Seneca: On the Firmness of the Wise Man

This is my own recording of the second essay of L Annaeus Seneca. It was written sometime around 55 AD and celebrates the imperturbility of the ideal Stoic sage, who with an inner firmness, is strengthened by injury and adversity.
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The Notes I Took:
“…untested power is untrustworthy, whereas that solidity which hurls back all attacks is deservedly regarded as the most trustworthy of all”
“‘it would be better,’ say you, ‘if no one [treated the wise man badly].’ You are expressing a wish that the whole human race were inoffensive, which may hardly be”
“such is the weakness of men's minds, that many think that there is nothing more bitter than insult”
“wisdom leaves no room for evil; to it, the only evil is baseness, which cannot enter into the place already occupied by virtue and honour. If, therefore, there can be no injury without evil, and no evil without baseness, and baseness cannot find any place with a man who is already filled with honour, it follows that no injury can reach the wise man”
“the wise man can lose nothing. He has invested everything in himself, has entrusted nothing to fortune, has his property in safety, and is content with virtue, which does not need casual accessories, and therefore can neither be increased or diminished”
“fortune does not give virtue; therefore she does not take it away. Virtue is free”
“The wise man therefore can lose nothing of whose loss he will be sensible, for he is the property of virtue alone, from whom he never can be taken away. He enjoys all other things at the good pleasure of fortune; but who is grieved at the loss of what is not his own?”
“What was being plundered and carried away hither and thither he did not consider to be his own, but to be merely things which come and go at the caprice of fortune; therefore he had not loved them as his own, for the possession of all things which come from without is slippery and insecure.”
“no siege engines can be discovered which can shake a well-established mind”
“what belongs to myself is with me, and ever will be”
“it is possible for someone to do an injury to me, and yet for me not to receive it”
“if we know that death is not an evil, and therefore is not an injury either, we shall much more easily endure the other things, such as losses, pains, disgraces, changes of abode, bereavements, and partings”
“So far, however, is he from shrinking from the encounter either of circumstances or of men, that he makes use of injury itself to make trial of himself and test his own virtue”
“bodily pain and weakness, the loss of friends and children, and the ruin of his country in war-time. I do not say that the wise man does not feel these, for we do not ascribe to him the hardness of stone or iron; there is no virtue but is conscious of its own endurance.”
“In the same spirit in which we deal with boys, the wise man deals with all those whose childhood still endures after their youth is past and their hair is grey”
“the wise man, therefore, is quite justified in treating the affronts which he receives from such men as jokes”
“Seek out sufferings and all things hard to be borne, repulsive to be heard or seen”
“We do not deny that it is an unpleasant thing to be beaten or struck, or to lose one of our limbs, but we say that none of these things are injuries. We do not take away from them the feeling of pain, but the name of ‘injury,’ which cannot be received while our virtue is unimpaired”
“it is a sort of revenge to spoil a man's enjoyment of the insult he has offered to us;”
“the success of an insult lies in the sensitiveness and rage of the victim”
“Let wounded spirits, then, console themselves with this reflexion, that, even though our easy temper may have neglected to revenge itself, nevertheless that there will be someone who will punish the impertinent, proud, and insulting man, for these are vices which he never confines to one victim or one single offensive act.”
“all things happen in a more endurable fashion to men who are prepared for them”
“We ought not to engage in quarrels and wrangling; we ought to betake ourselves far away and to disregard everything of this kind which thoughtless people do (indeed thoughtless people alone do it), and to set equal value upon the honours and the reproaches of the mob; we ought not to be hurt by the one or to be pleased by the other”
“freedom consists in raising one's mind superior to injuries and becoming a person whose pleasures come from himself alone”

[@VoxStoica]

In case anyone's wondering who the runner is, it's David Goggins. He wrote a book "Can't Hurt Me" which I thought was pretty relevant to this topic: geni.us/CantHurtMe

[@alecmisra4964]

Odds Goggins!

[@MrMojo13ification]

I thought it was him!

[@ThoughTObjecTMusic]

Watched him on Rogan, amazing life story!

[@daveyjoneslocker4703]

Absolutely perfect thumbnail

[@mindfulllivingnow9673]

Absolutely 🎾🎾🙏

[@jsoth2675]

One of the best narrators of stoic material on the net. Well done, sir!

[@mmka5434]

Absolutely

[@malikialgeriankabyleswag4200]

"do not quarrel with your own good nature. and until you have made your way to the truth, keep alive this hope in your minds, be willing to recieve the news of a better life, and encourage it by your admiration and your prayers. it is to the benifit of the commonwealth of man kind, that there should be someone who is unconconquered. someone against whom destiny has no power."

[@AquanautSt1]

In my youth I read these teachings by chance. Now I KNOW these teaching through living . More than gold !

