Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that was founded by Zeno of Citium, in Athens, in the early 3rd century BCE. It is an ancient tool for remaining calm in adversity. Some mistakenly think that it is the ancient equivalent of “keeping a stiff upper lip”, but Stoicism is actually a deep philosophical framework, useful in providing ethical tools for both everyday life and times of difficulty.

Stoics welcomed hard times. They saw their life as training for times such as the one we are in now, where character, resilience and courage are tested. Stoic philosopher Epictetus said: “The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.” He saw crisis as a way of unmasking who you really are: “Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself.”

Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was the last famous Stoic philosopher of antiquity. During the last 14 years of his life, he faced one of the worst plagues in European history. The plague was believed to be a strain of the smallpox virus and was later named the Antonine Plague. It’s estimated to have killed up to 5 million people, possibly including Marcus himself. During the plague Marcus kept a diary, an expansive note to self that was later published under the title Meditations. The Meditations records the moral and psychological advice he gave himself at this time. He frequently applies Stoic philosophy to the challenges of coping with pain, illness, anxiety, and loss. The Meditations is a sort of manual for developing precisely the mental resilience required to cope with a pandemic.

An article in the Irish Times refers to the idea that, despite its dour image, Stoicism seems ripe for a comeback in the midst of this pandemic. A central tenet is incorporated in the serenity prayer, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” Stoics were calm, focused, and courageous in the face of hardship. One of the ways we too can achieve this attitude is to remind ourselves that whatever is happening now has probably happened before. You’re not the only one suffering from this particular problem and other people have coped with it previously. You can also remind yourself that, as Seneca said, “We are often more frightened than hurt; and we suffer more in the imagination than reality.” One of the canny ideas the Stoics hit upon was to imagine that misfortune was a type of divine flattery. By robbing you of health or prosperity the gods were sending you a test to allow you to show your good character. This is also a comforting thought, if you are inclined to think about things in this way.

Stoics prized rational thinking, acting on good information and contemplating the situation fully, rather than acting rashly or from a place of panic and anxiety. Marcus Aurelius coped by not allowing his thoughts to be overrun by negativity, “The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make of it.” In basic terms, Stoicism teaches us that if we have the essentials and a strong inner spirit, we can radically accept and endure whatever circumstances the universe throws at us.

Letters from a Stoic, which Seneca wrote toward the end of his life, from approximately 63 CE to 65 CE, expands upon these lessons. Presumably, Letters from a Stoic is a collection of 124 letters Seneca sent to his friend Lucilius – then the procurator of Sicily (essentially an official in Ancient Rome) — advising him on how to become a better Stoic. He wrote: “Until we have begun to go without them, we fail to realize how unnecessary many things are. We’ve been using them not because we needed them but because we had them.”

The Stoics have a lot to teach us about surviving quarantine and lockdown – after all, a lot of them were exiled by angry rulers and faced years trapped in a place and situation not of their choosing. One of the most important Stoic teachers from ancient Rome, Gaius Musonius Rufus, was exiled to the small and desert-like island of Gyaros. He said, “Nothing, to my way of thinking, is a better proof of a well-ordered mind than a man’s ability to stop just where he is and pass some time in his own company.” It also taught him that a bit of deprivation can be an excellent corrective as you realize that in good times you often become habituated to living a soft, decadent life.

Seneca gives us guidelines on how to free ourselves from this mindset. We should work on being satisfied with what we do have, to take pleasure in the simple things. Those who want more than they need and have will always want more, and this only leads to a cycle of dissatisfaction.

We must also eliminate the fear of living without “the extras.” Many people have had to face this reality during lockdown. Seneca advises us to spend time living without them (quite a challenge for many of us) of our own free will. He says we should cultivate a relationship with poverty. In a modern context, we might experiment going without our computers, our phones and our TVs and intentionally fasting from time to time. He advocates that once we know we can handle life without these things, we can be free from the fear of losing them.

Finally, Stoicism says that, if we are miserable with ourselves, we will be miserable wherever we go. As well as being happy with the essentials, developing our inner self is key. Seneca said, “Supposing they say they are happy, will their own opinions to this effect make them happy? It does not make any difference what a man says; what matters is how he feels, and not how he feels on one particular day but how he feels at all times…Only the wise man is content with what is his. All foolishness suffers the burden of dissatisfaction with itself.”

Stoicism is a philosophy designed to make us happier, wiser, more resilient, and more virtuous, the result of which is that we become better people. The single most important practice in Stoic philosophy is differentiating between what we can change and what we can’t; what we have influence over and what we do not – a question we have all had to face during Corona, even on a daily basis.

We could all benefit from a renewed consideration of this ancient philosophy. There is much we can learn and a lot of wisdom we can gain that is relevant to our own time.