Many of the most beautiful passages in Seneca's writings concern the time he spent outside Rome, in the country, outdoors. Whether he's talking about his estate in the countryside, the power of taking long walks or perfectly capturing the joy of a child building sandcastles at the beach, we can feel the joy coming through the past and onto the page. Epicurus for his part talked about cherishing country life, an idea to which Seneca clearly nodded his head. Cato the Elder wrote only one thing: On Agriculture. Depending on how busy or overwhelmed your life is these days, reading these descriptions in Seneca or in Cicero (who famously said that all a man needed for the happy life was a library and a garden), can evoke strange feelings in us.
There's a great line in one of F. Scott Fitzgerald's stories where he writes that the character had a "little flicker of envy that city people feel toward men who live in the open." Isn't that exactly right? We hear about someone who lives a few miles from town, who has a nice porch they can sit on, who has space to move and stretch, and we feel jealous. Because we know that's a more natural way to live than these cramped, dirty, noisy quarters that most of us live or work in.
Well, no one says it has to be that way. A philosopher, for all their love of books, knows that there is something special about the outdoors. That's why Marcus Aurelius hunted. It's why Seneca took his long walks. It's why Epictetus never returned to Rome after his banishment, it's why Rutilius Rufus didn't either.
We must cherish this connection to country living, even if we live in the city. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it's the most responsible thing to sequester ourselves from other people to prevent the spread of the virus, it is still important—perhaps even more so—to continue to spend time in nature, both because of the safety of the outdoors and to retain some of the freedom of which we have been robbed. We must remain in constant dialog with nature—taking regular forest paths, observing wildlife, visiting natural wonders, playing sports outside. This restores our happiness. It gives us joy. It humbles us.
It makes life worth living.
P.S. In addition to our Stoicism-influenced medallions, pendants, and prints, the Daily Stoic Store now offers signed editions of all of Ryan's books—including his latest, Lives of the Stoics, where you can learn even more about Zeno and the other founders of Stoicism. Get your signed and personalized copy today!
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