How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool (h/t mindyourbusiness)
This week’s book:
Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.
Picking up where I left off with Seneca’s letters to his friend and student, Lucilius Junior, an official in Sicily.
Following is a paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the letter. Seneca’s text appears in bold, my replies are in normal text.
ON VATIA’S VILLA
1. I have just returned from a ride in my litter; and I am as weary as if I had walked the distance, instead of being seated. Even to be carried for any length of time is hard work, perhaps all the more so because it is an unnatural exercise; for Nature gave us legs with which to do our own walking, and eyes with which to do our own seeing. Our luxuries have condemned us to weakness; we have ceased to be able to do that which we have long declined to do.
I guess sitting in a litter would be like somewhat strenuous if you are not used to it. Keeping upright while seated in a boat is probably comparable. I think modern life has definitely made people in general weaker, this has been a constant as life gets relatively easier, the people become soft.
2. Nevertheless, I found it necessary to give my body a shaking up, in order that the bile which had gathered in my throat, if that was my trouble, might be shaken out, or, if the very breath within me had become, for some reason, too thick, that the jolting, which I have felt was a good thing for me, might make it thinner. So I insisted on being carried longer than usual, along an attractive beach, which bends between Cumae and Servilius Vatia’s country-house, shut in by the sea on one side and the lake on the other, just like a narrow path. It was packed firm under foot, because of a recent storm; since, as you know, the waves, when they beat upon the beach hard and fast, level it out; but a continuous period of fair weather loosens it, when the sand, which is kept firm by the water, loses its moisture.
Maybe he should have walked, it doesn’t seem the ride helped as much as he was hoping. The journey he is describing is probably somewhere around here, it looks like a beautiful area.
3. As my habit is, I began to look about for something there that might be of service to me, when my eyes fell upon the villa which had once belonged to Vatia. So this was the place where that famous praetorian millionaire passed his old age! He was famed for nothing else than his life of leisure, and he was regarded as lucky only for that reason. For whenever men were ruined by their friendship with Asinius Gallus[2] whenever others were ruined by their hatred of Sejanus, and later[3] by their intimacy with him, – for it was no more dangerous to have offended him than to have loved him, – people used to cry out: “O Vatia, you alone know how to live!” 4. But what he knew was how to hide, not how to live; and it makes a great deal of difference whether your life be one of leisure or one of idleness. So I never drove past his country-place during Vatia’s lifetime without saying to myself: “Here lies Vatia!”
No one knows who Vatia was today, but apparently he managed to avoid political intrigue and lived only to enjoy himself. According to Seneca, Vatia died while still living. While this seems true, it also sounds like living among the Emperors was dangerous, and I don’t see the reward to make it appealing.
4. But, my dear Lucilius, philosophy is a thing of holiness, something to be worshipped, so much so that the very counterfeit pleases. For the mass of mankind consider that a person is at leisure who has withdrawn from society, is free from care, self-sufficient, and lives for himself; but these privileges can be the reward only of the wise man. Does he who is a victim of anxiety know how to live for himself? What? Does he even know (and that is of first importance) how to live at all?
People counted Vatia as wise when in Seneca’s estimation, he was merely self indulgent. Living with the purpose of satisfying desires would have to leave a person empty at a certain point. Seneca makes the point that not living to help others is the sign of a weak person, not a wise one.
5. For the man who has fled from affairs and from men, who has been banished to seclusion by the unhappiness which his own desires have brought upon him, who cannot see his neighbour more happy than himself, who through fear has taken to concealment, like a frightened and sluggish animal, – this person is not living for himself; he is living for his belly, his sleep, and his lust, – and that is the most shameful thing in the world. He who lives for no one does not necessarily live for himself. Nevertheless, there is so much in steadfastness and adherence to one’s purpose that even sluggishness, if stubbornly maintained, assumes an air of authority with us.
