Letters from a Stoic (Penguin Classics)

These letters of Roman philosopher Seneca are a treasure chest for anybody wishing to incorporate philosophic wisdom into their day-to-day living. By way of example, below are a few Seneca gems along with my brief comments: "Each day acquire something which will help you to face poverty, or death, and other ills as well. After running over a lot of different thoughts, pick out one to be digested throughout the day." --------- I'm completely with Seneca on this point. I approach the study of philosophy primarily for self-transformation. There is no let-up in the various challenges life throws at us - what we can change is the level of wisdom we bring to facing our challenges. "It is not the man who has too little who is poor, but the one who hankers after more." ---------- This is the perennial philosophy from Aristotle to Epicurus to Epictetus to Buddha: we have to face up to our predicament as humans; we are in the realm of desire. The goal of living as a philosopher is to deal with our desires in such a way that we can maintain our tranquility and joy. "But if you are looking on anyone as a friend when you do not trust him (or her) as you trust yourself, you are making a grave mistake, and have failed to grasp sufficiently the full force of true friendship." --------- Friendship was one key idea in the ancient world that modern philosophy seems to have forgotten. Seneca outlines how we must first test and judge people we consider as possible friends, but once we become friends with someone, then an abiding and complete trust is required. "The very name of philosophy however modest the manner in which it is pursued, is unpopular enough as it is: imagine what the reaction would be if we started dissociating ourselves from the conventions of society. Inwardly everything should be different but our outward face should conform with the crowd. Our clothes should not be gaudy, yet they should now be dowdy either. . . . Let our aim be a way of life not diametrically opposed to, but better than that of the mob.". ---------- The call of true philosophy isn't an outward display but an internal attitude. There is a long, noble tradition of living the life of a philosopher going back to ancient Greece and Rome, that has, unfortunately, been mostly lost to us in the West. It is time to reclaim our true heritage. "You may be banished to the end of the earth, and yet in whatever outlandish corner of the world you may find yourself stationed, you will find that place, whatever it may be like, a hospitable home. Where you arrive does not matter so much as what sort of person you are when you arrive there." -------- This is the ultimate Stoic worldview: our strength of character is more important that the particular life situation we find ourselves in. Very applicable in our modern world; although, chances are we will not be banished to another country, many of us will one day be banished to a nursing home. "This rapidity of utterance recalls a person running down a slope and unable to stop where he meant to, being carried on instead a lot farther than he intended, at the mercy of his body's momentum; it is out of control, and unbecoming to philosophy, which should be placing her words, not throwing them around." --------- The ancient world had many people who talked a mile a minute, an unending gush of chatter. The Greco-Roman philosophers such as Seneca and Plutarch warn against garrulousness. Rather, we should mark our words well. From my own experience, when I hear long-winded pontifications, I feel like running away. "The next thing I knew the book itself had charmed me into a deeper reading of it there and then. . . . It was so enjoyable that I found myself held and drawn on until I ended up having read it right through to the end without a break. All the time the sunshine was inviting me out, hunger prompting me to eat, the weather threatening to break, but I gulped it all down in one sitting." --------- Ah, the experience of being pulled into a good book! When we come upon such a book, go with it!

On a tier list, this book (to me) will be one of few books that are thrown in S tier. This book has heavily impacted me. I'll say this much: this sounds like a book where you won't agree with everything he says. But he still gives useful insight. The book is exactly as it's advertised. Its a collection of Seneca's letters. The letters do not come in order (it started with Letter 2) but they teach you how Seneca goes about life. A lot of what he said is in line with my own beliefs. So, if you want this book, go ahead and get it for yourself (look beyond my comment of course. I can say this and you may think differently)

The brilliance of this gem of a work, is that its 2000 years old but the essential messages Seneca conveys to his friend on a great many topics through his letters is still as relevant today as then and we can still identify with them. After an excellent intro into the mans life with a compact explanation of the basis and foundations for the Stoic philosophy the book moves on whereby each successive chapter is basically in the form of a "letter" written by Seneca in response to an issue his protege Lucillius has raised. Each letter is basically two parts. Firstly an "analysis of the issue", secondly a discussion of the "remedy/s". An example of the variance of issues covered is listed as follows (being a mere third of the letters within the book): Letter II: The unsettled mind Letter III: The defining of friendship/need for... Letter V: On the need to avoid attracting -ve attention. Letter VI: The difference/benefit of "converse" and "discource" among peers. Letter VII/VIII: Avoiding the crowd. Letter: IX: The defining of contentedness Letter XI: On handling moments of weakness Letter XII: Aging with dignity Letter XV: Balancing exercise of the mind with exercise of the body. Letter XVI: The value of philosophy if fate determines ones lot. Letter XVIII: Moderation vs Indulgence Letter XXVI: Maintaining spirit/vigor in old age. And so on.. The translation by Robin Campbell is excellent and so lucid it compliments rather than detracts from Senecas obvious wit and wisdom as is always a risk when converting Latin to English. Example of some of Seneca's wisdom are as follows: Letter CVII. This letter talks of the unfairness and inequity of life. Quote: "The fairness of a law does not consist in its effect being actually felt by all alike but in its having been laid down for all alike." Or Letter XII that talks of old age and the prospect of death. Quote: "...no one is so old that it would it would be quite unnatural for him to hope for one more day." Letter IX: A gem of an aspect Seneca raises in this letter is the idea of "the fairweather friend". That friend who frequently calls upon us for help and assistance and who we consider a close friend. Yet low and behold when our circumstances suffer an unexpected turn for the worse and we need them, they are nowhere to be found. Its a work full of thoughts/issues/ideas concerning everyday life that will eerily show the more things change the more they stay the same. All up such a quality read. You can go back to it time and time again and still find it refreshing and thought provoking. Its also oddly personal as you can be forgiven the way it lucidly flows for thinking Seneca is addressing us in person. All of which adds to its appeal and relevance. My only complaint: I want more. Its that good.

