ABOUT THIS BOOK

A selection of Seneca’s most significant letters that illuminate his philosophical and personal life.

“There is only one course of action that can make you happy. . . . rejoice in what is yours. What is it that is yours? Yourself; the best part of you.”

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 onto his experience as a landowner, a traveler, and a man coping with the onset of old age. They share his ideas on everything from the treatment of enslaved people to the perils of seafaring, and they provide lucid explanations for many key points of Stoic philosophy.

This selection of fifty letters brings out the essentials of Seneca’s thought, with much that speaks directly to the modern reader. Above all, they explore the inner life of the individual who proceeds through philosophical inquiry from a state of emotional turmoil to true friendship, self-determination, and personal excellence.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

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.

REVIEWS

"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

"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

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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