Apparently Vatia was so determined not to be any use to anyone that some were fooled into thinking he had a solid philosophical base to his mindset. While he should be embarrassed about this, he was proud of his ability to enjoy whatever whim he had, and others admired him for that.
6. I could not describe the villa accurately; for I am familiar only with the front of the house, and with the parts which are in public view and can be seen by the mere passer-by. There are two grottoes, which cost a great deal of labour, as big as the most spacious hall, made by hand. One of these does not admit the rays of the sun, while the other keeps them until the sun sets. There is also a stream running through a grove of plane-trees, which draws for its supply both on the sea and on Lake Acheron; it intersects the grove just like a race-way,[5] and is large enough to support fish, although its waters are continually being drawn off. When the sea is calm, however, they do not use the stream, only touching the well-stocked waters when the storms give the fishermen a forced holiday.
Seneca obviously had never been invited into the villa, but from how he describes it, it sounds like an idyllic place to live.
7. But the most convenient thing about the villa is the fact that Baiae is next door, it is free from all the inconveniences of that resort, and yet enjoys its pleasures. I myself understand these attractions, and I believe that it is a villa suited to every season of the year. It fronts the west wind, which it intercepts in such a way that Baiae is denied it. So it seems that Vatia was no fool when he selected this place as the best in which to spend his leisure when it was already unfruitful and decrepit.
Baiae was a town famous for all of the villas built by Emperors and other rich people in ancient Rome. The fair weather would be nice for Vatia as he grew old in his life of indulgence. The way Seneca describes this villa reminds me of looking at homes on the shore of Deep Creek Lake in Maryland. While I understand why the rich people live there, I don’t think I would want to live in such a tourist area.
8. The place where one lives, however, can contribute little towards tranquillity; it is the mind which must make everything agreeable to itself. I have seen men despondent in a gay and lovely villa, and I have seen them to all appearance full of business in the midst of a solitude. For this reason you should not refuse to believe that your life is well-placed merely because you are not now in Campania. But why are you not there? Just let your thoughts travel, even to this place.
It is more important to have a tranquil mind than it is to live in a tranquil place. I enjoy sitting on my back deck and looking at the small lake I live on. Sometimes when I am trying to sleep, I picture myself there and it helps me to relax. This really helps when I am traveling by myself for work and am in a hotel.
9. You may hold converse with your friends when they are absent, and indeed as often as you wish and for as long as you wish. For we enjoy this, the greatest of pleasures, all the more when we are absent from one another. For the presence of friends makes us fastidious; and because we can at any time talk or sit together, when once we have parted we give not a thought to those whom we have just beheld.
I try not to lose the happiness I get from talking to my wife when we are separated. It is easy to take it for granted when we are together everyday. On my last solo trip, I realized that we have become spoiled, because a 5 day trip seemed like I hadn’t seen her in awhile. When I was on active duty, I had to leave for 6 weeks and our church friends acted like that was a long time and to us that was a short separation.
10. And we ought to bear the absence of friends cheerfully, just because everyone is bound to be often absent from his friends even when they are present. Include among such cases, in the first place, the nights spent apart, then the different engagements which each of two friends has, then the private studies of each and their excursions into the country, and you will see that foreign travel does not rob us of much.
Even when spending time together, we are not 100% together all the time, I will be watching hockey and she will be texting with her Japanese friends.
11. A friend should be retained in the spirit; such a friend can never be absent. He can see every day whomsoever he desires to see.
I can always have an imaginary conversation with her when we are not together and can reasonably anticipate what she would tell me if she was there. Sometimes I use this as encouragement to go to bed on time and get up early enough to still go workout.
I would therefore have you share your studies with me, your meals, and your walks. We should be living within too narrow limits if anything were barred to our thoughts. I see you, my dear Lucilius, and at this very moment I hear you; I am with you to such an extent that I hesitate whether I should not begin to write you notes instead of letters. Farewell.
Music this week is early Queensryche. They were one of my favorite bands as a teenager and their first four albums rank pretty high on my personal list.
