Seneca Moral essays
Seneca: Of these wrongs which drive you frantic, some…
Of these wrongs which drive you frantic, some will grow lighter after an interval, not of a day, but even of an hour: some will vanish altogether. Even if you gain nothing by your adjournment, still what you do after it will appear to be the result of mature deliberation, not of anger.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Seneca’s moral essays. The reading beside it is ours.
Delay is not cowardice. It is one of the simplest ways to stop anger from making decisions you will have to clean up later. The insult that feels unbearable at 9:00 a.m. often looks trivial by lunch. The message you want to send tonight may be unnecessary tomorrow. Time does not solve every problem, but it gives the mind a chance to separate the real issue from the surge of emotion around it. Make delay concrete: sleep on the email, wait one hour before responding, tell the person you want to continue the conversation later. Even if you still decide to act, the action will be yours rather than your temper's. You do not need to deny that you were hurt. Just refuse to make permanent choices from a temporary state. Let the first wave pass before you steer.
Related passages
- Seneca Do not attempt to quell it all at once, for its first impulses are fierce; by plucking away its parts we shall remove…
- Seneca Let him rise in the presence of his elders. Let him obtain nothing by flying into a passion: let him be given when he…
- Seneca Life's many hardships teach the lesson of silence.