Cicero and pain as an indifferent

V. The master orator gives some practical advice—prudence.

Background: Regarded as one of the greatest orators of all of history, Cicero served as a Roman statesman, lawyer, and philosopher. Although Caesar often poked fun at him, Cicero is considered a master pioneer of rhetoric.

Aut enim nulla virtus est aut contemnendus omnis dolor. Prudentiamne vis esse, sine qua ne intellegi quidem ulla virtus potest?

For either virtue is nothing or all pain must be despised. Do you wish prudence to be a virtue without which no virtue can be understood?

– Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes

Cicero begins by presenting a stark dichotomy: either virtue is meaningless, or it necessitates the rejection of all suffering (contemnendus omnis dolor). In other words, if virtue exists then pain must be disregarded or “despised” (contemnendus). Yet if we cannot endure pain, then virtue does not exist. This contrast emphasizes the power of virtue and its ability to challenge the pain of suffering.

If pain must be “despised” to have virtue, then are the virtuous mentally immune to suffering? Cicero implies that one who is wise enough to focus on virtue should remain indifferent to any pain as suffering is an external force. It can be blocked out of one’s mind by immense focus on virtue.

In the second sentence, Cicero introduces the idea of “prudence” (prudentia). It is defined as the knowledge of what is good and bad, and the rationality to judge what should and should not be done. It is a practical wisdom that Cicero believes is the foundation of virtue. Without prudence, no other virtue can possibly exist or “understood.”

Prudence is φρόνησις (phronesis), a wisdom that comes with practical action. Cicero, an orator, is actively providing the listener or reader with immediate goals to improve oneself and reject that which does not improve virtue (e.g. pleasure, pain, etc.)

Seneca’s philosophy is greatly in line with stoicism. He explains that virtue is the only true good, and suffering is irrelevant. This thinking is one of rational, deliberate, practical action to improve the experience of living.

He describes pain as an indifferent, an external factor that virtue blocks out. He writes that virtue, through prudence, is the only necessary thing to aim for. By becoming rational and gaining reason, suffering drifts away in one’s life.

Here is a question to leave you with – Can someone be virtuous without wisdom, or are sages, as Cicero describes, the only ones who can live with true virtue and liberty?