The real sting in Seneca's observation lies in what it *excludes*: wealth, status, armies, influence—all the things we reflexively associate with power. A person might command nations yet remain enslaved to anger, appetite, or fear, which is precisely why we find billionaires and despots so often miserable. The paradox is that mastery over external circumstances means almost nothing without mastery over your own reactions to them—which is why a parent who can stay patient during their child's tantrum, despite exhaustion, demonstrates more genuine power than someone who loses composure at minor setbacks. Seneca asks us to measure strength not by what we control around us, but by what controls us within.