October 31, 2025
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
For the October Quarterly Discussion, we read a selection from Seneca’s “On the Shortness of Life” in combination with Nelson Mandela’s statement at the opening of the defense case in the Rivonia Trial (Pretoria Supreme Court, April 20, 1964). Mandela’s speech ends with the words:
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
In #7 of “On the Shortness of Life,” Seneca also discusses death. He writes:
“There is nothing the busy man is less busied with than living: there is nothing that is harder to learn….it takes the whole of life to learn how to live, and – what will perhaps make you wonder more – it takes the whole of life to learn how to die. Many very great men, having laid aside all their encumbrances, having renounced riches, business, and pleasures, have made it their one aim up to the very end of life to know how to live; yet the greater number of them have departed from life confessing that they did not yet know…. Believe me, it takes a great man and one who has risen far above human weaknesses not to allow any of his time to be stolen from him, and it follows that the life of such a man is very long because he has devoted wholly to himself whatever time he has had.”
Seneca (and the Stoics more generally) believed that one must accept one’s environments. One must know what can be changed and what can’t. One must not overreach. One must focus on the internal. In a Stoic world, protection of thought is the only thing within one’s control.
After examining a number of Seneca’s passages, though, I was perplexed by the question of acceptance. Should one accept their external environment? Epictetus certainly did, though he also grew from slavery into a well-respected teacher. His work greatly affected Marcus Aurelius who also found himself ruminating on the idea of acceptance. Seneca denounces luxury, carelessness, and wasting time. In order to make the best use of time, Seneca advises that we pay attention to time, avoid excess, and find a purpose.
What does Seneca mean by finding one’s true purpose, or pursuing good ends? During discussion, we struggled to identify exactly what Seneca might mean. Maybe his ambiguity is purposeful. If Seneca gives too restrictive an answer, then he infringes on freedom. But if he doesn’t offer qualifiers, someone might feel justified to pursue lust, greed, and excess as their true purpose.
Someone like Nelson Mandela, then, presents a very thorny problem to the Stoic world. Did Mandela adhere to a Stoic ideal? Can equality – an ideal which is exterior to the self – be one’s true purpose in a Stoic world? (This is not to say that Mandela ever considered the Stoics…it’s just an interesting question to me.) Mandela certainly studied, improved himself, and let go of riches and wealth. But since Mandela’s purpose was to improve human rights in South Africa, it is less clear to me that this purpose would align with a Stoic ideal.
There is a tension in the Stoic vision, then, as I see it. One must live virtuously but not need anything. Mandela mentions that the Africans in his community were denied education, food, medicine, water, housing, etc. Perhaps this starving and illiterate community could find dignity, but it is hard for me to imagine they could sustain virtue without any support. Anyone, regardless of class or social structure, slave to emperor, can be a Stoic. In a Stoic world, everyone would seek wisdom, but that wisdom doesn’t necessarily improve the world around them. Stoicism accepts any given social order.
It’s difficult for me to understand how one can read about wisdom and only apply it inwardly. Perhaps this is part of the challenge. And yet, even Epictetus received educational support from his master who allowed him to study and read. Seneca came from a wealthy family who paid for tutors and then sent him to Rome for further education. After that, Seneca tutored Nero and worked in the political spheres of Rome. It’s really interesting to think about whether or not “On the Shortness of Life” was potentially written for the emperor. Purportedly, Seneca wrote it to his father-in-law, a wealthy businessman, but one wonders if it was meant for Nero himself, who often indulged his own whims at the expense of Roman society.
Comparing ancient Rome to a much more contemporary South Africa is unfair. The cultural differences of the ancient world may just be too different to make such comparisons. And yet, we continue to devote podcasts, products, blogs, readings, quotes, time, etc. to the Stoics. Their words have outlasted their society for important reasons. In fact, their words have only gained traction in the contemporary world, so it might be worth looking at the pros, cons, and blindspots of such ideals.
Much of this blog incorporates responses from various participants in the October Quarterly Discussion. I’m exceedingly grateful for their time in reading and sharing their thoughts! What a wonderful exercise in community, education, and conversation.
The next Quarterly Discussion will be held in January on Galen. Look for more information on the events page of our website at hmu.edu.
Photo credit: Shutterstock/ marekuliasz
