In letters from a stoic 46, Seneca is giving an honest critique on a book Lucilius wrote himself. There is nothing more suitable to do a book review than the wise old man himself who was considered to be one of the greatest writers in the ancient world. Overall, he was happy and enjoyed reading the book although there is still room for improvement. “I was not merely…
In letters from a stoic 45, Seneca begins by reminding Lucilius that when reading books, quality is more important than quantity. It is better to have a few beneficial books rather than a massive collection of random books. In the next part of the letter, Seneca reminds his friend to take every work the wise old man gave with a grain of salt. “But whatever the quality of my works may be, read them…
Remember the time you craved the latest iPhone. After saving a few months of money, you finally bought one for yourself. You enjoyed it in weeks to come but after a few months you no longer as excited as you were when you have first had it. Hedonic adaptation is our natural tendency to return to level happiness after an initial surge of positive emotions (usually pleasure). After…
When a friend is facing uncertainties from life challenges, we are almost always obliged to cheer him up. We give him hope by saying some of the most positive things we could think. Things like “It will be okay.”, “There is always a rainbow after the rain.” the list goes on. However, the Stoics argue that this is not the best way to calm an anxious friend. The…
In letters from a stoic 44, Seneca emphasized that philosophy does not care about ancestry. “If there is any good in philosophy, it is this—that it never looks into pedigrees. All men, if traced back to their original source, spring from the gods.” Lucilius seems to be feeling unworthy of his status and Seneca reminds him that a noble mind is free to anyone. Philosophy does not…