In letters from a stoic 39, Seneca talks about the continual improvement of the soul through studying philosophy. This is a repeated theme in a lot of his letters, convincing Lucilius to put soul above anything else and be a good man.          He described two qualities a man with a good soul has. One is the will to be a good man.  “Most excellent quality…

               Letters from a Stoic 38 is one the shortest letter Seneca wrote. While Lucilius finds value from the letters, Seneca emphasized that there is nothing more powerful than having an actual face to face conversation. “But the greatest benefit is to be derived from conversation, because it creeps by degrees into the soul... They enter more easily, and stick in the memory; for we do not need many…

            In letters from a stoic 37, Seneca reminded Lucilius about his oath to be a good man. From the Stoic perspective, to be a good person means to practice virtues. He then reminded his friend about an important Stoic concept - embracing fate. One inevitable fate Seneca talked about in the letter is death. “You cannot escape necessities, but you can overcome them”              …

          In letters from a stoic 36, Seneca talks about Lucilius’ friend who seemed to be getting a lot of criticism about his decision to retire from office. Being retired himself, Seneca understood the difficulty of leaving the spotlight. There are pros and cons to which he talked in letter 19. He said that his friend should stay grounded with his decision to be able to retire and live in tranquility.  …

            Letters from a stoic 35 is quite a short letter but an intriguing one. Seneca said to Lucilius that though they care for each other, they are not yet technically “friends”.         According to Seneca the only way they can be friends is that Lucilius has to keep improving himself. The friendship between two men is defined by the likeness of their wisdom. He told Lucilius to hasten his quest for self-improvement…