Essay · By Stephen Pasquini Looking for a meaningful gift for someone who loves Seneca, Stoicism or just a good book on how to live? Here are the best Stoic gifts, grouped by the kind of person you’re shopping for, from first-time readers to history buffs. Seneca would want us to keep it simple, so […]
How Did Seneca Die? The Last Day of a Stoic (AD 65)
Essay · By Stephen Pasquini In AD 65, the emperor Nero ordered his old teacher to die. Seneca was accused of joining a plot against the emperor, and he was given no trial. What we know of his last evening comes mostly from the Roman historian Tacitus, and it’s one of the most famous death […]
Seneca on Anger: 8 Ways to Cool Down, from His Book On Anger
Essay · By Stephen Pasquini Seneca thought anger was the most dangerous of all our emotions, and he wrote a whole book about it, On Anger, for his brother Novatus. It’s surprisingly practical. Here’s what Seneca believed anger really is, why he disagreed with Aristotle about it, and eight ways to cool down that still […]
Seneca in Exile: What Life Was Probably Like on Corsica
Essay · By Stephen Pasquini In AD 41, Seneca went from the center of Roman life to a rock in the sea. He spent eight years in exile on Corsica, and he never wrote a diary of what his days were like. But he left clues in two letters he wrote from the island, and […]
What Is Virtue? Seneca vs. Aristotle, Plato and Socrates (with Timeline)
Essay · By Stephen Pasquini Ask most people who “invented” virtue ethics and they’ll say Aristotle. They’re not wrong. But Seneca belonged to a school that went even further: the Stoics taught that virtue is the only true good, and that it’s all you need to live well. Here’s how Seneca’s idea of virtue compares […]