On Anger, Book 2, Section 17 — In Plain English

Seneca — The Senator

Now that we have discussed the questions about anger, let's move on to its remedies. I think there are two kinds: one prevents us from getting angry in the first place, the other prevents us from doing harm when we are angry. Just as we follow certain habits to stay healthy and use different treatments to restore health when we're sick, we must guard against anger one way and put it out another way. To avoid anger altogether, we need certain general rules that apply to everyone's life. We can divide these into rules that help during education of the young and rules for later in life.

Education should be carried out with the greatest and most helpful care. It's easy to shape minds while they're still tender, but it's hard to uproot bad habits that have grown up with us.

Seneca — The Senator Original

Now that we have discussed the questions propounded concerning anger, let us pass on to the consideration of its remedies. These, I imagine, are two-fold: the one class preventing our becoming angry, the other preventing our doing wrong when we are angry. As with the body we adopt a certain regimen to keep ourselves in health, and use different rules to bring back health when lost, so likewise we must repel anger in one fashion and quench it in another. That we may avoid it, certain general rules of conduct which apply to all men’s lives must be impressed upon us. We may divide these into such as are of use during the education of the young and in after-life.

Education ought to be carried on with the greatest and most salutary assiduity: for it is easy to mould minds while they are still tender, but it is difficult to uproot vices which have grown up with ourselves.

Seneca — The Senator

Our opponent says, "An orator speaks better when he's angry." Not true. He speaks better when he pretends to be angry. Actors bring down the house with their performance — not when they're really angry, but when they act angry well. In the same way, when addressing a jury or crowd, or in any situation where we need to influence people, we must pretend to feel anger, fear, or pity before we can make others feel them. Often the pretense of passion will do what real passion could never accomplish. "A mind that doesn't feel anger," he says, "is weak." True — if it has nothing stronger than anger to rely on. A person should be neither a robber nor a victim, neither soft-hearted nor cruel. The first comes from a mind that's too weak, the second from one that's too hard. Let the wise person be moderate. And when things need to be done with some force, let him call on strength — not anger — to help him.

Seneca — The Senator Original

“An orator,” says our opponent, “sometimes speaks better, when he is angry.” Not so, but when he pretends to be angry: for so also actors bring down the house by their playing, not when they are really angry, but when they act the angry man well: and in like manner, in addressing a jury or a popular assembly, or in any other position in which the minds of others have to be influenced at our pleasure, we must ourselves pretend to feel anger, fear, or pity before we can make others feel them, and often the pretence of passion will do what the passion itself could not have done. “The mind which does not feel anger,” says he, “is feeble.” True, if it has nothing stronger than anger to support it. A man ought to be neither robber nor victim, neither tender-hearted nor cruel. The former belongs to an over-weak mind, the latter to an over-hard one. Let the wise man be moderate, and when things have to be done somewhat briskly, let him call force, not anger, to his aid.