Dialogues · Chapter
XXXVII explained
Seneca advises against reacting with anger to social slights, such as jokes at dinner, being denied entry by a porter, or receiving a lower seat at a table.
What happens
Seneca advises against reacting with anger to social slights, such as jokes at dinner, being denied entry by a porter, or receiving a lower seat at a table. He urges the reader to prepare for such annoyances, to smile and draw back, and to recognize that status symbols like guarded doors are trivial. He also warns against taking offense at criticism of one's talents, citing examples of Ennius, Hortensius, and Cicero.
Themes in this chapter
Anger and Self-Control
The chapter focuses on controlling anger in response to trivial social provocations, such as jokes, denied entry, or seating arrangements.
Human Nature and Folly
Seneca highlights the folly of taking offense at minor slights and the irrationality of valuing status symbols like a guarded door or a couch cushion.
Characters to notice
- Seneca
Author and narrator offering Stoic advice on managing anger in social situations.
- Marcus Cicero
Mentioned as an example of someone who would be angered by mockery of his poetry.
Key passages
“Be prepared to submit to much. Is anyone surprised at being cold in winter? at being sick at sea? or at being jostled in the street? The mind is strong enough to bear those evils for which it is prepared.”
Expect and accept many annoyances; just as no one is shocked by winter cold or seasickness, you should not be surprised by social slights, because a prepared mind can endure them.
Seneca uses analogies from nature and travel to argue that anticipation neutralizes anger.
“Idiot! What difference can it make what part of the couch you rest upon? Can a cushion give you honour or take it away?”
You fool! Your seat at a table has no real effect on your honor; a cushion cannot bestow or remove true worth.
Seneca dismisses the importance of seating order at Roman banquets as a trivial cause for anger.