Letters from a Stoic
Epistulae morales ad Lucilium
by Seneca the Younger · first published 1969
100% recommend
The power and wealth which Seneca the Younger (C.4 B.C.- A.D. 65) acquired as Nero's minister were in conflict with his Stoic beliefs. Nevertheless he was the outstanding figure of his age. The Stoic philosophy which Seneca professed in his writings, later supported by Marcus Aurelius, provided Rome with a passable bridge to Christianity. Seneca's major contribution to Stoicism was to spiritualize and humanize a system which could appear cold and unrealistic.
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"People fright at the concept of losing their money, yet they slave away their time without a second thought." -Seneca the Younger, from Letters from a Stoic (highly recommended) I think slaving away doing something you hate is far more harmful than "wasting" time having fun. I get more out of playing hacky sack and/or listening to podcasts than any homework…
on “How to lose time and money” ↗…can boil this book down to a few pages, with a lot of stories that help you understand why and how. I did this book on audio during a long car trip. Also life changing for me. 3. Stoicism. Reading Letters from a Stoic[3] taught me that there was an entirely different way to look at friendship that I'd never considered. And it taught me that there are people who constantly practice controlling their emotions in a positive…
on “Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught?” ↗I recently started reading "Letters from a Stoic" [1] and I'd highly recommend it. It's a collection of letters, each a few pages long, written by Seneca. I read one a day and have a pen nearby as I'll typically find at least 5 useful pieces of advice…
on “Seneca: On the Shortness of Life” ↗Another classic book to look at is "Letters from a Stoic" by Seneca the Younger, published by Penguin Classics. Seneca is perhaps my favorite of the Stoics.
on “How to Be a Stoic” ↗