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Seneca
Philosophy - Famous Philosophers - Seneca (3 B.C. - 65 A.D.)
Truth & Reality of Famous Roman Stoic Philosopher Seneca
Quotations Seneca
Speech devoted to truth should be straightforward
and plain (Seneca)
Life itself is neither a good nor an evil: life is where good or evil find a
place, depending on how you make it for them.(Seneca)
‘non vitae sed scholae discimus’. [We are taught for the schoolroom
not for life] (Seneca)
Now we are not merely to stick knowledge on to the soul: we must incorporate
it into her; the soul should not be sprinkled with knowledge but steeped in
it. (Seneca)
Other men's sins are before our eyes; our own are behind our backs. (Seneca)
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Introduction
Philosophy of Seneca
Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher who lived 3 B.C. to 65 A.D. The philosophy
of Seneca is refreshingly simple, sensible and virtuous - an obvious contrast
to most modern abstract philosophy. So how can we correct the current confusion
and absurdity of our 'enlightened' post modern philosophy (and learn from these
great minds of the past)? To understand the truth about Reality by describing
the One Thing that exists, Space, and its Properties as a Wave Medium.
Which also confirms the Stoics view of Reality, as the famous Roman Stoic philosopher
/ emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote;
All things are woven together and the common bond is sacred,
and scarcely one thing is foreign to another, for they have been arranged together
in their places and together make the same ordered Universe. For there is one
Universe out of all, one God through all, one substance and one law, one common
Reason of all intelligent creatures and one Truth.
Frequently consider the connection of all things in the universe.
We should not say ‘I am an Athenian’ or ‘I am a Roman’
but ‘I am a citizen of the Universe. (Marcus Aurelius,
Meditations)
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content. So please feel free to write to us.
Geoff Haselhurst
Seneca Biography (3 B.C. to 65 A.D.)
Seneca was a Spaniard, whose father was a cultivated man living in Rome. Seneca adopted a political career, and was moderately successful when he was banished to Corsica (A.D. 41) by the Emperor Claudius, because he had incurred the enmity of the Empress Messalina. Claudius's second wife Agrippina recalled Seneca from exile in A.D. 48 and appointed him tutor of her son, aged eleven. Seneca was less fortunate than Aristotle in his pupil, who was the Emperor Nero. Although, as a Stoic, Seneca officially despised riches, he amassed a huge fortune, amounting, it was said, to three hundred million sesterces (about three million pounds). Much of this he acquired by lending money in Britain; according to Dio, the excessive rates of interest that he exacted were among the causes of revolt in that country. The heroic Queen Boadicea, if this is true, was heading a rebellion against capitalism as represented by the philosophical apostle of austerity.
Gradually, as Nero's excesses grew more unbridled, Seneca fell increasingly out of favour. At length he was accused, justly or unjustly, of complicity in a widespread conspiracy to murder Nero and place a new emperor - some said, Seneca himself - upon the throne. In view of his former services, he was graciously permitted to commit suicide (A.D. 65)
His end was edifying. At first, on being informed of the Emperor's decision, he set about making a will. When told that there was no time allowed for such a lengthy business, he turned to his sorrowful family and said:
'Never
mind, I leave you what is of far more value than earthly riches, the example
of a virtuous life'.
He then opened his veins, and summoned his secretaries to take down his dying words; according to Tacitus, his eloquence continued to flow during his last moments. His nephew Lucan, the poet, suffered a similar death at the same time, and died reciting his own verses. Seneca was judged, in future ages, rather by his admirable precepts than by his somewhat dubious practice. (Russell, The History of Western Philosophy)
Seneca Quotes
Enjoy present pleasures in such a way as not to
injure future ones. (Seneca)
Constant exposure to dangers will breed contempt for them. (Seneca)
One should count each day a separate life. (Seneca)
The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity. (Seneca)
Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men. (Seneca)
While we are postponing, life speeds on. (Seneca)
Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor
he is making for, no wind is the right wind.
.. If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.
(Seneca)
It is not the man who has little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.
(Seneca)
https://home.att.net/~quotesexchange/seneca.html
Seneca, Stoicism & Zeno Quotations from Bertrand Russell
The History of Western Philosophy
Zeno- Founder of Stoicism. Born in Cyprus, some time during the
later half of the fourth century BC.
God is not separate from the world; He is the soul of the world,
and each of us contains a part of the Divine Fire. All things are parts of one
single system, which is called Nature; the individual life is good when it is
in harmony with Nature. In one sense, every life is in harmony with Nature,
since it is such as Nature’s laws have caused it to be; but in another
sense a human life is only in harmony with Nature when the individual will is
directed to ends which are among those of Nature. Virtue consists in a will
which is in agreement with Nature. The wicked, though perforce they obey God’s
law, do so involuntarily; in the simile of Cleanthes, they are like a dog tied
to a cart, and compelled to go wherever it goes.
