrupt that it cannot be helped, if it is completely taken over by evil, the wise man would dedicate himself to the unachievable, strive to achieve no result.
Mas alThat's it, he advteasing,should onlylook for them at fanointingpublic, if we havecompetence andenough to do good withschool,orthat is, the one who searches for the spaces ppublic seeking personal wealthoal and satisfy your prown interests, ndo not actaccording to the nature of man, andit just interferes with the auxiliumcommon, so there must be spacetion to other peoplebest capacity.
Thus he states:It should be added that, if he has little authority and little strength, the republic itself would not accept him if his health prevented him from doing so. Just as one would not launch a ship with a damaged hull into the sea, nor would one enlist in the army who was weakened, in the same way one should not undertake a journey for which one knows one is not qualified.
Therefore, one with full physical capacity, before looking for problems, can place himself in safety and, immediately, dedicate himself to noble arts, living in justified leisure, cultivating virtues that can be practiced in the most absolute retreat.
What is required of man is that he be useful to the greatest number of his fellow men, if possible. If you can't, serve a few, or those closest to you, or yourself.
By becoming useful to others, he ends up starting community work. In other words, someone who, even outside of life,public, seeks to help those around him, becomesuseful to your community of people.
Likewise, Senecatalk about the dishonestthem, becausethat one that If it degenerates, it harms not only itself, but also everyone who could help if it were better. Otherwise, whatwow, even without so many competitionsences,improves just to be honestI am upright in yourtions,it already benefits others, as it can educate those who will be able to benefit them in the future.
For Seneca, cWe usually say that the supreme good consists in living in accordance with nature, however, nature generated generationthefor both contemplation and action.
That is, theSome sail and face the labor of a very long pilgrimage just for the prize of getting to know something far away and hidden.
Nature has given us a spirit that is curious and aware of its skill and beauty; created us to contemplate these great spectacles. All of this would lose its wealth of great, sublime things, so clearly structured, so brilliant and beautiful, if it were visible only to solitude!
So that you know that she wants all of this to be admired and not just seen, then observe the place where she placed us, that is, she placed us in the middle of herself and gave us the power to observe all the beings around us. .
But that doesn't mean we have already seen everything that exists, since our vision reveals the path to investigation and presents us with the foundations of truth in such a way that the investigation goes from light to dark, uncovering what exists most. ancient in the universe, such as, for example, searching for the origin of the stars that appear as distinct elements from each other; what was the law that separated elements linked together and those that are mixed; who indicated the place for each of them; whether the heavier elements fell alone and the lighter ones took flight, or, regardless of the weight of the bodies, another, stronger force determined the law of each of them.
Our thinking invades the barriers of heaven and is not content with knowing only what is within our reach. Because the manhe wasdoneto know, made for the investigation of the secrets of natureurity and your senses.
Once he came into the world to discover such problems, he sees how little time man has, even though he dedicates himself entirely to it.. Even if he does not allow himself to be disturbed or neglected, even if he controls his time very carefully and extends his hours until the end of his life, as long as fate does not take away anything that he received from nature, man is too mortal to understand immortal things.
Thus I live according to nature, declared Seneca, since I gave myself completely to her, since I am her admirer and servant. However, nature wants me to do two things: act and dedicate myself to reflection.
I do both, because there can be no contemplation without some form of action.
Onrealizes that knowing requires a usefulnesspractice, as there is no point in knowing whenis the perright time to plant cornexample, if man does not make this knowledgeeciment a usefulness, both forattic in the sense of planting, or even academic, of observation, in the sense that it teachesat or aprtomorrow
For Seneca said:“But does it make a difference”, they say, “to dedicate oneself to the study of nature only for pleasure, asking for nothing more than contemplation, without aiming at any other objective, since nature, with its attractions, already provides satisfaction?”
To this, he rebanksthat it is important to know what the purpose of dedicating yourself to public life is, that is, if it is just to be always busy and have no time to turn your eyes from human things to thingsas divine or soul.
You need to have theare not correct, look forthe goodcommon in ussas ations, becausewhat's the pointto which the mandesire things without the slightest appreciation for virtues, without cultivating the spirit, acting unjustly through acts not worthy of approval jWhy should all elements be connected?
Thus, Seneca concludedin, este life taken away is an imperfect and sick good, if theperson dedicates themselves to soliditynot for reasonmerely selfish and cowardly,since such violatestion of the virtues of a man connected with nature,does not demonstrate any learning.
No one can deny that virtue must prove its efficiency in works and not just reflect on what it does - thetion must be part of the man of good spiritIrito; One must, sometimes, give oneself entirely to a task and set out to do something with commitment and resoluteness for its practice.
