Lucius Annaeus Seneca knew more about uncertainty than most philosophers who wrote about courage. Born in Roman Spain around the beginning of the first century AD, he became a statesman, playwright and one of the leading Stoic thinkers of his age, serving as adviser to the emperor Nero before falling from political favour and eventually being ordered to take his own life. His writings rarely offered comfortable optimism because they were shaped by exile, political intrigue and the constant unpredictability of power. When Seneca wrote that many things appear difficult because people hesitate to face them, he was speaking from experience rather than theory.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
