Seneca Moral essays
Seneca: You 158should approach him in different ways and…
You 158should approach him in different ways and in a compliant fashion, unless perchance you be so great a personage that you can quash his anger, as the Emperor Augustus did when he was dining with Vedius Pollio.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Seneca’s moral essays. The reading beside it is ours.
When someone is angry, charging straight at them is rarely courage; often it is carelessness. You may have the power to confront a furious boss, customer, or family member head-on. Most of us do not. And even when we do, escalation is not automatically strength. Seneca advises meeting anger with a different posture: calm, flexible, and attentive to what will lower the temperature. This is not surrendering your principles. It is choosing the route that gives reason a chance to return. A raised voice in a meeting does not require a raised voice from you. A defensive text does not demand an immediate reply. Be firm where firmness is needed, but do not confuse force with effectiveness. Today, when tempers rise, make your first task restoring your own composure.
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