On Anger, Book 1, Section 1 — In Plain English

Beginning of On Anger

Seneca — The Senator

If you want to see that angry people aren't thinking straight, just look at them. We can spot madmen by their appearance — they look bold and threatening, with dark expressions, stern faces, hurried movements, restless hands, strange coloring, and fast, heavy breathing. Angry people look exactly the same. Their eyes blaze and sparkle. Their whole face turns deep red as blood rushes up from their heart. Their lips shake, they clench their teeth, their hair stands up. They breathe hard and make hissing sounds. Their joints crack as they twist around. They groan and bellow and speak in ways you can barely understand. They clap their hands and stomp their feet. Their whole body is wound tight and does all the crazy things that show a disturbed mind. It's an ugly, shocking picture of someone who has lost control of themselves.

Seneca — The Senator Original

That you may know that they whom anger possesses are not sane, look at their appearance; for as there are distinct symptoms which mark madmen, such as a bold and menacing air, a gloomy brow, a stern face, a hurried walk, restless hands, changed colour, quick and strongly-drawn breathing; the signs of angry men, too, are the same: their eyes blaze and sparkle, their whole face is a deep red with the blood which boils up from the bottom of their heart, their lips quiver, their teeth are set, their hair bristles and stands on end, their breath is laboured and hissing; their joints crack as they twist them about, they groan, bellow, and burst into scarcely intelligible talk, they often clap their hands together and stamp on the ground with their feet, and their whole body is highly-strung and plays those tricks which mark a distraught mind, so as to furnish an ugly and shocking picture of self-perversion and excitement.

Seneca — The Senator

You asked me, Novatus, to write about how to calm anger. I think you're right to fear this emotion above all others. It's hideous and wild. Other emotions have some peace mixed in with them, but anger is pure action and impulse. It rages with an inhuman desire for weapons, blood, and torture. It doesn't care if it destroys itself as long as it hurts someone else. It rushes straight onto a sword blade. It craves revenge even when that revenge will drag the angry person down too. Some of the wisest people have called anger "brief madness" — and they're right. Anger has no self-control. It ignores proper behavior. It forgets family bonds. It stubbornly pursues whatever it starts. It won't listen to reason or advice. Small things set it off. It can't see what's true or fair. It's like a falling rock that shatters itself on whatever it's trying to crush.

Seneca — The Senator Original

You have demanded of me, Novatus, that I should write how anger may be soothed, and it appears to me that you are right in feeling especial fear of this passion, which is above all others hideous and wild: for the others have some alloy of peace and quiet, but this consists wholly in action and the impulse of grief, raging with an utterly inhuman lust for arms, blood and tortures, careless of itself provided it hurts another, rushing upon the very point of the sword, and greedy for revenge even when it drags the avenger to ruin with itself. Some of the wisest of men have in consequence of this called anger a short madness: for it is equally devoid of self control, regardless of decorum, forgetful of kinship, obstinately engrossed in whatever it begins to do, deaf to reason and advice, excited by trifling causes, awkward at perceiving what is true and just, and very like a falling rock which breaks itself to pieces upon the very thing which it crushes.