Letters from a Stoic: New Translation, 2022 Edition - Couverture rigide

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus

Couverture rigide

ISBN 13 : 9798412580623

Editeur : Independently published, 2022

Synopsis

The Letters cover a wide range of topics, from everyday life to metaphysical concerns, and tend to explain and highlight the Stoic teachings that Seneca adopted as his own as a student. In addition to their mainly philosophical appeal, they provide many indications of the Roman way of life of the time. Seneca was the Roman Empire's guiding hand for numerous years throughout his stormy life. His inspired thinking was largely based on Stoic concepts, which had been established in Athens centuries earlier. Seneca's writings show him preserving the austere ethical standards of Stoicism—the wisdom of the self-possessed individual impervious to overpowering emotions and life's setbacks—while praising friendship and the bravery of ordinary men and denouncing slave treatment and gladiatorial arena cruelty. Seneca's interpretation of Stoicism shows that he had a lot of compassion and wit, which is a powerful and positive statement about the individual mind's worth.

In this selection of letters, Seneca gives Lucilius lessons in stoicism and describes the attitude of the sage. Themes such as asthma (letter LIV -- Seneca teaches Lucilius that he is asthmatic and deals with his relationship with the disease and his near death) or noise (letter LVI) appear in his letters. The influence of the crowd (in letter VII) or the duty to treat one's slaves well (in letter XLVII) are also discussed. Thus, the Letters of Lucilius provide information on daily life in ancient Rome. One observes in Seneca a tendency to take an interest in a specific incident and then tackle a broader subject. For example, Letter VII is about whether or not to go to a gladiator show; Seneca then reflects on the ethics of these shows: to our knowledge, this is the first testimony on the issue in the pre-Christian era. In this volume, we have translated what we consider to be the most significant letters. They condense the very essence of Seneca's message. We have tried to match and preserve the style of the philosopher while at the same time modernizing the text as much as possible.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Independently published
• Date d'édition: 2022
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 13: 9798412580623
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 127
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