Open The Volume

Letters From a Stoic

Seneca/65 / Classical Antiquity
DeathFortuneFriendshipSelf-Command

Letters in the Stoicism tradition, oriented around death and fortune.

Seneca's Letters From a Stoic, drawn from the Moral Letters to Lucilius written near the end of his life, uses the intimacy of correspondence to turn Stoic doctrine into daily counsel. The letters range over reading, friendship, wealth, fear, death, time, and the discipline required to make philosophy a lived practice.

354 excerpts/42 sections
Open In StarfieldShuffle excerptsRead in order

Chapters

The structural skeleton of the work

Section 1

Letter II

7 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Focus4 excerptsReading4 excerptsFriendship2 excerptsLearning2 excerptsConsistency1 excerpt

Poverty of Desire

It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor. What does it matter how much a man has laid up in his safe, or in his warehouse, how large are his flocks and how fat his dividends, if he covets his neighbour’s property, and reckons, not his past gains, but his hopes of gains to come? Do you ask what is the proper limit to wealth? It is, first, to have what is necessary, and, second, to have what is enough.

Section 2

Letter III

6 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Friendship4 excerptsTrust4 excerptsBalance3 excerptsAction And Contemplation1 excerptActivity And Rest1 excerpt

Worthier Fault of Trust

There is a class of men who communicate, to anyone whom they meet, matters which should be revealed to friends alone, and unload upon the chance listener whatever irks them. Others, again, fear to confide in their closest intimates; and if it were possible, they would not trust even themselves, burying their secrets deep in their hearts. But we should do neither. It is equally faulty to trust everyone and to trust no one.

Section 3

Letter V

9 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Simplicity4 excerptsNature2 excerptsPhilosophy2 excerptsStoicism2 excerptsAnxiety1 excerpt

Conformity as Strategy

Inwardly, we ought to be different in all respects, but our exterior should conform to society. Do not wear too fine, nor yet too frowzy, a toga. One needs no silver plate, encrusted and embossed in solid gold; but we should not believe the lack of silver and gold to be proof of the simple life. Let us try to maintain a higher standard of life than that of the multitude, but not a contrary standard; otherwise, we shall frighten away and repel the very persons whom we are trying to improve. We also bring it about that they are unwilling to imitate us in anything, because they are afraid lest they might be compelled to imitate us in everything.

Section 4

Letter VI

5 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Friendship3 excerptsGenerosity1 excerptJoy Of Learning1 excerptLearning By Example1 excerptMentorship1 excerpt

Joy of Teaching

You cannot conceive what distinct progress I notice that each day brings to me. And when you say: “Give me also a share in these gifts which you have found so helpful,” I reply that I am anxious to heap all these privileges upon you, and that I am glad to learn in order that I may teach. Nothing will ever please me, no matter how excellent or beneficial, if I must retain the knowledge of it to myself. And if wisdom were given me under the express condition that it must be kept hidden and not uttered, I should refuse it. No good thing is pleasant to possess, without friends to share it.

Section 5

Letter VII

7 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Balance1 excerptConformity1 excerptCrowd Psychology1 excerptCrowds And Vice1 excerptDisdain For Popularity1 excerpt

Retreat from the Crowd

The young character, which cannot hold fast to righteousness, must be rescued from the mob; it is too easy to side with the majority. Even Socrates, Cato, and Laelius might have been shaken in their moral strength by a crowd that was unlike them; so true it is that none of us, no matter how much he cultivates his abilities, can withstand the shock of faults that approach, as it were, with so great a retinue. Much harm is done by a single case of indulgence or greed; the familiar friend, if he be luxurious, weakens and softens us imperceptibly; the neighbour, if he be rich, rouses our covetousness; the companion, if he be slanderous, rubs off some of his rust upon us, even though we be spotless and sincere. What then do you think the effect will be on character, when the world at large assaults it! You must either imitate or loathe the world. But both courses are to be avoided; you should not copy the bad simply because they are many, nor should you hate the many because they are unlike you. Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can.

