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Seneca to Lucilius: 74, on virtue and what is truly good or bad in life
One of the defining questions that differentiated most of the Hellenistic schools of practical philosophy was that of the relationship between virtue and “externals,” that is the sort of thing that most human beings value, including health, wealth, reputation, and so on. The 74th letter written by Seneca to his friend Lucilius explores precisely this territory and provides us with a clear presentation of the Stoic position.
Seneca approaches the theme in his own inimitable fashion, beginning with one reason we should focus on virtue: to avoid the vagaries of Fortune. He writes:
“Anyone who deems other things to be good, puts himself in the power of Fortune, and goes under the control of another; but he who has in every case defined the good by the honorable, is happy with an inward happiness.” (Letter LXXIV.1)
Happiness, that is, is an inside job, and it is unwise to bet on externals because they are not under our control. If we allow ourselves to care too much for that sort of thing then our happiness will be hostage to Fortune, and Fortune is notoriously fickle. Seneca then goes on to examine the unhappiness of so many who bet on externals rather than virtue:
“You will find men who are completely upset by failure to win an election, and others…