In the life of an individual man, virtue is the sole good; such things as health,
happiness, possessions, are of no account. Since virtue resides in the will,
everything really good or bad in a man’s life depends only upon himself.
He may be poor, but what of it? He can still be virtuous. He may be sentenced
to death, but he can die nobly, like Socrates. Other men have power only over
externals; virtue, which alone is truly good, rests entirely with the individual.
Therefore every man has perfect freedom, provided he emancipates himself from
mundane desires. (Zeno) (Bertrand Russell,
History of Western Philosophy)
Zeno had no patience with metaphysical subtleties. Virtue was what he thought was important, and he only valued physics and metaphysics in so far as they contributed to virtue. Zeno attempted to combat the metaphysical tendencies of the age by means of common sense, which, in Greece, meant materialism. Doubts as to the trustworthiness of the senses annoyed him, and he pushed the opposite doctrines to extremes. (Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy)
The main doctrines to which the school remained constant throughout are concerned with cosmic determinism and human freedom. Zeno believed that there was no such thing as chance, and that the course of nature is rigidly determined by natural laws. (Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy)
Not only are bad passions condemned, but all passions.
The Stoic is not virtuous in order to do good, but does good in order to be
virtuous. It has not occurred to him to love his neighbour as himself; love,
except in a superficial sense, is absent from his conception of virtue.
When I say this, I am thinking of love as an emotion, not as a principle. As
a principle, the Stoics preached Universal Love; this principle is found in
Seneca and his successors.. (Bertrand Russell, History of Western
Philosophy)
Zeno defined God as the fiery mind of the world, God was a bodily
substance, and that the whole universe formed the substance of God; Tertullian
says that, according to Zeno, God runs through the material world as honey runs
through the honeycomb.
According to Diogenes Laertius, Zeno held that the General Law, which is Right
Reason, pervading everything, is the same as Zeus, the Supreme Head of the government
of the universe: God, Mind, Destiny, Zeus, are one thing. Destiny is the power
which moves matter; Providence and Nature are other names for it. (Bertrand
Russell, History of Western Philosophy)
Links / Seneca, Philosophy, Stoicism, Philosophers
Philosophy:
Stoicism Zeno - Famous Roman Stoic Philosopher Zeno realised
the Interconnection of All Things in the Universe.
Philosophy:
Morality Ethics - The Fundamental Morality of World Religions 'Do
Unto Others ...' is Logically True as the Other is Part of Self.
Aristotle
- On Philosopher Aristotle's Metaphysics and Physics (Motion).
(Aristotle was one of the greatest of the famous philosophers and should be
read by all people interested in philosophy and wisdom.)
Aurelius,
Marcus - Famous Stoic Roman Emperor & his Meditations
on our Interconnected Existence in the Universe & how we are to live. We
should not say - I am an Athenian or I am a Roman but I am a Citizen
of the Universe.
Cicero
- WSM explains Famous Roman Philosopher Cicero, On the Nature
of the Gods 'As a philosopher, I have a right to ask for
a rational explanation of religious faith.'
Socrates
- 'Know Thyself' - Condemned to death for educating the youth to Philosophy
and arguing that people are ignorant of the Truth. Information, Biography -
On the Life and Death of Socrates (The Last Days of Socrates
by Plato).
Philosophy:
Greek Philosophers - All is One (Space) and Active-Flux (Wave Motion). Thales,
Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Atomists (Democritus, Lucretius),
Socrates, Plato, Epicurus.
Help Humanity
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
(Mohandas Gandhi)
"When forced to summarize the general theory of relativity in one sentence:
Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter. ... Physical objects are not in space, but these objects are spatially extended. In this way the concept 'empty space' loses its meaning. ... The particle can only appear as a limited region in space in which
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Humanity is going to need a substantially new way of thinking if it is to survive!" (Albert Einstein)
Our world is in great trouble due to human behaviour founded on myths and customs that are causing the destruction of Nature and climate change. We can now deduce the most simple science theory of reality - the wave structure of matter in space. By understanding how we and everything around us are interconnected
in Space we can then deduce solutions to the fundamental problems of human knowledge in physics, philosophy, metaphysics, theology, education, health, evolution and ecology, politics and society.
This is the profound new way of thinking that Einstein
realised, that we exist as spatially extended structures of the universe - the discrete and separate body an illusion. This simply confirms the
intuitions of the ancient philosophers and mystics.
Given the current censorship in physics / philosophy of science journals (based on the standard model of particle physics / big bang cosmology) the internet is the best hope for getting new knowledge
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