Section 6

Letter VIII

4 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Action Vs. Inaction1 excerptCaution1 excerptContemplation1 excerptDanger Of Desire1 excerptDiscipline1 excerpt

Fortune's Hidden Snares

I cry out to them: “Avoid whatever pleases the throng: avoid the gifts of Chance! Halt before every good which Chance brings to you, in a spirit of doubt and fear; for it is the dumb animals and fish that are deceived by tempting hopes. Do you call these things the ‘gifts’ of Fortune? They are snares. And any man among you who wishes to live a life of safety will avoid, to the utmost of his power, these limed twigs of her favour, by which we mortals, most wretched in this respect also, are deceived; for we think that we hold them in our grasp, but they hold us in theirs. Such a career leads us into precipitous ways, and life on such heights ends in a fall.

Section 7

Letter IX

16 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Friendship8 excerptsStoicism7 excerptsSelf-Sufficiency5 excerptsWisdom3 excerptsHappiness2 excerpts

Valuables Within

For Stilbo, after his country was captured and his children and his wife lost, as he emerged from the general desolation alone and yet happy, spoke as follows to Demetrius, called Sacker of Cities because of the destruction he brought upon them, in answer to the question whether he had lost anything: “I have all my goods with me!” There is a brave and stout-hearted man for you! The enemy conquered, but Stilbo conquered his conqueror. “I have lost nothing!” Aye, he forced Demetrius to wonder whether he himself had conquered after all.

Section 8

Letter XI

7 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Moral Exemplar3 excerptsStoicism3 excerptsEthics2 excerptsHuman Nature2 excerptsLimits Of Philosophy2 excerpts

The Imagined Witness

Hear and take to heart this useful and wholesome motto : “Cherish some man of high character, and keep him ever before your eyes, living as if he were watching you, and ordering all your actions as if he beheld them.” Such, my dear Lucilius, is the counsel of Epicurus; he has quite properly given us a guardian and an attendant. We can get rid of most sins, if we have a witness who stands near us when we are likely to go wrong. The soul should have someone whom it can respect,—one by whose authority it may make even its inner shrine more hallowed.

Section 9

Letter XII

5 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Old Age2 excerptsConstraint1 excerptContentment1 excerptDeath1 excerptDesire1 excerpt

Old Age's Final Pleasures

Let us cherish and love old age; for it is full of pleasure if one knows how to use it. Fruits are most welcome when almost over; youth is most charming at its close; the last drink delights the toper,—the glass which souses him and puts the finishing touch on his drunkenness. Each pleasure reserves to the end the greatest delights which it contains.

Section 10

Letter XV

7 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Gratitude2 excerptsAging1 excerptAmbition1 excerptAnxiety1 excerptBalance1 excerpt

Independence from Fortune

Here is the proverb; it is an excellent one: “The fool’s life is empty of gratitude and full of fears; its course lies wholly toward the future.” “Who uttered these words?” you say. The same writer whom I mentioned before. And what sort of life do you think is meant by the fool’s life? That of Baba and Isio? No; he means our own, for we are plunged by our blind desires into ventures which will harm us, but certainly will never satisfy us; for if we could be satisfied with anything, we should have been satisfied long ago; nor do we reflect how pleasant it is to demand nothing, how noble it is to be contented and not to be dependent upon Fortune.

Section 11

Letter XVI

5 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Philosophy2 excerptsStoicism2 excerptsDesire1 excerptFate1 excerptGuidance1 excerpt

Philosophy as Protector

Whether the truth, Lucilius, lies in one or in all of these views, we must be philosophers; whether Fate binds us down by an inexorable law, or whether God as arbiter of the universe has arranged everything, or whether Chance drives and tosses human affairs without method, philosophy ought to be our defence. She will encourage us to obey God cheerfully, but Fortune defiantly; she will teach us to follow God and endure Chance.

