The concept of #stress in our century is dramatically different from the concepts in prior centuries. People in the Middle Ages or in Ancient Rome wouldn’t have understood our concerns for issues such as noise pollution and work overload. Seneca wrote extensively about #worries and preoccupations, but those would involve life-or-death threats. I am referring to people worrying about not having enough food to eat tomorrow, or being killed in an upcoming battle. Nonetheless, Seneca’s insights on this matter have perennial value. Few philosophers in history had devoted so much effort to understanding the cause of preoccupations and anxiety, and devising methods to combat them effectively. In his 53rd Letter to Lucilius, #seneca mentions the aristocrat Gaius Cilnius Maecenas (70-8 BC) and his preoccupation with death. Maecenas was constantly consulting physicians about how to prevent #sickness and prolong his lifespan. Nevertheless, Maecenas passed away at sixty-two, which is a normal lifespan for wealthy individuals in #ancientrome . If Maecenas had lived in our century, he might have received better advice and lived a few decades more. Seneca considered that, due to his acute concern with death, Maecenas had wasted precious time. Maecenas had devoted a large chunk of the present to worrying about the future, but in the end, he had not drawn any benefit. I must question Seneca’s argument at this point because we don’t really know if Maecenas had drawn any benefit. The fact that he passed away at sixty-two does not mean that his efforts had proven fruitless. We do not know if Maecenas would have lived a shorter life if he had not consulted those physicians. Or maybe his lifespan would have been the same, but the physicians had enabled him to stay healthy and avoid debilitating sickness until the end. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/seneca-on-overcoming-stress/