🏛️ Sundays with Seneca
Sundays with Seneca is a weekly series exploring the writings (and Stoic philosophy) of Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Each meditation delivers a contemporary interpretation of one of Seneca’s letters, accompanied by a reflection exercise. *** This series is exclusive to members.
On Making Wisdom Your Own
Letter 33, The Futility of Learning Maxims
You want me to end these letters, as I did earlier ones, with short sayings from the “chiefs of our school.” But they were not in the habit of collecting “choice extracts.” The strength of their work runs through the whole. Uneven ground makes a single tree stand out; when the whole forest rises to the same height, no individual trunk is remarkable.
Poetry and history overflow with quotable lines.
Philosophy should be something more.
So don’t imagine that the sharp sayings I sometimes send belong to Epicurus alone. They are common property—and very much ours. They stand out in him because they appear rarely and unexpectedly, and because people are surprised that “brave words” come from a man they imagine as soft. Many insist he was effeminate.
I, for my part, think Epicurus was a brave man, even if he did wear long sleeves. Courage and readiness for hardship are found among Persians as much as among men who gird their tunics high. Clothes prove nothing.
For that reason, don’t press me for isolated quotes. The kind of thoughts you might extract here and there from other philosophers run through our writings without interruption. We do not arrange “shop-window goods,” luring buyers with a few display pieces while keeping the shelves inside bare. Wherever you open our books, you can take your own sample.