Section 14

Letter XXVII

4 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Pleasure2 excerptsSelf-Improvement2 excerptsEphemeral Vs Enduring1 excerptFolly1 excerptHappiness1 excerpt

Enduring Inner Good

Away with those disordered pleasures, which must be dearly paid for; it is not only those which are to come that harm me, but also those which have come and gone. Just as crimes, even if they have not been detected when they were committed, do not allow anxiety to end with them; so with guilty pleasures, regret remains even after the pleasures are over. They are not substantial, they are not trustworthy; even if they do not harm us, they are fleeting. Cast about rather for some good which will abide. But there can be no such good except as the soul discovers it for itself within itself.

Section 15

Letter XXVIII

6 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Inner Peace3 excerptsSelf-Knowledge3 excerptsTravel3 excerptsContentment1 excerptDealing With Obstacles1 excerpt

Self Cannot Be Escaped

Though you may cross vast spaces of sea, and though, as our Vergil remarks, Lands and cities are left astern, your faults will follow you whithersoever you travel. Socrates made the same remark to one who complained; he said: “Why do you wonder that globe-trotting does not help you, seeing that you always take yourself with you? The reason which set you wandering is ever at your heels.”

Section 16

Letter XXXIII

7 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Philosophy2 excerptsStoicism2 excerptsArt1 excerptAuthority1 excerptBeauty1 excerpt

Own Your Words

For it is disgraceful even for an old man, or one who has sighted old age, to have a note-book knowledge. “This is what Zeno said.” But what have you yourself said? “This is the opinion of Cleanthes.” But what is your own opinion? How long shall you march under another man’s orders? Take command, and utter some word which posterity will remember.

Section 17

Letter XXXVIII

2 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Philosophy2 excerptsCommunication1 excerptEducation1 excerptGrowth1 excerptTeaching1 excerpt

Words as Seeds

They enter more easily, and stick in the memory; for we do not need many words, but, rather, effective words. Words should be scattered like seed; no matter how small the seed may be, if it has once found favourable ground, it unfolds its strength and from an insignificant thing spreads to its greatest growth. Reason grows in the same way; it is not large to the outward view, but increases as it does its work. Few words are spoken; but if the mind has truly caught them, they come into their strength and spring up. Yes, precepts and seeds have the same quality; they produce much, and yet they are slight things. Only, as I said, let a favourable mind receive and assimilate them.

Section 18

Letter XL

4 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Philosophy3 excerptsControl1 excerptDignity1 excerptFriendship1 excerptLetters1 excerpt

Letters as Presence

I never receive a letter from you without being in your company forthwith. If the pictures of our absent friends are pleasing to us, though they only refresh the memory and lighten our longing by a solace that is unreal and unsubstantial, how much more pleasant is a letter, which brings us real traces, real evidences, of an absent friend! For that which is sweetest when we meet face to face is afforded by the impress of a friend’s hand upon his letter,—recognition.

Section 19

Letter XLI

7 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Virtue3 excerptsDivinity2 excerptsNature2 excerptsReason2 excerptsConformity1 excerpt

God Within

We do not need to uplift our hands towards heaven, or to beg the keeper of a temple to let us approach his idol’s ear, as if in this way our prayers were more likely to be heard. God is near you, he is with you, he is within you. This is what I mean, Lucilius: a holy spirit indwells within us, one who marks our good and bad deeds, and is our guardian.

Section 20

Letter XLVI

0 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Theme clustering will appear here as excerpt coverage grows.

Representative excerpt

This section is structurally available even though excerpts are not attached to it yet.

