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Seneca and his Letters

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (about 4 BC to 65 AD) was a statesman, playwright and advisor to the emperor Nero. After falling out of favour he was ordered to take his own life in 65 AD. His Letters to Lucilius, written in his last years, are among the most readable Stoic texts: warm, direct and written to a friend about real problems.

He also wrote essays including On the Shortness of Life, On Anger and several consolations.

Where to start

1. On the Shortness of Life: an essay on how we waste time and what to do instead.
2. Selected Letters to Lucilius, especially letters 1, 13 and 63, on time, fear and grief.
3. On Anger: a hard-headed study of rage and how to manage it.

Signature practices

Seneca describes the evening review, imagining worst cases in advance, and choosing simplicity on purpose. The letters mix practical exercise with honest admissions of his own failings, which makes his advice credible.

A caution

Seneca lived a life of wealth and political compromise, and critics in his own time and since have pointed to the gap between what he preached and how he lived. Reading him alongside that tension is useful: he presents himself as someone making progress, not a finished sage.

In their own words

“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”

Letters to Lucilius 13 (Gummere translation)

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• Stoicism for anger
• Stoicism for grief
• Stoicism for anxiety