XIX. I Will Not Alter My Course

Seneca's closing declaration. He refuses to stop teaching what he teaches because people accuse him of inconsistency.

People will always find reasons to attack those who try to live well. They attacked Plato. They attacked Cato. They attacked Diogenes, who owned almost nothing, and said he did not have little enough. The attack on the person is the oldest way to avoid engaging with what the person is saying.

It does not matter. I will not change the direction of my life to suit the judgment of people who have examined neither their lives nor mine. I will still praise good character. I will still follow it. Slowly, imperfectly, far behind. Following nonetheless.

Spite, however well-aimed, has never yet destroyed a good argument. It can wound a man. It cannot wound the truth he is pointing toward. The truth does not require its defenders to be perfect. It only requires that they keep pointing.

I have chosen my direction. I know where I am going and why. The gap between my words and my life is real and I do not pretend otherwise. The words describe what is worth aiming at. My life is the work of aiming at it. Both are true at once.

I intend to keep working.