Section 21

Letter XLVII

11 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Slavery5 excerptsStoicism3 excerptsHumility2 excerptsCharacter1 excerptCommon Humanity1 excerpt

Universal Slavery

“He is a slave.” But shall that stand in his way? Show me a man who is not a slave; one is a slave to lust, another to greed, another to ambition, and all men are slaves to fear. I will name you an ex-consul who is slave to an old hag, a millionaire who is slave to a serving-maid; I will show you youths of the noblest birth in serfdom to pantomime players! No servitude is more disgraceful than that which is self-imposed.

Section 22

Letter XLVIII

7 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Simplicity3 excerptsCompassion2 excerptsAction1 excerptAspiration1 excerptCommunity1 excerpt

Torch of Truth

Men are stretching out imploring hands to you on all sides; lives ruined and in danger of ruin are begging for some assistance; men’s hopes, men’s resources, depend upon you. They ask that you deliver them from all their restlessness, that you reveal to them, scattered and wandering as they are, the clear light of truth. Tell them what nature has made necessary, and what superfluous; tell them how simple are the laws that she has laid down, how pleasant and unimpeded life is for those who follow these laws, but how bitter and perplexed it is for those who have put their trust in opinion rather than in nature.

Section 23

Letter LIII

5 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Philosophy3 excerptsSelf-Knowledge2 excerptsWisdom2 excerptsAuthority1 excerptAwakening1 excerpt

Spirit's Hidden Sickness

When I finally calmed my stomach (for you know that one does not escape seasickness by escaping from the sea) and refreshed my body with a rubdown, I began to reflect how completely we forget or ignore our failings, even those that affect the body, which are continually reminding us of their existence,—not to mention those which are more serious in proportion as they are more hidden. A slight ague deceives us; but when it has increased and a genuine fever has begun to burn, it forces even a hardy man, who can endure much suffering, to admit that he is ill. There is pain in the foot, and a tingling sensation in the joints; but we still hide the complaint and announce that we have sprained a joint, or else are tired from over-exercise. Then the ailment, uncertain at first, must be given a name; and when it begins to swell the ankles also, and has made both our feet “right” feet, we are bound to confess that we have the gout. The opposite holds true of diseases of the soul; the worse one is, the less one perceives it. You need not be surprised, my beloved Lucilius. For he whose sleep is light pursues visions during slumber, and sometimes, though asleep, is conscious that he is asleep; but sound slumber annihilates our very dreams and sinks the spirit down so deep that it has no perception of self. Why will no man confess his faults? Because he is still in their grasp; only he who is awake can recount his dream, and similarly a confession of sin is a proof of sound mind.

Section 24

Letter LIV

4 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Death4 excerptsStoicism2 excerptsAnalogy1 excerptCourage1 excerptMortality1 excerpt

Willing What Necessity

But do you praise and imitate the man whom it does not irk to die, though he takes pleasure in living. For what virtue is there in going away when you are thrust out? And yet there is virtue even in this: I am indeed thrust out, but it is as if I were going away willingly. For that reason the wise man can never be thrust out, because that would mean removal from a place which he was unwilling to leave; and the wise man does nothing unwillingly. He escapes necessity, because he wills to do what necessity is about to force upon him.

Section 25

Letter LV

3 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Stoicism2 excerptsFriendship1 excerptImagination1 excerptInner Peace1 excerptLiving For Oneself1 excerpt

True vs False Retreat

But, my dear Lucilius, philosophy is a thing of holiness, something to be worshipped, so much so that the very counterfeit pleases. For the mass of mankind consider that a person is at leisure who has withdrawn from society, is free from care, self-sufficient, and lives for himself; but these privileges can be the reward only of the wise man. Does he who is a victim of anxiety know how to live for himself? What? Does he even know (and that is of first importance) how to live at all? For the man who has fled from affairs and from men, who has been banished to seclusion by the unhappiness which his own desires have brought upon him, who cannot see his neighbour more happy than himself, who through fear has taken to concealment, like a frightened and sluggish animal,—this person is not living for himself; he is living for his belly, his sleep, and his lust,—and that is the most shameful thing in the world. He who lives for no one does not necessarily live for himself. Nevertheless, there is so much in steadfastness and adherence to one’s purpose that even sluggishness, if stubbornly maintained, assumes an air of authority with us.

