September 8th
DO NOT BE DECEIVED BY FORTUNE
“No one is crushed by Fortune, unless they are first deceived by her . . . those who aren’t pompous in good times, don’t have their bubbles burst with change. Against either circumstance, the stable person keeps their rational soul invincible, for it’s precisely in the good times they prove their strength against adversity.”
—SENECA, ON CONSOLATION TO HELVIA, 5.4b, 5b–6
In 41 AD, Seneca was exiled from Rome to Corsica—for what exactly, we are not sure, but the rumors were that he had an affair with the sister of the emperor. Shortly afterward, he sent a letter to his mother seeking to reassure her and comfort her in her grief. But in many ways, he must have been speaking to himself as well—scolding himself a little for this unexpected twist he was taking pretty hard.
He’d managed to achieve some measure of political and social success. He might have chased some pleasures of the flesh. Now he and his family were dealing with the consequences—as we all must bear for our behavior and for the risks we take.
How would he respond? How would he deal with it? Well, at the very least, his instincts were to comfort his mother instead of simply bemoaning his own suffering. Though some other letters show that Seneca begged and lobbied for his return to Rome and power (a request eventually granted), he seems to have borne the pain and disgrace of exile fairly well. The philosophy that he’d long studied prepared him for this kind of adversity and gave him the determination and patience he needed to wait it out. When he found his fortune restored as he returned to power, philosophy prevented him from taking it for granted or becoming dependent on it. This was good because fortune had another turn in store for him. When the new emperor turned his wrath on Seneca, philosophy found him ready and prepared once again.
9月8日
不要被命运蒙骗
“没有人会被命运击垮，除非他先被命运蒙骗……那些在顺境中不自鸣得意的人，也不会因为境遇的改变而突然幻灭。无论面对哪一种处境，一个内心稳定的人都会让自己的理性灵魂保持不可战胜，因为恰恰是在顺境之中，他们证明了自己抵御逆境的力量。”
——塞内卡，《致赫尔维娅慰问信》，5.4b，5b–6
公元41年，塞内卡被从罗马流放到科西嘉岛——究竟是因为什么，我们并不确定，不过当时的传言说，他与皇帝的妹妹有染。不久之后，他给母亲写了一封信，希望安慰她，让她不要因为自己的遭遇而过度悲伤。但从很多方面来说，他一定也是在对自己说这些话——多少有点责备自己，因为这个突如其来的转折让他颇受打击。
此前，他已经取得了一定程度的政治和社会成功。他也许还追逐过一些肉体上的享乐。现在，他和家人不得不面对这些事情带来的后果——正如我们每个人都必须为自己的行为以及自己承担的风险承受后果一样。
他会如何回应？他会怎样面对这一切？至少，他的本能是去安慰自己的母亲，而不是一味哀叹自己的苦难。尽管另外一些书信表明，塞内卡曾恳求并游说，希望能够返回罗马、重掌权力（这个请求最终得到了批准），但总体来说，他似乎相当平静地承受了流放带来的痛苦与耻辱。他长期学习的哲学使他为这种逆境做好了准备，并赋予了他坚持等待所需要的决心与耐心。后来，当他重新掌权、命运再次眷顾他时，哲学又使他不会把这种好运视为理所当然，也不会对它产生依赖。这一点非常重要，因为命运还为他准备了另一次转折。当新皇帝把怒火转向塞内卡时，哲学再次让他处于准备好的状态。
读要读顺口，写要写顺手， 擒字如擒虎，解句如解题。 |