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Seneca to Lucilius: 78, on the healing power of the mind
Last week I had the displeasure of having to go to the emergency room (and stay overnight, twice). Not the kind of thing I would ever look forward to, of course, but it certainly did offer me plenty of opportunities to practice philosophy as a way of living.
Today, before writing this, I looked at my notes for upcoming topics to discuss with my readers and I was delighted to find Seneca’s 78th letter to his friend Lucilius. As it happens, the letter is, in part, about how to deal with sickness. How appropriate. (And no, I don’t believe this is anything other than a coincidence. The universe doesn’t send me personalized messages.)
At the beginning of the letter, Seneca tells Lucilius that he had been seriously ill of late. We know that he was affected by some kind of respiratory disease that at time made him feel like he was running out of air and die in suffocation. But Seneca reacted, summoning his will power:
“So I commanded myself to live; for there are times when just continuing to live is a courageous action.” (LXXVIII.2)
I wasn’t anywhere near as ill last week, but Seneca is exactly right. We think of courage — one of the four virtues of Hellenism — as the kind of thing one displays under extreme circumstances. In battle, say, or while risking one’s life to help others. But sometimes, perhaps even often, it takes courage just to go through ordinary life, either because we are facing an illness, like Seneca, or because we are experiencing serious financial difficulties, or a painful divorce, or countless other situations that suck the will to live out of us. We should remember and appreciate this insight, not only when it applies to ourselves, but especially when others may be going through rough times of which we know little or nothing. Be charitable to yourself as well as to other people.
Seneca continues by telling Lucilius that a major comfort in life is afforded by one’s friends:
“Nothing, my excellent Lucilius, refreshes and aids a sick man so much as the affection of his friends; nothing so steals away the expectation and the fear of death.” (LXXVIII.4)
Friendship was very important for several Hellenistic schools. This was the case, obviously, with the Stoics, but…
