Overview

A selection of Seneca’s most significant letters that illuminate his philosophical and personal life.   In the year 62, citing health issues, the Roman philosopher Seneca withdrew from public service and devoted his time to writing. His letters from this period offer a window into his experience as a landowner, a traveler through Roman Italy, and a man coping with the onset of old age. They describe the roar of the arena, the festival of Saturnalia, and the perils of the Adriatic Sea, and they explain his thoughts about political power, the treatment of slaves, the origins of civilization, and the key points of Stoic philosophy.   This selection of fifty of his letters brings Seneca to readers in a fresh modern voice and shows how, as a philosopher, he speaks to our time. Above all, these letters explore the inner life of the individual: from the life of heedless vanity to the first interest in philosophy, to true friendship, self-determination, and personal excellence.  

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9780226782935

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Reviews

The letters' intimate voice, their accessibility, and their focus on everyday challenges make the letters relevant for readers of all ages and academic levels. In addition, explanatory notes at the end of the book add depth and offer clarification for readers unfamiliar with Seneca or Stoic philosophy. A good representative sample of Seneca's letters, Fifty Letters is an approachable text and a good introduction to Roman Stoicism. . . . Recommended. * Choice * In 2015 Chicago did the great service of publishing G. and L.'s magisterial translation and commentary on all 124 surviving letters to Lucilius (Seneca: Letters on Ethics to Lucilius)... With this volume, G. and L. have now produced a very reasonably priced soft covered selection of slightly under half of the full corpus of Letters to Lucilius. * Classics for All *

In 2015 Chicago did the great service of publishing G. and L.'s magisterial translation and commentary on all 124 surviving letters to Lucilius (Seneca: Letters on Ethics to Lucilius)... With this volume, G. and L. have now produced a very reasonably priced soft covered selection of slightly under half of the full corpus of Letters to Lucilius. * Classics for All *

Author Information

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4BCE-65CE) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, dramatist, and advisor to Emperor Nero. Margaret Graver is the Aaron Lawrence Professor in Classics at Dartmouth College. Her publications include Cicero on the Emotions: Tusculan Disputations 3 and 4; Stoicism and Emotion; and, in collaboration with A.A. Long, a complete translation of Seneca's Letters on Ethics. A.A. Long is chancellor's professor of classics emeritus and affiliated professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. His books include Greek Models of Mind and Self and Epictetus: How to be Free.

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