This is my text book for my philosophy class. It’s been almost 10 years and I still have it on my shelf.

Found this book hard to read. The concepts, linkages and complexity show that Seneca was a very intelligent man. Seneca's letters made me think deeper on some concepts and some letters seemed a waste of my time, as I pushed myself through. I picture Seneca as strong man with high standards, who desired to model the virtuous Stoic man.

As I progress on my quest for wisdom from the classical periods I recently read Cicero's "Selected Works" and Lurcreius' "On the Nature of Things" both of which I thought lacked in any deep knowledge and found them both to be greatly disappointing. So it was to my great delight that I stumbled on Seneca's "Letters From a Stoic" which I highly recommend. Some of my favorite passages loosely organized around a theme are as follows: On One's Relationship to the Material World: *It is not the man who has too little who is poor, but the one who hankers after more. *You ask what is the proper limit to a person's wealth? First, having what is essential, and second having what is enough. *Although the wise man does not hanker after what he has lost, he does prefer not lose them. *The qualities of a just, a good and an enlightened character does not regard as valuable anything that can be taken away. *I am not against possessing riches but I want to ensure that you possess them without tremors. On One's Relationship to Society: *Inwardly everything should be different but our outward face should conform to the crowd. *The road is long if one poceeds by way of precepts but short and effectual if by way of personal example. *You ask me to say what you should consider it particularly important to avoid. My answer is this: a mass crowd. *Associating with people in large numbers is actually harmful. *Retire into yourself as much as you can. Associate with people who are likely to improve you. *Avoid whatever is approved of by the mob. *If you shape your life according to nature, you will never be poor; if according to people's opinions you will never be rich. On One's Relationship to the Body: *Pick (any exercise) for ease and straightforwardness...but whatever you do, return from body to mind very soon. *Where you arrive does not matter so much as what sort of person you are when you arrive there. *A way of speaking which is restrained, not bold, suits a wise man in the same way as an unassuming sort of walk does. *Refusal to be influenced by one's body assure one's freedom. *People who know no self-restraint lead stormy and disordered lives. On Death: *Every day, therefore, should be regulated as if it were the one that brings up the rear, the one that rounds out and completes our lives. *If God adds the morrow we should accept it joyfully. *The man you should admire and imitate is the one who finds it a joy to live and in spite of that is not reluctant to die. *You will go the way that all things go...This is the law to which you were born. *You will die not because you are sick but because you are alive...In getting well again you may be escaping some ill health but not death. *We are born unequal, we die equal. On the Value of Philosophy/Stoicism: *It molds and builds the personality, orders one's life, regulates one's conduct, shows one what one should do and what should leave undone, sits at the helm and keeps one on the course as one is tossed about in perilous seas. *Only philosophy will wake us; only philosophy will shake us out of that heavy sleep. Devote yourself entirely to her. *For the only safe harbor in this life's tossing, troubled sea is to refuse to be bothered about what the future will bring and to stand ready and confident, squaring the breast to take without skulking or flinching whatever fortune hurls at us. *It is in not man's power to have whatever he wants; but he has it in his power not to wish for what he hasn't got. *Part of the blame lies on the teachers of philosophy, who today teach us how to argue instead of how to live...The result has been the transformation of philosophy, the study of wisdom, into philology, the study of words. *No man is good by accident, virtue has to be learned. By the way, before renouncing all worldly possessions keep in mind that Seneca did not practice what he preached, was intimately attached to the material world, and readers interested in an excellent biography of Seneca's life and role during Nero's reign should consider reading James Romm's "Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero."

Very insightful book

This was a very interesting read, I enjoyed reading the whole letters as it gave me a greater degree of comprehension of the rationalizing Seneca embarked in. I would take the work as a whole, as some obvious information is dated and the key take away is how mankind has rationalized its own existence and what helped the ancients cope with the harsh realities of being a mortal as this reality is still very relevant to modern person.(Myself included)