Section 26

Letter LVI

6 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Activity2 excerptsIdleness2 excerptsInner Peace2 excerptsStoicism2 excerptsDiscipline1 excerpt

Inner Fortress

But by this time I have toughened my nerves against all that sort of thing, so that I can endure even a boatswain marking the time in high-pitched tones for his crew. For I force my mind to concentrate, and keep it from straying to things outside itself; all outdoors may be bedlam, provided that there is no disturbance within, provided that fear is not wrangling with desire in my breast, provided that meanness and lavishness are not at odds, one harassing the other.

Section 28

Letter LXV

10 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Philosophy3 excerptsStoicism3 excerptsCausality2 excerptsFreedom2 excerptsGod2 excerpts

Soul's Undivided Authority

No, I am above such an existence; I was born to a greater destiny than to be a mere chattel of my body, and I regard this body as nothing but a chain which manacles my freedom. Therefore, I offer it as a sort of buffer to fortune, and shall allow no wound to penetrate through to my soul. For my body is the only part of me which can suffer injury. In this dwelling, which is exposed to peril, my soul lives free. Never shall this flesh drive me to feel fear, or to assume any pretence that is unworthy of a good man. Never shall I lie in order to honour this petty body. When it seems proper, I shall sever my connexion with it. And at present, while we are bound together, our alliance shall nevertheless not be one of equality; the soul shall bring all quarrels before its own tribunal.

Section 30

Letter LXXVIII

21 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Stoicism11 excerptsEndurance4 excerptsDeath3 excerptsIllness3 excerptsPain3 excerpts

Thinking Shapes Pain

But do not of your own accord make your troubles heavier to bear and burden yourself with complaining. Pain is slight if opinion has added nothing to it; but if, on the other hand, you begin to encourage yourself and say, “It is nothing,—a trifling matter at most; keep a stout heart and it will soon cease”; then in thinking it slight, you will make it slight. Everything depends on opinion; ambition, luxury, greed, hark back to opinion. It is according to opinion that we suffer. A man is as wretched as he has convinced himself that he is.

Section 31

Letter LXXXIII

4 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Drunkenness2 excerptsVice2 excerptsCharacter1 excerptInhibition1 excerptMoral Education1 excerpt

Daily Self-Audit

I shall therefore do as you bid, and shall gladly inform you by letter what I am doing, and in what sequence. I shall keep watching myself continually, and—a most useful habit—shall review each day. For this is what makes us wicked: that no one of us looks back over his own life. Our thoughts are devoted only to what we are about to do. And yet our plans for the future always depend on the past.

Section 34

Letter XC

21 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Nature6 excerptsSimplicity6 excerptsWisdom6 excerptsHappiness3 excerptsLuxury3 excerpts

Self-Earned Wisdom

Who can doubt, my dear Lucilius, that life is the gift of the immortal gods, but that living well is the gift of philosophy? Hence the idea that our debt to philosophy is greater than our debt to the gods, in proportion as a good life is more of a benefit than mere life, would be regarded as correct, were not philosophy itself a boon which the gods have bestowed upon us. They have given the knowledge thereof to none, but the faculty of acquiring it they have given to all. For if they had made philosophy also a general good, and if we were gifted with understanding at our birth, wisdom would have lost her best attribute—that she is not one of the gifts of fortune. For as it is, the precious and noble characteristic of wisdom is that she does not advance to meet us, that each man is indebted to himself for her, and that we do not seek her at the hands of others. What would there be in philosophy worthy of your respect, if she were a thing that came by bounty?

