In letters from a stoic 16, Seneca stressed the importance of philosophy - the love for wisdom. “.Philosophy.... moulds and constructs the soul; it orders our life, guides our conduct, shows us what we should do and what we should leave undone; it sits at the helm and directs our course as we waver amid uncertainties. Without it, no one can live fearlessly or in peace of mind.…
In letters from a stoic 15, Seneca stressed the importance of nourishing the mind over the body. He pointed out several reasons why it must be prioritized over the latter. First, nourishing the mind demands lesser physical energy. Second, it demands lesser time. There are several routine activities involve in to developing the body which consume so much time. Third, wisdom appreciates while strength depreciates. The more we become knowledgeable and…
In letters from a stoic 14, Seneca talks about our natural affinity for our bodies. However, our love for it makes us slaves to a lot of pleasures. We have to check our pleasures constantly otherwise we may lose our control to them. Temptations are everywhere and if we don’t pay attention to our bodies, they can easily turn into uncontrollable vices. “He will have many masters who make his body…
In part 1 of this thirteenth letter, Seneca describes anxiety and how it torments us. “We suffer more often in imagination than in reality”. He then offers Lucilius a way to deal with it which is the focus on this second part. How to deal with anxiety? Seneca said we need wisdom before it happens and courage when it does happen which are two of the four cardinal virtues…
Seneca’s thirteenth letter is one of the longest letters he wrote to Lucilius. With a lot of wisdom that goes into it, we divided the key takeaways into two parts. In this first, part we will discuss the nature of anxiety as Seneca sees it, and then on the second, we will discuss how Seneca advises Lucilius to deal with anxiety. In letters from a stoic 13, Seneca begins by…