How to Keep your Cool

This is a new edition of Seneca's classic essay on Anger at a time when the phrase 'anger management' had yet to be coined. There are effectively a range of emotions involved, such as annoyance, frustration, petulance, indignation and rage. These stoic virtues of restraint and self-control come to the fore, in that Seneca's advice is to avoid anger and nip it in the bud as it arises. One context is a sense of self-importance giving rise to the feeling of being wronged - for Seneca, the great person never submits to this sense, and he gives an extraordinary example from the horrific reign of Caligula relating to the behaviour of a father during a period when the Emperor was executing his son on wholly specious grounds.

He defines greatness in terms of strength and goodness, being 'solid to the core, just and firm from the bottom up' with the equanimity such that 'nothing that can occur can provoke you'. He quotes the advice in court of a person who has reached old age (Seneca himself was obliged by Nero to commit suicide in A.D. 65) to accept hurts and say thank you. He also advises readers not to undertake tasks that are too numerous or greater than our resources, as problems are bound to arise as well as anger from putting ourselves under stress. Finally, we should be mindful of our mortality and ask ourselves 'what joy there is in proclaiming our grievances and wasting our brief lifespan.' Let us rather cherish our humanity and not be a source of fear or danger to anyone. This is wisdom down the ages.