Stoicism Essay

      Seneca was a very close friend of Nero and Nero trusted him. Seneca showed great Stoicism even when he knew he was going to die. Stoicism is the ability to endure pain and hardship while retaining the ability to control one’s emotions. The death of sennaca is a good example of this.

           One of the last quotes that is a good example of this is. "Worn out by cruel anguish, afraid too that his sufferings might break his wife's spirit, and that, as he looked on her tortures, he might himself sink into irresolution, he persuaded her to retire into another chamber." (Tacitus). This showed that Seneca was tiering and he asked if he could die in another room. He did not want his wife to see him die. He acted like he was fine and was ready to accept death. This was very Stoic of him. 

      Another quote is, "Having spoken these and like words, meant, so to say, for all, he embraced his wife; then softening awhile from the stern resolution of the hour, he begged and implored her to spare herself the burden of perpetual sorrow, and, in the contemplation of a life virtuously spent, to endure a husband's loss with honourable consolations." (Tacitus). This shows that he was very Stoic as well. He also shows that he did not want his family to be sad either. He told them to be stoic. He told her to not be sorry. He showed a moment of weakness when he embraced her but he did not want her to mourn over him.

  One quote that demonstrates this is "Seneca, quite unmoved, asked for tablets on which to inscribe his will, and, on the centurion's refusal, turned to his friends, protesting that as he was forbidden to requite them, he bequeathed to them the only, but still the noblest possession yet remaining to him, the pattern of his life, which, if they remembered, they would win a name for moral worth and steadfast friendship” (Tacitus). This quote shows you how strong Seneca is even when he knows he is going to die. Seneca did not one the people around him to know that he was scared of death. He kept his composure and didn't show any change at all. This is a very good example of somebody being Stoic. 

       These quotes demonstrate how the death of Seneca was very stoic. Seneca showed a side of himself that was very noble and Stoic. Seneca bottled up all of his feelings and didnn't show any emotion at all. He just accepeted his punishment and moved on. Seneca accepted his punishment and did not yell out or disagree. Most people would be terrefied when faced with death. Seneca is a great example of stoicism. 

 Work Cited in APA Format

Tacitus, (1998). In Tacitus: The Death of Seneca, 65 CE. Retrieved Apr. 4, 2011, from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/tacitus-ann15a.html