Essays Book 9: Of Tranquillity of Mind

The ninth essay from Lucius Annaeus Seneca. The work opens with Serenus asking Seneca for counsel, and this request for help takes the form of a medical consultation. Serenus explains that he feels agitated, and in a state of unstable immobility, "as if I were on a boat that doesn't move forward and is tossed about." Seneca uses the dialogue to address an issue that cropped up many times in his life: the desire for a life of contemplation and the need for active political engagement. Seneca argues that the goal of a tranquil mind can be achieved by being flexible and seeking a middle way between the two extremes.

Translation by Aubrey Stewart and produced by Vox Stoica

Seneca's Essays Series:

1) Of providence – addressed to Lucilius

2) On the Firmness of the Wise Man – addressed to Serenus

3-5) Of Anger (Books 1-3) – addressed to his brother Novatus

6) Of Consolation – addressed to Marcia

7) Of a Happy Life – addressed to Gallio

8) Of Leisure – addressed to Serenus

9) Of Tranquillity of Mind – addressed to Serenus

10) On the Shortness of Life – addressed to Paulinus

11) Of Consolation – addressed to Polybius

12) Of Consolation – addressed to Helvia