Letters from a Stoic

Seneca references a personified fortune throughout many of his letters, occasionally substituting this name for fate or providence. The idea of fortune is an inherent aspect of Stoicism’s rational and ordered universe. Stoics believed that everything that occurs in the world is governed by a divine and predetermined plan—namely, fate. Acceptance of this divine plan and resilience in the face of whatever hardship it brings are central aspects of Stoic philosophy. Although humans cannot control events, Seneca emphasizes that they do have agency in how they react to fate: “It is in no man’s power to have whatever he wants; but he has it in his power to not wish for what he hasn’t got, and cheerfully make the most of the things that do come his way” (227). Seneca’s depiction of fortune is therefore intimately connected to his arguments about Contentment and the Acceptance of Fate.

Seneca refers to the divine throughout his letters, here often translated as “God” or “Jupiter” but also known by the name “logos.” This being was the supreme providence of the Stoic universe, its role compared to that of a sculptor making a statue. By the “active” divine will, otherwise “passive” matter is moved into line with the divine’s plans.