About this title: A philosophy that saw self-possession as the key to an existence lived 'in accordance with nature', Stoicism called for the restraint of animal instincts and the severing of emotional ties. These beliefs were formulated by the Athenian followers of Zeno in the fourth century BC, but it was in Seneca (c. 4 BC - AD 65) that the Stoics found their ...
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Published: 1969
ISBN-13:9780140442106ISBN:0140442103
Description: Good with no dust jacket. 0140442103. Penguin Classics; 0.8 x 7.7 x 5 Inches; 256 pages; No spine creases; pages in nice shape. Coverhas shelf, edge and corner wear; dimples, superficial scratches. Quick shipping w/delivery confirmation; bubble mailers. read more
Binding: MASS MARKET PAPERBACK
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN-13:9780140442106ISBN:0140442103
Description: Very Good. 0140442103 Paperback, Condition: Very Good; this book is in very good condition with light curve to the spine / light reading creases to the covers. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 1969
ISBN-13:9780140442106ISBN:0140442103
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Wraps have minor edge wear. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 254 p. Penguin Classics. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Viking Pr
Date Published: 1969-06-01
ISBN-13:9780140442106ISBN:0140442103
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780140442106. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Published: 1969
ISBN-13:9780140442106ISBN:0140442103
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin
Date Published: 1969
Description: Good. PAPERBACK. 1969 edition. Contents slightly yellowed. Clean and sound with some reading wear. Over twenty years selling secondhand books. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: PENGUIN BOOKS LTD Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780140442106ISBN:0140442103
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 256 pages. (256 pages) a philosophy that saw self-possession as the key to an existence lived "in accordance with nature", stoicism called for restraint of animal instincts and severing of emotional ties. seneca's contribution to a seemingly unsympathetic creed was to transform it into an inspiring declaration of the dignity of the individual mind. index (Paperback) read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Published: 1969-07-30
ISBN-13:9780140442106ISBN:0140442103
Description: Unmarked nice and clean in Paperback jacket. Paperback except for name on inside cover, in very good condition. Excellent text unmarked nice and clean! BUY IT NOW! . Satisfaction Guaranteed! read more
Binding: MASS MARKET PAPERBACK
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Published: 1969
ISBN-13:9780140442106ISBN:0140442103
Description: Good. 0140442103 Pub date: 1969. Condition: Good. Has heavy shelf wear, but still a good reading copy. We are a tested and proven company with over 400, 000 satisfied customers since 1997. Choose expedited shipping for much faster delivery. Delivery confirmation on all US. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Date Published: 1974
ISBN-13:9780140442106ISBN:0140442103
Description: New. A philosophy that saw self-possession as the key to an existence lived "in accordance with nature", Stoicism called for restraint of animal instincts and severing of emotional ties. Seneca's contribution to a seemingly unsympathetic creed was to trans... read more
"Selected by Tiberius, Nero became emperor of Rome as a mere teenager, and Nero's ambitious mother selected Seneca to tutor her son. For five years, while Nero goofed off, Seneca (in alliance with a general, Burris) actually ruled Rome. Some have claimed these were the best five years in the empire's history. Then palace intrigue caught up with Seneca; he retired voluntarily; but a few years later, after being implicated in a plot against Nero's life, he was directed to commit suicide (this was a common mode of execution in ancient Rome). Apart from politics, Seneca is best known for his plays (The Trojan Women, Phaedra) and his letters. Some claim that he invented the essay-it's true that his letters are really essays in thin disguise. In them he instructed a younger friend on the proper (stoical) attitude toward life. His primary motive, however, was to win everlasting fame for himself (the Romans tended to be obsessed with fame-their notion of immortality). Some claim that in espousing the Roman version of voluntary simplicity Seneca was one of the world's all-time great hypocrites: one of the wealthiest men in the empire, he had farflung holdings and lived lavishly. But of course he always claimed that wealth meant nothing to him-that he could readily give it up and still be as happy. And it is true that he lived up to his preachments on dying well-when committing suicide (as described by Tacitus), he was much calmer and more philosophical than those around him. The letters are mostly didactic. Because of the rhetorical style in Seneca's day, the writing is repetitious, dense and epigrammatic. This makes for a strange combination of boring paragraphs and quotable sentences. I found some of the down-to-earth descriptions-for example, of the Roman baths-more interesting than the philosophical homilies. Here are some Senecaisms:
*To Nero: "However many people you slaughter you cannot kill your successor."
*"The shortest way to wealth is the contempt of wealth."
*"What we say should be of use, not just entertaining."
*"To be everywhere is to be nowhere."
*"Nothing, to my way of thinking, is a better proof of a well ordered mind than a man's ability to stop just where he is and pass some time in his own company."
*"It is not the man who has too little who is poor, but the one who hankers after more."
*"Nothing is as ruinous to the character as sitting away one's time at a show-for it is then, through the medium of entertainment, that vices creep into one with more than usual ease."
*"Associate with people who are likely to improve you."
*"If you wish to be loved, love." (He's quoting Hecato)
*"No one is so very old that it would be quite unnatural for him to hope for one more day."
*"Making noble resolutions is not as noble as keeping the resolutions you have made already."
*"If you shape your life according to nature, you will never be poor; if according to people's opinions, you will never be rich."
*"It is in times of security that the spirit should be preparing itself to deal with difficult times."
*"Man is a rational animal. Man's ideal state is realized when he has fulfilled the purpose for which he was born. And what is it that reason demands of him? Something very easy-that he live in accordance with his own nature."
*"If you're sensible you'll never hope without an element of despair, and never despair without an element of hope."
Recommendation? Of the three great Roman letter-writers, for general interest I rate Seneca third behind Pliny the Younger (first) and Cicero (second). Pliny first, because he is down-to-earth and describes rather than preaches (he gives a splendid description, for example, of the Vesuvial destruction of Pompei). Cicero second, because he concerned himself with the great social and political topics of his day. Of the three, only Pliny the Younger died naturally."
"One of my favorite books of all time. I could read this over and over again. It got me through the tough time when my father was very ill, and ended up passing away. This book is timeless."
"This is the most important book of philosophy I have ever read. These letters from Seneca to his friend are full of brilliant, common sense advise for how to be happy in life. While the material is clearly dated, it is far more valuable than any current self-help book I can imagine."
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