XIV. The Same Charge Was Made Against Plato and Zeno

Seneca points out that he is not the first philosopher to be accused of this contradiction.

This reproach was thrown at Plato. It was thrown at Epicurus. It was thrown at Zeno. All of them described how one ought to live, not a record of how they actually lived at every moment.

I speak of good character, not of myself. When I blame vices I blame my own first. When I have the strength I will live as I say one ought to live. Spite, however vicious, will not keep me from praising the life I do not yet lead. I love good character and I follow it, though far behind and with a halting step.

Am I to stop commending what is good because I do not fully embody it? The man who sets a standard he cannot yet meet is still pointing in the right direction. His teaching has value even when his behavior falls short of it. The words he speaks are real even if the life behind them is incomplete.

What would you prefer: that I match my life to my words, or that I lower my words to match my life? The second is what the critics implicitly want. They want the standard reduced to where ordinary men already stand. That would be the end of progress for everyone.