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Seneca on Keeping Cool

“More than once, Seneca notes that, unlike other emotions, anger cannot be “hidden away” or “nurtured in secret,” given that it “announces itself and comes out in the face [in faciem exit]”. Anger is to be avoided, because it makes a man its slave. It is best to “repel instantly the first pricklings of anger”.

To those who object that a good man can become angry, especially if he should see some outrageous injustice (like the killing of his father or the rape of his mother), Seneca contends that it is never right to seek to punish wrongdoers out of anger. The mature man will carry out his duties “without fear or turmoil”, for there is “nothing great or noble in anger”.

Seneca’s discussion of anger is imminently pragmatic. One must first avoid whatever might make one fall into anger. If one fails and becomes angry, he must not do wrong because of it. The pragmatic angle leads him to offer guidance on child-rearing. Nothing produces anger in an adult more than “a soft and cloying upbringing”. Children, therefore, are never to be flattered or indulged.”

https://counter-currents.com/2021/04/seneca-on-keeping-cool/