[@ajjames8691]

Thanks for making this , it’s my first aid kit when I’m feeling fragile

[@patp3236]

Ive listened to this audiobook and enchiridion three times each and let me just say..... thank you!

[@Loofy101]

"The invulnerable is not that which is never struck, but that which is never wounded" that shit hit deep

[@mmka5434]

Seneca was a genius indeed. Thanks for this instructive material.

[@RohanKumar-vx5sb]

thank you robin for your such a great narration. and for marcus aurelius, cato, seneca, and epictetus all. i love seneca. had it not been for you, id never have been able to read him, let alone listen to on the daily

[@Karim-is7ew]

same, I swear

[@thewayfarer8849]

This is of the highest quality, I thought you were a popular audiobook author by the sound, but you've dedicated your voice to reaching more people. This has been the bedrock of what I listen to while working, thank you very much.

[@essah4161]

What a fitting picture to use of david goggings. He has quite a stoic philosophy, for instance the mentality of not giving up on the quest of conquering his mind.

[@benbray4982]

A stoic wouldnt see any option of giving in or address it in the first place.

[@SophieBird07]

Human nature never will change. I keep listening to this to keep me centered under this current administration. Thank you!

[@IdaDyhr]

Thanks for enjoyable listening. Wonderful reading, perfect pace and voice.

[@michaelleblanc7283]

As always - much appreciated !

[@mrScififan2]

Thanks for posting

[@subramaniansenaiyar240]

Thanks a lot for posting.

[@adamerwin1206]

Really appreciate you 🙏

[@nickedani]

I could not help my self! Did It twice uninterruptdely! Thank You Very much! It's powerful!

[@joshuawheatley2055]

Brother, thank you for sharing this with us! You have a very pleasant narrating voice. Joshua

[@b-rainwash410]

Thank you, thank you, thank you

[@Dutch_bastard_23]

Thank you for posting Seneca's books and letters. Much appreciated! Greetings to you from Holland.

[@GIJOERO]

This is awesome

[@gigidomingo8479]

Thank you, its informative !!!!!

[@rbizzle18]

Thank you!

[@RaykouKun]

Hey Vox Stoica, I love your audiobooks. Your readings are so clear and easy to understand, so I like listening to them at work. Just curious if you ever thought about reading more philosophy books like Nietzsche's Human, All too Human. I haven't seen anyone upload an audio reading of that book besides a robot recording on KZbin, and Nietzsche is always a popular subject so it would be cool to hear your reading of one of the quintessential Nietzsche works.

[@ralphmarionvicta3795]

Unfortunately, Nietzsche is against Stoicism. Virtue has no place in his philosophical system. For him, might makes right, i.e. it is force/power that decides what is right. He also advocates consequentialism, hedonism and materialism. These are all against the Stoic ideal of virtue as its own end.

[@15secondschineseshorts18]

This is a Stoic channel

[@elisworld2454]

@@ralphmarionvicta3795 He also went mad and died mad

[@f0ggy808]

@@ralphmarionvicta3795 Although, I agree him advocating for realities of power and consequentialism does play a role in his view of the world. I must say the statement regarding advocating for hedonism and or materialism can't be ever related to works of Nietzsche. I suggest rereading through Zarathustra, as his vocal point always had been on the importance of virtue and pursuit of higher values - rising above. Going above and beyond the human negative proclivities (quite stoic to me). Seems my friend that your passion for stoic ideas, which i share, may have clouded your perception of ideas expressed by the big moustache man.

[@jostsangoku]

Thank you

[@Stormvermin-bx1lh]

First! Best lad Seneca.

[@seekluv]

I wish that the background was a picture of Seneca but i am at peace either way

[@boesbensen4397]

Tak!

[@wrestlexwrestlingshorts661]

David goggins in the pic

[@intuendaecivilization9365]

0:20 - 0:40 HOLD UP

[@Nitinsinghsiwan]

God like mind 😀

[@josephisraelyehudah3401]

The Life-review near-death experience.

[@aaronjohnstone2800]

David Goggins

[@paulboggess1330]

49:00

[@Knight766]

Who's gonna carry the boats?

[@fraidoonw]

thanks! a wonderful lecture! however I don't like the picture you've put on the right side, why a gangster picture? or whoever he is!

[@1mmafrka]

He’s an athlete you racist moron.

[@Hunter-wx7td]

1mmafrka muh racism

[@abdirahman8111]

david goggings a man who conquered his brain

[@ericwright5027]

Goggin’s is far from a gangster! He is a Navy Seal and Army Ranger. Not to mention someone that has over come far more than most will ever conceive! That picture is of him while he was running a marathon. Knowing what I know about him, I’m sure he is running said marathon with some sort of injury or broken bone.

[@bronsomccor2642]

You don't know David goggins

[@tristandavis6022]

Thank you