On Anger, Book 2, Section 14 — In Plain English

Seneca — The Senator

We should never make anger a habit. But sometimes we can pretend to be angry when we need to wake up people who aren't paying attention. It's like using spurs and torches to get slow horses moving. Sometimes we need to use fear on people who won't listen to reason. But actually being angry is no more useful than being sad or scared. "But don't things happen that make us angry?" Yes, they do. And that's exactly when we need to control our rage most. It's not hard to master our emotions. Look at athletes — they focus on the most basic parts of training, but they can still take punches and pain. They wear down their opponent's strength. They don't strike when anger tells them to. They strike when the moment is right.

Seneca — The Senator Original

Anger, then, must never become a habit with us, but we may sometimes affect to be angry when we wish to rouse up the dull minds of those whom we address, just as we rouse up horses who are slow at starting with goads and firebrands. We must sometimes apply fear to persons upon whom reason makes no impression: yet to be angry is of no more use than to grieve or to be afraid. “What? do not circumstances arise which provoke us to anger?” Yes: but at those times above all others we ought to choke down our wrath. Nor is it difficult to conquer our spirit, seeing that athletes, who devote their whole attention to the basest parts of themselves, nevertheless are able to endure blows and pain, in order to exhaust the strength of the striker, and do not strike when anger bids them, but when opportunity invites them.