Sed si adpetis voluptates et undique et omnes, scito tantum tibi ex sapientia, quantum ex gaudio deesse.
- Seneca, Epistles LIX.14
"But if you run after pleasures of all kinds in all directions, know that you are as devoid of wisdom as you are of joy."
Restraint for a stoic does not just involve controlling one's baser emotions, like anger or hate. It also includes not indulging in excessive hedonistic pleasures. When tempted to wolf down that last piece of chocolate cheesecake, just because it is so tasty, the good stoic would restrain himself or herself, because he or she is not an irrational creature, but one that is endowed with intelligence and a rational mind.
What after all, is the point of consuming excess calories that are only going to be converted to fat and deposited in an unsightly part of the body? Why down that extra glass of wine, when it will only serve to intoxicate the mind further?
But restraint in our modern, industrialised society does not just involve refraining from wolfing down food when one is already well-fed, and guzzling down drink in order to get drunker than one already is. It also involves being aware of the amount of energy that one is using, and consciously avoiding unnecessary waste. It means choosing to buy a car that uses less petrol, even if that means looking less prosperous to the neighbours. It means switching off the air-conditioning and winding down the windows. It means walking to the corner shop instead of driving.
- Seneca, Epistles LIX.14
"But if you run after pleasures of all kinds in all directions, know that you are as devoid of wisdom as you are of joy."
Restraint for a stoic does not just involve controlling one's baser emotions, like anger or hate. It also includes not indulging in excessive hedonistic pleasures. When tempted to wolf down that last piece of chocolate cheesecake, just because it is so tasty, the good stoic would restrain himself or herself, because he or she is not an irrational creature, but one that is endowed with intelligence and a rational mind.What after all, is the point of consuming excess calories that are only going to be converted to fat and deposited in an unsightly part of the body? Why down that extra glass of wine, when it will only serve to intoxicate the mind further?
But restraint in our modern, industrialised society does not just involve refraining from wolfing down food when one is already well-fed, and guzzling down drink in order to get drunker than one already is. It also involves being aware of the amount of energy that one is using, and consciously avoiding unnecessary waste. It means choosing to buy a car that uses less petrol, even if that means looking less prosperous to the neighbours. It means switching off the air-conditioning and winding down the windows. It means walking to the corner shop instead of driving.
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