SENECA - College of Stoic Philosophers

EPISTLE LXX1II.
for him to enjoy rich leisure, control of his own time,
and a tranquillity uninterrupted by public employments.
Shepherd a god this leisure gave to me,
!
For he shall be
a
ray god eternally.
And if even such leisure as that of our poet owes a
debt to its boon is
great
this :
author, though its greatest
As thou canst see,
He let me turn ray cattle out to feed,
And play what fancy pleased on rustic reed ;
b
how highly are we to value this leisure of the philosopher,
which is
spent among the gods, and makes us
gods ? Yes, that is what I mean, Lucilius and 1
;
invite you to heaven by a short cut.
"
Sextius used to say that Jupiter had no more
power than the good man. Of course, Jupiter has
more gifts
which he can offer to mankind; but when
you are choosing between two good men, the richer
is not necessarily the better, any more than, in the
case of two pilots of equal skill in managing the
tiller, you would call him the better whose ship is
larger and more imposing. In what respect
is
Jupiter superior to our good man ? His goodness
lasts longer but
;
O the wise man does not set a low r er
7
value upon himself, just because his virtues are
limited by a briefer span. Or take two wise men ;
he who has died at a greater age
is not happier than
he w hose r virtue has been limited to fewer years
:
similarly, a god has no advantage over a wise man in
point of happiness, even though he has such an
advantage in point of years. That virtue is not
greater which lasts longer. Jupiter possesses all
things, but he has surely given over the possession of
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