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<title>The Internet Vagabond :: Seneca's Letter to Lucilius, Letter 4</title>
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<span class="first">T</span>he
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<span class="first">I</span>nternet
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<span class="first">V</span>agabond
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<h1>Letter 4: On the Terrors of Death</h1>
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<h2>Original Text</h2>
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<p>1. Keep on as you have begun, and make all possible haste, so that you may
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have longer enjoyment of an improved mind, one that is at peace with itself.
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Doubtless you will derive enjoyment during the time when you are improving
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your mind and setting it at peace with itself; but quite different is the
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pleasure which comes from contemplation when one's mind is so cleansed from
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every stain that it shines. 2. You remember, of course, what joy you felt
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when you laid aside the garments of boyhood and donned the man's toga, and
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were escorted to the forum; nevertheless, you may look for a still greater
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joy when you have laid aside the mind of boyhood and when wisdom has
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enrolled you among men. For it is not boyhood that still stays with us, but
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something worse, – boyishness. And this condition is all the more serious
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because we possess the authority of old age, together with the follies of
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boyhood, yea, even the follies of infancy. Boys fear trifles, children fear
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shadows, we fear both.</p>
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<p>3. All you need to do is to advance; you will thus understand that some
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things are less to be dreaded, precisely because they inspire us with great
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fear. No evil is great which is the last evil of all. Death arrives; it
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would be a thing to dread, if it could remain with you. But death must
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either not come at all, or else must come and pass away.</p>
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<p>4. "It is difficult, however," you say, "to bring the mind to a point where
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it can scorn life." But do you not see what trifling reasons impel men to
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scorn life? One hangs himself before the door of his mistress; another hurls
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himself from the house-top that he may no longer be compelled to bear the
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taunts of a bad-tempered master; a third, to be saved from arrest after
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running away, drives a sword into his vitals. Do you not suppose that virtue
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will be as efficacious as excessive fear? No man can have a peaceful life
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who thinks too much about lengthening it, or believes that living through
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many consulships is a great blessing. 5. Rehearse this thought every day,
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that you may be able to depart from life contentedly; for many men clutch
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and cling to life, even as those who are carried down a rushing stream
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clutch and cling to briars and sharp rocks.</p>
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<p>Most men ebb and flow in wretchedness between the fear of death and the
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hardships of life; they are unwilling to live, and yet they do not know how
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to die. 6. For this reason, make life as a whole agreeable to yourself by
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banishing all worry about it. No good thing renders its possessor happy,
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unless his mind is reconciled to the possibility of loss; nothing, however,
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is lost with less discomfort than that which, when lost, cannot be missed.
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Therefore, encourage and toughen your spirit against the mishaps that
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afflict even the most powerful. 7. For example, the fate of Pompey was
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settled by a boy and a eunuch, that of Crassus by a cruel and insolent
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Parthian. Gaius Caesar ordered Lepidus to bare his neck for the axe of the
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tribune Dexter; and he himself offered his own throat to Chaerea.[1] No man
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has ever been so far advanced by Fortune that she did not threaten him as
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greatly as she had previously indulged him. Do not trust her seeming calm;
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in a moment the sea is moved to its depths. The very day the ships have made
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a brave show in the games, they are engulfed. 8. Reflect that a highwayman
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or an enemy may cut your throat; and, though he is not your master, every
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slave wields the power of life and death over you. Therefore I declare to
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you: he is lord of your life that scorns his own. Think of those who have
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perished through plots in their own home, slain either openly or by guile;
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you will that just as many have been killed by angry slaves as by angry
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kings. What matter, therefore, how powerful he be whom you fear, when every
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one possesses the power which inspires your fear? 9. "But," you will say,
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"if you should chance to fall into the hands of the enemy, the conqueror
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will command that you be led away," – yes, whither you are already being
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led.[2] Why do you voluntarily deceive yourself and require to be told now
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for the first time what fate it is that you have long been labouring under?
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Take my word for it: since the day you were born you are being led thither.
