Continuing to dive deeper and deeper into the subject of Seneca and one of his most memorable works, Moral Letters to Lucilius, we cannot help but dwell on one of the most important, the fidelity to virtue. You may be wondering why this letter is one of the most important and why we chose it? The answer is simple, and you will find it in the following lines.
Do you want to improve? Do you want to develop your personality? Do you want to have control over yourself? Yes, it is possible, as we shared in previous articles. This time, however, we will focus on a very important, and perhaps the most important ingredient, which you will need very much to achieve the desired effect – virtue.
In the world we live in, it is challenging to do the right thing in every situation, and even more so, to do it guided by the idea of virtue. Somehow we ignore it. Often we are primal, impulsive, we act at the first signal, without even thinking about how much harm we do in this way, and not to anyone, but ourselves. We enter a vicious circle, we spin and spin in it, and there seems to be no way out. And why do we do that? Because this is the easy solution – we just act without reasoning, without controlling, without thinking it over. But as we know, the easy is never right. As Seneca’s letter begins, ” You have promised to be a good man; you have enlisted under oath; that is the strongest chain which will hold you to a sound understanding.
Any man will be but mocking you if he declares that this is an effeminate and easy kind of soldiering.“ To be good and to act guided by wisdom and virtue is not an easy task. It requires control. It demands strength. But if you want to create control and balance over any situation, you must first start with yourself.
As Seneca also says – “By force a way is made. And this way will be afforded you by philosophy.“ To be good, to act and think wisely in every situation, to maintain balance without succumbing to meanness, bad – this is the real power. The power that will lead you in the right direction. The one that will take you to the peaks of your consciousness. The one that will unleash your potential. This is the power of virtue. The power to be good!
And stupidity, meanness, impulsiveness, contempt – they turn you into slaves of your own reason, deprive you of the freedom of the spirit. Destroy them. Forget them. Subdue them and be free!
Follow your mind, follow your heart – they will always help you make the right decisions. They do not like hatred and anger. They do not need negative thoughts. They sow the seeds of success with the help of love and kindness. Be in harmony with them and give yourself to them.
Go your own way, guided by virtue, and so you will never make a mistake, you will never deviate from the right direction. You will not believe how magical the feeling is. Your life will change with ease, the torments will disappear, and your soul and heart will be filled only with kindness and love. And then… then you will be free!
