There is a perfect recipe for never getting angry or annoyed. If we stop caring and become indifferent, we won’t experience irritation when things don’t go our way. The problem with this recipe is that it will also destroy our motivation for achieving success and happiness. Seneca reflected extensively about the cause of anger and irritation. He viewed those as the root of evil and violence in general. He wrote that, if we steer away from anger and keep a cool head, we will do ourselves a great favour. In his essay “On Anger,” Seneca characterised anger as a form of mental illness. He was referring to hot, explosive ire. I would not put minor feelings of irritation in the same category. Seneca condemned all sorts of irrational anger, irrespective of reasons or context. He did not differentiate between the anger felt by a drunken fool or an irrational bully. Irrational is simply irrational. All his examples though portray evil people, not those who have been wronged. I understand why Seneca concentrated on the former. In his lifetime, he must have witnessed a great deal of injustices, but rarely seen any real chance of remedying them. When Seneca categorises anger as temporary insanity, he could have referred to King Cambyses II of Persia (558-522 BC), who got enraged while he was drunk and killed a boy for no reason. Similarly, he could have recalled how Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) became extremely angry because he had been criticised by one of his best generals. Alexander reacted by killing the man on the spot, even if the criticism had been sound and well-intended. I would have used those two cases to illustrate Seneca’s categorisation of temporary insanity, precisely because they do not typify everyday angry reactions. Seneca maintained the view that anger is irrational and superfluous, and that we should eradicate it completely, but I find his argument weak and unrealistic. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/senecas-quotes-about-anger/