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We must ponder this thought, and thoughts of the like nature, if we desire
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to be calm as we await that last hour, the fear of which makes all previous
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hours uneasy.</p>
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<p>10. But I must end my letter. Let me share with you the saying which pleased
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me to-day. It, too, is culled from another man's Garden:[3] "Poverty brought
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into conformity with the law of nature, is great wealth." Do you know what
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limits that law of nature ordains for us? Merely to avert hunger, thirst,
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and cold. In order to banish hunger and thirst, it is not necessary for you
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to pay court at the doors of the purse-proud, or to submit to the stern
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frown, or to the kindness that humiliates; nor is it necessary for you to
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scour the seas, or go campaigning; nature's needs are easily provided and
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ready to hand. 11. It is the superfluous things for which men sweat, – the
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superfluous things that wear our togas threadbare, that force us to grow old
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in camp, that dash us upon foreign shores. That which is enough is ready to
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our hands. He who has made a fair compact with poverty is rich.
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Farewell.</p>
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<h2>Response</h2>
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<p>Letter 4 is the first letter I ever read by Seneca. I read it during a time
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of anxiety and stress, appropriately enough about my health and life.
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Every time I read this letter, I am reminded of why I like Stoicism. During
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the worst of my anxiety, I considered other avenues to find respite.
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Religion, distractions, drugs. None seemed complete; all held a catch.
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Religion asked me to put my faith in gods, to trust that which I cannot
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know. Distractions, though myriad, always ended with me back in reality. And
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as bad as my anxiety was, I'm not willing to subject myself to any degree of
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drugs unless absolutely necessary. Time and again, I found myself back at
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Stoicism. Whether it be the teachings of Epictetus or these letters, the
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teachings within gave me inspiration.</p>
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<p>Letter 4 deals with the fear of death, a fear I am all too familiar with.
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Though, to my credit, I don't think I'm alone in this fear. Seneca
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emphasizes the importance of overcoming this fear, as only a mind free from
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fear can be truly at peace. It is not enough to just renounce the fear
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though, you must conquer it. Like invaders at a gate, it will return in force,
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and each time you must defeat it. Fear is a constant companion, but it need
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not be a constant nuisance. To me, overcoming fear means learning, and
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understanding. I like to define fear as a lack of knowledge. We fear the
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darkness, because we know not what it holds, not because of the inherent
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qualities of darkness. To conquer fear is to learn, and grow, and improve,
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relentlessly. Overcome the ignorance, and recognize what is real. As Seneca
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reminds us, old age is not a cure for ignorance, but rather an extension:
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"Boys fear trifles, children fear shadows, we fear both." It is not enough
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to grow old, for adults are just larger children. We must mature in mind as
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well as body.</p>
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<p>Death is the great equalizer. Whether a king or a beggar, death comes for
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all. To live is inevitably to die; when may be unknown, but it is certain to
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come. An Onion article once said it best: "World Death Rate Holding Steady
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at 100 Percent." The Stoics are quick to remind us it is fruitless to
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concern ourselves with something outside our control, and death is no
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exception. Seneca is quick with examples: the highwayman or another enemy;
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your slave or your king; Nature itself. Accepting that death is the natural
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progress of life, and that it is outside our control, is paramount to living
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a life free of fear.</p>
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<p>Finally, the quote at the end. Once more, I feel the quote is unrelated but
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welcomed. Another suggestion towards minimalist living. Epicurus has a lot
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of good advice! This quote emphasizes the importance of recognizing and
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understanding what is necessary to live a good life. Both Epicurians and
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Stoics promote this to be living in accordance with Nature, though the
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details of what exactly that is may differ slightly. However, it's a lesson
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many today have foregone, instead relying too much on externals to find
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solace and reward. I like how Seneca sums it, though: "He who has made a
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fair compact with poverty is rich." Replace "poverty" with life, and it
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still holds. Live modestly, accept your shortcomings, and you will recognize
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how well off you are.</p>
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<h3>Source</h3>
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<p><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_4">
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Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 4 on Wikisource
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</a></p>
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<p><a href="https://www.theonion.com/world-death-rate-holding-steady-at-100-percent-1819564171">
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The Onion, "World Death Rate Holding Steady at 100 Percent"
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</a></p>
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<div class="author_info">
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Bill Niblock
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2018-01-20
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