ByThat's it, Seneca questiona:
Why, then, sentence him to imprisonment? For what purpose does the wise man withdraw into peace? Soon after, heresponds:It isto be sure that, there too, he must perform acts that will be useful to all posterity.
Certainly, we know that both Zeno and Chrysippus performed more superb works than commanding armies, holding public office, promulgating laws. They even promulgated them, but not just for one city, but for all humanity. Why, then, would it not be convenient for an honest and dignified man to have his life taken away, thanks to which future centuries are organized?
In summary, Seneca continuesue, I ask, if Cleantus, Chrysippus and Zeno lived according to their ideals. I have no doubt that you will respond that they lived in the same way as they taught, but none of them administered any republic. You will also say that they did not have the fortune and dignity that those who are accepted into the management of public affairs usually have. But that didn't mean they led a negligent and boring life. They, even in a life removed from the thing ppublic, theThey revolve so that their peace would be more useful to men than the activities and sweat of many others.In this way, they are perceived as great entrepreneurs, despite not having held public positions.
Furthermore, for Seneca, therea three ways of life. Fitting to each of nto thequestion which is better: what is dedicated to pleasure, what is dedicated to contemplation or what is dedicated to action?
For him,none of these choices would be wrong, as long as youalways look foract in a way that seeks the good withone, a ahelp others, fsour everythingcanfor a lifeuseful as a human being, even ifdo not occupy large positions, ordon't have bigwovenintellectual abilities, can help improve thejust being a good person, someone kind, polite and calmsmite bons vvalues for those close toyou.
Onetime that IEven those who advocate the doctrine of pleasure do not abandon contemplation, points out Sêneca, as wellermthe one who only dedicates himself to contemplation is also not removed from pleasure, and the third, although dedicating his life to activities, is not free from contemplation. For these ways of life areare in a certain way interconnected, and fulfill aimportant role for human nature.
Senecacontinues inyourthought, sayto thethat there is a sensitive difference between something being purposeful or being directed towards some intention. Of course, there is a difference, but one thing does not happen without the other.
Not even contemplation happenedIt iswithout action, nor action without contemplation, nor the third, which isoicosconsider as negative,or ifyes, the pleasure,proves to be everythingweak or bad, since the pleasure ofdepends on howto the conservationwe love our virtues, ourprinciples, behold, aman balanced in his reasonNo, can you feelan immense pleasureer you havecontemplating the sunrise, being with a loved one, beingeat a mealtion, to have a bed and a safe roof for thecold daysor, for exampleexample. Otherwise, a manme given over to the pleasure ofmeasuredly, with reasonto thesuccumbed torace of pleasure, may you despise all these little things, and seek in ambiencetion, na ganance, in apathy and in games your happiness.
Therefore, Seneca considers lawful live a retired life, although adgreen than nWe must not choose the life taken by egoism or soreadiness, becauseheit must be a choicea volunteer, wetrying to maintain utiality of man in his passage on this earth.
Another concept,is broughtby Seneca when stating that:"They say that the wise man should not approach any kind of public business. It does not matter which path he chooses to his final rest. Otherwise, pIt may happen that public affairs do not choose him; it may happen that he does not choose them; It may, finally, happen that they don't even exist. The importantis that man knows how he can practicer the good, how can you improve the mworld, even withlittle resource. Because the negsleisure ppublic nto theare made forwhat seek them with a destructive disposition.
Seneca warns: "If I decided to go through all the current republics one by one, I wouldn't find any that were up to the task of receiving the wise man, or that the wise man could be part of."
Therefore, the swise nIt can't be egoist and arrogantto the point offind that no reppublic would be worthy of being directed or guidedfor him, jto which nthere is no repperfect public.
This kind of life withdrawsand,which aims only at pride and indifference to the common good, notis correct,is more evil thangood,because it is against natureof man, of helpilium mout.
If someone says that sailing is great, but then warns that it should not be done in waters where shipwrecks are frequent and where storms disorient pilots, I conclude that this individual advises me not to face the sea, for more than praise the navigation. Seneca exemplifies.
Understood whatIs life taken away?
It's about dedicating yourself to agipositively notworld, whether occupying the spacesppublic, formeans ofactions and attitudes that elevate people to theirback, whether dedicating himself to studies on the mysticeries of nature, whetherimplmention educating hisson with good valores so that he shapes the ffuture for the better. A totion is part of our essessence, of our nature. The withdrawn life defendedby Seneca,is the excess,it would be impossibleability to act,It's a state of introspectiontion in which the individualidious even far from lifepublic, seeks to beuseful for goodcommon. Even aperson who doesn'tIf you didn't have literacy, you could have your life taken awayuseful to youidleness, being goodevola, amable and disset out to educate your children with thisWhat you gained from your experience of seeingby creating good people to contribute to common life.
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