Queen of the Riech, such a bad video, but for being such a young band the music is amazing.
Nightrider, I was unaware that there was a video for this song.
Prophecy, if I remember correctly, this song was not on my cassette tape, but it was on the CD I bought in Japan.
Quite possibly the very first First World problem? 😉
Definitely not a poor man problem.
He said he wasn’t feeling well, so maybe walking wasn’t an option?
On phone for an hour now with California Child Support trying to get all the unused monies since 2019-2021 that my ex never deposited and/or used. 14K split between the teens would help them as they set off into the world.
Damn. Best of luck.
Thanks. How was Vegas this year? Sorry we didn’t make it down just swamped with graduation activities, weddings and such.
Pretty good, ran into some old friends, made some new ones, finally got to make it to the Golden Tiki. The favorite item seen was a billboard on the way back to the Orleans from the strip from some slimy lawyer (Parke Injury):
Rooms are booked at the Orleans for next year, but I think we’re leaning towards Punk Rock Bowling next year.
Huh…that was…painless. Super nice lady said they will issue the check and then see if any outstanding monies in her name is out there to return to me/children. Sometimes good people do exist in governmental positions.
Yay!
Good deal, OBE. A win is a W, anyway you look at it.
Yay indeed!
Glad that worked out.
This was a good read while on hold and dreading..then..a bit of peace. So thank you for your contributions here.
Glad to hear everything is coming up OBE on this.
“Our luxuries have condemned us to weakness; we have ceased to be able to do that which we have long declined to do.”
While this is obvious and easy to see as far as physicality goes, it also applies to mental (and moral) strength.
I was also thinking about how technology has made our minds weaker.
I have had the same phone number since 2008 and my wife doesn’t remember it.
It’s not that the mind is weaker. It’s that the mind is being used differently.
The modern mind holds less information and more pointers to where information can be found, allowing the use of more knowledge than previously, but less direct and immediate recall. The brain has trended towards being a card catalog rather than the library as the library of external knowledge grows.
Completely agree.
Interesting idea.
I do not carry such information in my mind since it is readily available in books. Albert
I think it’s less active, so memory atrophies.
I sometimes try to recall my meals from last week, or what happened in a book I read a long time ago, hoping to keep my mind working more.
Not sure there’s any real benefit to it, but I think it’s better than not doing it.
Do last weeks meals have any meaning now? Is that book memorable, or forgettable?
Are you able to remember things that are truly important still? Like your wife B-day, or doctors appointments?
That is all true, I think I do it more as a self challenge than to actually gain anything from it.
I use the brain cells previously reserved for phone numbers to remember song lyrics instead.
Also my superpower. My wife finds it amusing.
I know more song lyrics and obscure facts about the bands I listened to in high school than is normal.
If I could just figure out how to remember how to drive somewhere after going there once.
I consider myself to be a smart person, but somehow directions are my kryptonite.
I can read a map and find spots with a compass no problem, but having me drive somewhere is an adventure.
Thank God for Waze.
Gendy, don’t lose that num-ber-er-r 🎵 😉
:lights Mike S. signal::
Also relevant
Relevant
I have a fairly ironclad memory of sorts. Can I remember a phone number? The important ones I do. Parents, my childhood phone number, wife, work. Can I remember the addresses I lived at? No, but I can show em to you on a map or drive you to each and every one. The mind is a truly remarkable thing. One thing that eludes me is remember names. Faces not a problem, what you are named…just cannot remember a lot of the times.
My brother told me about the ‘3-times’ sales technique:
1) repeat the name when introduced – “Obie? Nice to meet you”
2) use it during the conversation – “So, Obie, what do you get up to when you’re not working?”
3) use it when ending the conversation – “It was great talking with you, Obie”.
it helps, when I remember to do it.
If I were Obie, #2 would put you on the “do not like” list for good.
I need to do this. I’ve been horrible with people’s names all my life without constant reinforcement. I can remember mathematical and scientific formulas and constants, material properties, song lyrics, etc.
