In this seventh letter, Seneca asked Lucilius to avoid the crowd. When he said the crowd he meant the public crowd, a group of people whose ideals and principles may be different from ours because as per Seneca they could easily and unconsciously corrupt our character and hinder our goals for self-improvement and reaching our potentials. “To consort with the crowd is harmful; there is no person who does not make…
In his third letter to Lucilius, Seneca stressed about selecting and trusting friends. In this sixth letter, Seneca talked about sharing what you have with your friends and the joy that comes along with it. For him though it’s not about material possessions but the wisdom he acquired through life. Seneca was already more than 60 years old of age around this time and was giving…
In the same way as the fourth letter, Seneca begins by praising Lucilius’ effort in improving himself. He added this time that all his endeavors to be a better man should not be to seek social approval. Seneca reminds us to live a higher standard than most people and continue to realize our potentials to the fullest but not to the point of being out of sync with the…
The answer to this question can be found in the fifth letter of Seneca to Lucilius. In the later part of the letter, Seneca reminds Lucilius of the pointlessness of hope. For the Stoics, hope is the opium of fear. A lot of our disappointment stems from hoping so much in the future and then we start to feel that things will not go in our way we start to…
The fourth letter begins with Seneca praising Lucilius for progress in improving his mind. Center to the stoic philosophy is in nourishing the mind over the body and above all else as it is the only thing we have control and the ultimate source of good well-being. “Doubtless you will derive enjoyment during the time when you are improving your mind and setting it at peace with itself, but…