Conversations in Management
Seneca
is among the best known of the ancient Roman orators,
philosophers and playwrights. Born in Spain, he received an
early education in Rome before moving to Egypt for much of his
youth. As an adult, he first made a name for himself as a
magistrate. His fine oratorical skills drew the Emperor’s notice
and soon he was comfortably mixing with the Roman aristocracy.
His fame increased as he authored loose adaptations of Greek
tragedies for “modern” Roman audiences. Though it’s uncertain if
the plays were recited or performed, they were immensely popular
and centuries later would have a profound influence on the
development of Renaissance theater. Seneca considered himself a
Stoic and his philosophy reflected that school’s common beliefs.
He promoted the idea that the universe was governed by a
rational and benign force. He suggested that the happiest life
was one lived practically, simply and in harmony with nature. He
believed that death should be embraced rather than feared. In
fact, his brand of Stoicism coupled with a popular belief that
he was a friend of St. Paul, led Medieval Christians to look on
him as something of a secular saint.
But Seneca
was no saint. Despite his philosophic leanings, he amassed great
wealth and lived both opulently and licentiously. He immersed
himself in the complex and clandestine politics of imperial
court life. Unfortunately, intrigue was not one of his
strengths. Missteps at court nearly cost him his life when the
Emperor Caligula considered having him executed. That brush with
death didn’t, as we might say today, get his attention. A few
years later, under the reign of Claudius, he was banished to
Corsica when his affair with the emperor’s married niece came to
light. At the invitation of the Empress Agrippina, he returned
to Rome to serve as her son’s tutor. The arrangement worked well
and when the boy—Nero—became emperor; Seneca was chosen
as a chief advisor. But intrigue would once again prove his
undoing. When Nero tired of his mother’s interference, Seneca
was complicit in her murder and then helped conceal the
emperor’s involvement. Growing weary of court life, Seneca
retired, yet his intrigues continued and he participated in a
plot to assassinate his onetime pupil. When the attempt failed
he was forced to take his own life. Seneca, it seems, was one of
those people who are drawn in many directions but without any
clear purpose. For all its drama, his life was ultimately
aimless and contradictory.
Of course
some folks would welcome a little drama in an otherwise aimless
life. For those people life is just a slow moving line. They’re
not sure how they got on it. They’re not sure what they are
waiting for. All they know is that it moves a step at a time and
that there’s someone in front of them and someone behind. They
can’t see where they’re going or where they’ve been. Since the
line does occasionally move, there’s some sense of progress and
in a way, that’s comforting. However, it’s a cold comfort.
Standing in line deadens the soul and no one should live by that
kind of happenstance. If you’re standing in line, it’s
time to step out and plot a new course—any new course.
Pick out one thing that interests you and do it. Don’t
think or dream about it. Give it a name, figure out a deadline
for getting it done and then set about making the thing happen.
With desire and a determined goal you’re sure to find your
harbor and the right wind.
—Ebert
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