Proper names of people I’ve worked with for 20 years…………nothing. Throw in some Asian and European people, forgetaboutit.
Excellent advice.
The place where one lives, however, can contribute little towards tranquillity; it is the mind which must make everything agreeable to itself.
I agree and disagree here. A tranquil mind is crucial, but as you say a beautiful setting can absolutely help cultivate it.
A friend should be retained in the spirit; such a friend can never be absent. He can see every day whomsoever he desires to see.
This is solid gold.
Thanks, Ron!
I spent the flight home from Vegas trying to teach the girlfriend some stoicism and zen. She kept getting panicked by turbulence, she really didn’t like me laughing about it and pointing out that there was nothing that we could do to change the turbulence, had no control over the flight of the plane, so enjoy the roller coaster ride.
The lack of control is the problem.
I know stoics advocate deranged disregard for things out of the person’s control, but the lack of control is itself the cause of consternation for something like shaking.
Panicking about it doesn’t do anything helpful. There are times that the best thing to do is to realize there’s nothing you can do, and enjoy the ride.
Panic never does anything helpful, regardless of your level of control.
What about it is deranged?
UCS hates philosophy.
Covid responses by government including but not limited to lock downs and mandated vaccinations. Can’t do anything about it, Canadian truckers should just bend the fuck over and we should all be zen about it.
That might have been the “official” Stoic response, but to me being Stoic meant deciding where your individual line in the sand was and accepting the consequences of that.
I refused to wear a mask and got kicked out of the hospital and I was OK with that.
I still get pissed when I go back, I am not as Stoic as I wish yet.
Can’t do anything about it, . . . .
Not true. They could and did do something about it.
Stoicism would be recognizing the high probability of failure in the endeavor, but also recognizing the option to move public opinion in the right direction which might pay off later.
How did she feel about it later, after the flight?
Mad at me for laughing about it and trying to calm her down. 🙂
She claimed she had to panic because of the situation. I said the situation can’t make you panic, only you can do that. If the panic doesn’t help (and more often than not actively hurts) why not try to let it go and relax.
She did not take the lesson to heart.
Relevant
A beautiful setting can help, but if a person reamains stressed out, the location matters little.
I wonder if Seneca wished he’d paid a little more attention to Vatia’s impressive hiding skills, when he was trying to do the same from Nero.
I know, right?
I don’t see how living in political life was worth it, especially at a time when the emperor could sentence you to death on a whim.
We are too accustomed to proclaiming our political enemies as “other”: sociopath, psychopath, etc. and not seeing that they are people who have fundamental morals and believe that they should be acted upon, and in that sense are every bit as engaged as we are. For some, the stakes are worth it, even death. Which, however, was not seen as such a bad thing at that time.
Ron, yeah I had their first EP Good songs.
OBE, glad for your non-bureaucratic, bureaucratic encounter.
I saw them with Judas Priest. Really good show.
I saw them open for Metallica in high school.
My girlfriend thought it was crazy that I was more excited to see them than Metallica.
They were way better than Priest.
Thanks Penguin. I was pleasantly surprised.
Worth a perusal.
https://cepr.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FINAL-The-Human-Consequences-of-Economic-Sanctions-Rodriguez-7.pdf
That’s a mindblowing statistic. And I think it underlines why the US dollar hegemony is doomed.
When your only tool is a hammer…
Somebody is eventually going to take your hammer away.
“Hey, stop signing up for BRICS and making it harder for us to strong-arm you!”
– American diplomats everywhere
Always the big if….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp1z8EzZ5Hs
their first four albums rank pretty high on my personal list.
#5 is my favorite.
Prophecy was added to the 1988 reissue. Wasn’t on the original album.
The tracks remind me of Maiden.
And QR without Tate and Digarmo isn’t QR.
I think they were lost when Empire came out.
