Daily #34- Final Essay

            Seneca was a very trusted friend of Emperor Nero who was suspected of trying to kill him. This was really the turning point of Seneca’s life as he knew he would be facing death sooner or later. Instead of freaking about his own death that soon was coming, he was very calm and did not overreact to the situation because he hid his own emotions. Even though Seneca absorbed a lot of pain with his impending death, he knew he could not express it. These are the many beliefs of a specific type of person called a stoic. Stoicism is the ability to endure pain and hardship while retaining the ability to contain one's emotions; Seneca, at his death, was the perfect example of a stoic.

            Seneca, at his death, was a great example of how a stoic acts and shows his or her emotions. First of all, Seneca did not freak out or get emotional that he was going to die, but rather he was very calm and accepted it. "Upon this the tribune asserted that he saw no signs of fear, and perceived no sadness in his words or in his looks. He was accordingly ordered to go back and to announce sentence of death." (Tacitus: The Death of Seneca, 65 CE) This quote is saying that any normal person would be scared if they were going to die soon and they would be very upset and sad. Seneca acted as the complete opposite as the normal person and he did what most people would not do. He controlled his emotions so that he would not express his feelings inside himself and was calm under all the pressure. He took in all the pain that he was feeling as soon as he knew he was going to die and did not express any of the pain he was feeling inside. He did not try to get to mad about this event and he promised not to show his real feelings; that is what make a great stoic.

           

            Seneca was also a great example of a stoic at his death, but this time for a different reason. He found out that his wife was going to kill herself after she knew he was going to die, and Seneca reacted like a great stoic would. "I have shown you ways of smoothing life; you prefer the glory of dying. I will not grudge you such a noble example. Let the fortitude of so courageous an end be alike in both of us, but let there be more in your decease to win fame." (Tacitus) This is a perfect example of how Seneca cared about others more than himself but still did not react with great emotions. Seneca had always loved his wife and when he found out about her death, he did not react the same as most people would. He was not bothered at all about the fact that his loving wife was going to commit suicide but instead gave her advice. This shows that Seneca cared more about others and how they were feeling instead of his own self. He did not try to persuade his wife to do another reasonable action because that is what great stoics would do in that sort of circumstance. This is another reason how Seneca did not react with anger and rage but rather with calmness and coolness under the pressure.

           

            Seneca did not react like most people would when faced with death. He accepted it into his life and thought of it as another stage in his life. “Seneca, quite unmoved, asked for tablets on which to inscribe his will." (Tacitus) This quote shows that Seneca was not affected by the fact that he was going to die very soon. It said he was "unmoved", which means Seneca was not very emotional about his death and did not have strong feelings about it. Death is probably the worst thing that will come into Seneca's life, but all he wants to do is inscribe his will into stone tablets. He was completely calm under such a serious circumstance that was going to affect his life. If he would have overreacted and showed his true emotions about death, he would not be setting a good example of a great stoic. But the way he reacted to his death was so unusual and he accepted all the pain that came along with death, which fits into the definition of a stoic. This is why many people believe that Seneca was a stoic and will always be a stoic in their minds.

           

Seneca will always be remembered for the way he reacted at the time of his death. Most people in his situation would get extremely upset and get very emotional. Seneca on the other hand did not react at all in any of the ways listed. He did not get emotional when facing death and he did not get upset either. He pretty much hid his true emotions inside of him so his feelings would not affect the lives of the others around him. He accepted death even though it is the worst thing that would enter his life and really dealt with all the pain that came with it. It is not that Seneca was not emotional at all because he did have his own emotions inside, but he refused to show them because of how stoic he was at the time of his death. As a result, he was calm and collected when faced with death and he really cared about others more than himself, which was the case with his wife. There are many ways that Seneca represents a stoic and it is hard to even argue if Seneca was a stoic because there are many examples during the last part of his life.

Work Cited

Tacitus, (1998, May). Retrieved Apr. 4, 2011, from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/tacitus-ann15a.html