Section 35

Letter XCI

13 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Stoicism6 excerptsFate3 excerptsFortune2 excerptsImpermanence2 excerptsMortality2 excerpts

Summer's Sudden Storm

No time is exempt; in the midst of our very pleasures there spring up causes of suffering. War arises in the midst of peace, and that which we depended upon for protection is transformed into a cause of fear; friend becomes enemy, ally becomes foeman. The summer calm is stirred into sudden storms, wilder than the storms of winter. With no foe in sight we are victims of such fates as foes inflict, and if other causes of disaster fail, excessive good fortune finds them for itself.

Section 36

Letter CIV

16 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Stoicism4 excerptsFear3 excerptsPerception3 excerptsTravel3 excerptsCourage2 excerpts

Escape Requires New Self

But the mere place avails little for this purpose, unless the mind is fully master of itself, and can, at its pleasure, find seclusion even in the midst of business; the man, however, who is always selecting resorts and hunting for leisure, will find something to distract his mind in every place. Socrates is reported to have replied, when a certain person complained of having received no benefit from his travels: “It serves you right! You travelled in your own company!” O what a blessing it would be for some men to wander away from themselves! As it is, they cause themselves vexation, worry, demoralization, and fear! What profit is there in crossing the sea and in going from one city to another? If you would escape your troubles, you need not another place but another personality.

Section 37

Letter CV

5 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Human Nature2 excerptsPeace Of Mind2 excerptsConflict1 excerptConscience1 excerptContempt1 excerpt

Silence as Fortress

Nothing, however, will help you so much as keeping still—talking very little with others, and as much as may be with yourself. For there is a sort of charm about conversation, something very subtle and coaxing, which, like intoxication or love, draws secrets from us. No man will keep to himself what he hears. No one will tell another only as much as he has heard. And he who tells tales will tell names, too. Everyone has someone to whom he entrusts exactly what has been entrusted to him. Though he checks his own garrulity, and is content with one hearer, he will bring about him a nation, if that which was a secret shortly before becomes common talk.

Section 38

Letter CVII

7 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Stoicism3 excerptsAcceptance2 excerptsFate2 excerptsPreparation For Adversity2 excerptsResilience2 excerpts

Opposites Sustain Eternity

And we cannot change this order of things; but what we can do is to acquire stout hearts, worthy of good men, thereby courageously enduring chance and placing ourselves in harmony with Nature. And Nature moderates this world-kingdom which you see, by her changing seasons: clear weather follows cloudy; after a calm, comes the storm; the winds blow by turns; day succeeds night; some of the heavenly bodies rise, and some set. Eternity consists of opposites.

Section 40

Letter CXIV

11 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Character And Style2 excerptsFaults2 excerptsLiterary Criticism2 excerptsStyle2 excerptsComposition1 excerpt

Speech as Moral Mirror

For answer, here is a phrase which you are wont to notice in the popular speech—one which the Greeks have made into a proverb: “Man’s speech is just like his life.” Exactly as each individual man’s actions seem to speak, so people’s style of speaking often reproduces the general character of the time, if the morale of the public has relaxed and has given itself over to effeminacy. Wantonness in speech is proof of public luxury, if it is popular and fashionable, and not confined to one or two individual instances. A man’s ability cannot possibly be of one sort and his soul of another. If his soul be wholesome, well-ordered, serious, and restrained, his ability also is sound and sober. Conversely, when the one degenerates, the other is also contaminated.

Section 41

Letter CXXII

10 excerpts

Top themes in this chapter

Nature4 excerptsDecadence2 excerptsExtravagance2 excerptsVice2 excerptsAction1 excerpt

Virtue's Simplicity vs Vice's Complexity

You should not be surprised at finding so many special manifestations of the vices; for vices vary, and there are countless phases of them, nor can all their various kinds be classified. The method of maintaining righteousness is simple; the method of maintaining wickedness is complicated, and has infinite opportunity to swerve. And the same holds true of character; if you follow nature, character is easy to manage, free, and with very slight shades of difference; but the sort of person I have mentioned possesses badly warped character, out of harmony with all things, including himself.