Just got back from the new low cost grocery outlet. It’s never going to be my primary source of groceries but there were some good deals, like sardines (good ones) for $1.49/can. Always good to keep a stash of sardines. I suspect their inventory will not be stable.
We do what we can in Joe Biden’s America.
Somebody is eventually going to take your hammer away.
I was asking myself, earlier, at what point does an explicit program to destroy the currency and the economy become outright treason.
What is the response?
With the amount of Stockholm Syndrome the populace has and the hubris that the ‘leaders’ have? No response other than scrounging for those sardine cans begging our leaders to make it better while blaming our older generations.
Article 3, Section 3 states:
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.
The states are in the plural as a separate entity from the federal government that is supposed to be the agent of the states. If the federal government is working against the states, by “levying war against them”, even and especially an economic war, I think there is a strong case that the federal government is committing treason against the states.
No response other than scrounging for those sardine cans begging our leaders to make it better while blaming our older generations.
That was pretty much my conclusion.
They engage in wanton unrestricted currency creation and blame the Russians when prices jump, and the people just lap it up like yummy pablum.
And now this is rattling around in my head
As I read the daily stoic and Neph’s post about the GF and turbulence driven panic, it made me think about JI article from earlier in the week. Fear is the mind killer and to some degree you can’t eliminate the fear, but what you do with it is critical.
Do you allow your mind to turn fear into panic, do you loose control of your emotions and lash out, do you freeze and cower? I’ve done all of these things in the past and they got me nowhere and never improved the situation.
When I panicked after seeing a fire i accidently set getting out of control as a kid, it did nothing to extinguish it or prevent it from spreading. It took fast action from a peer to get it under control.
When I was afraid of being bullied as a kid and I lashed out at someone smaller than me to deflect attention, I still got bullied but now I made someone else afraid.
When I froze on a cliff side instead of jumping off into the creek below; I still had to either risk an uncontrolled decent by trying to climb back up or jump.
Submitting to fear in the above events didn’t help anything but my own selfish temporary mental needs. It wasn’t ultimately good for me or those around me.
I’ve been trying to reduce the time it takes for me to shift from fear, anger, sorrow, frustration, stagnation, depression, to purposeful unemotional action.
I had to deal with almost overwhelming fear this morning – doctor wanted me to get some blood work done by next Friday, so I decided to do it this morning to get it over with. I don’t like needles generally, although I can handle the occasional shot, but blood draws in particular just freak me tf out.
The only way I could do it was by just completely detaching and acting like a robot following a checklist and focusing on the next step. Look up the lab on google maps. Get the paperwork. Go to my car. Get in the car. Start the car. Drive to the lab. Park. Get out of the car. Go to the lab. Check in (the point of no return). Wait. Go to the room. Sit in the chair. Stick out my arm.
But, now it’s done. I’m still kind of shaky and traumatized and haven’t been able to take off my jacket yet to pull off the cotton ball taped to my arm, but at least I’m not living in fear for the next week.
This is a great example. Being afraid does no good, so you have to shut off somewhat. This is not the way to live your entire life, but it does help to get through irrational and rational fear.
I’ve done this before, but not because of fear. It was because I was so overwhelmed I couldn’t sort my brain out, so I had to dump in my journal (purge the trash out of my brain). Then, once I had done that, I had to make an extremely detailed list of what to do to call the doctor to make an appointment. a) pick up phone, b) find number, c) press the button to call, d) turn on speakerphone so you can write, e) when they answer, say, “[these exact words],” etc. That was a very dark period of my life.
Have I mentioned lately how much I despise that dishonest cunte Raskins?
“The scary thing to me is that the insurrectionist philosophy behind this extraordinary event has only spread within the Republican Party and is now a defining attribute of their understanding of the Second Amendment. You can hear my colleagues Matt Gates, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Chip Roy talk about how the purpose of the Second Amendment is to allow the people to overthrow the government. Which means, by definition, to attack the police and to overthrow anybody who’s defending our government.”
