It can sometimes seem that we live in an unprecedented age of social greed and acquisition, draining us of any sense of values beyond those represented by material wealth. Perhaps so. But it can often be instructive to look back at previous ages when commentators came to similar conclusions. Early in the nineteenth century Wordsworth’s sonnet ‘The world is too much with us’ expressed the view that “Getting and spending we lay waste our powers”.
Going back much further, the Roman philosopher Seneca (?4 bce – 65 ce) had this to say:
Philosophy has the single task of discovering the truth about the divine and human worlds. The religious conscience, the sense of duty, justice and all the rest of the close-knit interdependent ‘company of virtues’, never leave her side. Philosophy has taught men to worship what is divine, to love what is human, telling us that with the gods belongs authority, and among human beings fellowship. That fellowship lasted for a long time intact, before men’s greed broke society up – and impoverished even those she had brought most riches; for people cease to possess everything as soon as they want everything for themselves.
(Letters From a Stoic)
For Seneca, Philosophy – imagined as a female figure – tells us how to live. In particular how to live in fellowship rather than in competition with each other. The ‘company of virtues’ embodies the idea of a well-lived life, where individuals take only what they need, not amassing wealth at the expense of others nor encumbering themselves with superfluous possessions. These are counsels of perfection, and it is unlikely that Seneca himself followed them to the letter. But they are also indicative, as he makes clear, of how he thought people should live rather than how they did, or indeed still do.
His final point about people ceasing to possess everything as soon as they want everything for themselves is pertinent here. It makes logical sense that desiring to possess everything means that you will never be satisfied that you have everything you want. But it also indicates a continuing facet of human nature to want more than is necessary. Seneca thought that there had been a time when this was not the case. It is always tempting to blame our own decadent times for the failings of society and imagine a past ‘Golden Age’ when all was harmonious. This may even be a necessary adjunct of striving to make things better in the future as it sees human nature as corrupted rather than irredeemably corrupt. Such a desire should, no doubt, also be one of the ‘company of virtues’ that sustain a good life.
Seeking to place ourselves somewhere between the ideal and the actual, between how we would wish things to be and the messiness of how they actually are, is a perennial concern of philosophy as it was understood by Seneca and other ancient thinkers. Defining the ‘good life’ and living the life we have will always be a matter of balancing ideals against practicalities. Knowing what you can change and accepting what you can’t was also one of the tenets of philosophy as practised by Seneca and his fellow stoics. It is knowing the difference between them that is the challenge!
greghill 