The Wise Person (as Practitioner of Praemeditatio)

The Stoic sage (sapiens) who daily anticipates every possible adversity and mentally prepares for loss, pain, and death.

According to Seneca (Letter 91), the wise person differs from the unwise not by enjoying better circumstances, but through daily mental preparation. The sapiens reckons with misfortune — exile, illness, loss of possessions — not occasionally but continuously, thereby maintaining a constant state of readiness. This is not pessimism but rational resilience. In this way, the sage preserves inner freedom (Eleutheria), since nothing that comes from outside can surprise or overwhelm him.