It is the literal purpose as a final stopgap to allow the people to “alter or abolish” a tyrannical government. The real problem we have now is the lack of parity between the people and the government. But you know this. I hope the cancer kills you slowly and painfully.
These people are perfectly sane and reasonable: Pro-Trans Activist SCREAMS At San Francisco Board Of Supervisors Meeting
Another trunytoon outright calls for 1) disarming security and 2) violence, theft and arson against average, law-abiding citizens in order to get their way.
I was wondering why…they were screaming in San Francisco. I am impressed every day with how dumb things can still get.
I had to tap out pretty quickly.
People’s brains are broken.
I spent the flight home from Vegas trying to teach the girlfriend some stoicism and zen. She kept getting panicked by turbulence, she really didn’t like me laughing about it and pointing out that there was nothing that we could do to change the turbulence, had no control over the flight of the plane, so enjoy the roller coaster ride.
And once more I am reminded of the “How to Tell if You’re Dating a Sociopath”article I saw somewhere or other.
“Does he remain calm in emergencies or other stressful situations? Does he immediately try to solve problems when they arise, instead of running in circles like his hair is on fire?”
If you don’t fall completely to pieces at the slightest sign of trouble, you must be some sort of weird psychotic monster, and sane sensible normal people should fear and avoid you.
My wife used to get mad at me for staying calm, but now she appreciates it.
I’m sure there’s other traits I have that would put me in the sociopath column in that article.
My wife does not like turbulence, and we often fly in our 4 seat plane. I try to pick altitudes that will minimize it.. but sometimes you can’t avoid it.
She will have a solid hold on the grab handle, and move the microphone away, so I can’t hear the shrieks. In a way it is involuntary.. or done on a much lower response plane.
We have hundreds of hours of flight, She trusts my piloting skills, and the capability of the plane..
My problem is heights. If I think in any way that it is possible to fall from this height, I have a hard time until I convince my self that there is no way I will fall, and this never is a factor in a plane. Scaffolds, Hi lifts, cat walks etc, are an issue.
I’m calm in the moment, but after it’s passed I just fall to pieces, crying, trembling, everything.
Yeah. I’ve had the adrenaline dumps after the event. Those are not fun.
I was shaky after combat, but not during.
One time I actually panicked was the earthquake in 29 Palms CA.
Apparently I ran around the couch a few times, though I don’t remember doing that.
*points at Rebel Scum’s link just above*
That’s how you’re supposed to act.
The ol’ intersectional car crash:
“Angry Michael Jackson…. I just stepped on your jacket Michael, hee-hoo!”
He asks that like they will have a problem ignoring this and focusing on the fact a black man was killed by a white man.
If you bring up negative things about him, you’re racist.
Walensky out. Wondering what “Intersectional Bingo winner” takes over.
They’ll probably call that trannie guy again, even though he just unpacked.
It’ll be another lizard person, but probably a “diverse” one.
Good.
What we’re doing to punish slime ball RINOs, FOX News, and Bud Light is working, so don’t stop. THIS is what peaceful protesting looks like. Make them all bend the knee.
Bud Light down 26%
FOX has lost 2/3 of their viewers
The Bud Light thing continues to entertain me. I’ve seen some stories hit my feed about gay bars starting to stop serving AB-InBev products since AB-InBev “is soft on LGBT+ rights”.
AB has a brewery very close to me. I’ll have to ask around how things are going.
I’ll repeat what I said this morning: I giggle at the notion that one dopey, overcredentialed snoot in the marketing department wasn’t sufficiently on-leash and cratered a large corporation. She’s probably laid wide awake in bed staring at the ceiling for two weeks.
You know the saying “don’t stick your dick in crazy?” Well, don’t stick your dick in politics. Not if you are any kind of business.
Walensky out.
How long ’til she shows up on the Pfizer payroll?
You mean “officially”?
Pretty sure she’s been on it for years.
I’ve got ten bucks on Harvard