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On Tranquility of Mind: The Roman Senator, Seneca the Younger, in an essay titled “On Tranquility of Mind,” section 12, wrote of those whose lives are full of activity but no real purpose. Rushing here and there, being involved in everyone’s business, their lives are full but without purpose. And the busyness can often lead to disaster due to the fickleness of the Roman goddess Fortuna (Fortune). She may bless or bring calamity. “For if a man engages in many affairs, he often puts himself in the power of Fortuna, while his safest course is rarely to tempt her, always to be mindful of her, and never to put any trust in her promises.” Though Seneca noted, in section 10, that “All of us are chained to Fortuna,” he advised that the less we do the less we tempt capricious Fortuna. Continuing the discussion in section 12, Seneca recommended that individuals always have an acceptance that their plans may fail. This failure, of course, is due to the fickleness of the godde...
