Letters From a Stoic
Penguin Publishing Group · Print & ebook · July 30, 1969
A Philosophy pick for readers exploring Letters From a Stoic.
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- Who it’s for
- Seneca makes Stoic composure feel less like hardness than a humane way to meet life’s setbacks.
- Themes
- Stoic self-mastery, Friendship and courage, Human dignity and compassion
- Genres
- Philosophers & Their Ideas, Letters & Correspondence, Ethics
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Start with this bookAbout this book
"It is philosophy that has the duty of protecting us...without it no one can lead a life free of fear or worry." For several years of his turbulent life, Seneca was the guiding hand of the Roman Empire. His inspired reasoning derived mainly from the Stoic principles, which had originally been developed some centuries earlier in Athens.
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This selection of Seneca's letters shows him upholding the austere ethical ideals of Stoicism—the wisdom of the self-possessed person immune to overmastering emotions and life’s setbacks—while valuing friendship and the courage of ordinary men, and criticizing the harsh treatment of slaves and the cruelties in the gladiatorial arena. The humanity and wit revealed in Seneca’s interpretation of Stoicism is a moving and inspiring declaration of the dignity of the individual mind. Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Stoicism, Humanely
Seneca makes Stoic composure feel less like hardness than a humane way to meet life’s setbacks.
Come here for
- Stoic counsel tempered by wit, friendship, and regard for ordinary courage
Expect
- Letters confronting fear, emotional excess, slavery, and arena cruelty
Where it sits
| Letters & Correspondence | 57% |
|---|---|
| Ethics | 37% |
| Philosophers & Their Ideas | 34% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Ancient Rome
- Letters & Correspondence
- Ancient Philosophy
- Authors
- Seneca
- Publisher
- Penguin Publishing Group
- Published
- July 30, 1969
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Stoic self-mastery · Friendship and courage · Human dignity and compassion
- Reading lane
- Ancient Rome