Letter 87, “Some Arguments in Favour of the Simple Life,” begins with a small adventure: Seneca and his friend Maximus take a two-day journey traveling as lightly as possible — a farmer’s cart, dried figs for food, two rugs on the ground for a bed. The trip shows Seneca something unexpected: how much we own […]

Letter 86, “On Scipio’s Villa,” is one of Seneca’s most personal and atmospheric letters. He’s writing from the country house once owned by Scipio Africanus — the Roman general who defeated Hannibal — two centuries after Scipio’s death. Standing in Scipio’s modest bath, walking the floors where the great man once stood, Seneca turns the […]

Letter 85, “On Some Vain Syllogisms,” is one of Seneca’s longest and most demanding letters — but it’s worth the effort. Lucilius has pushed him to defend the core Stoic claim that virtue alone is sufficient for the happy life, including a thorough engagement with rival schools (especially the Peripatetics, who argued for “moderate” emotions). […]

Letter 84, “On Gathering Ideas,” contains one of Seneca’s most beloved metaphors: we should read like bees. Bees fly from flower to flower, gathering nectar, then bring it back to the hive and transform it into honey — something distinctly their own. So too, Seneca says, with reading: we should gather widely from many authors, […]

Letter 83, “On Drunkenness,” opens with one of Seneca’s most enduring pieces of advice: live as if always observed, think as if someone could read your inmost thoughts. From there he describes his own daily routine — the cold plunges, the modest meals, the morning sun — before turning to the letter’s main subject. Some […]