Perennial Lives | Stoics, Saints, and Sages
The Perennial Lives series explores the life and philosophy of 12 figures (one per week), from Socrates (470—399 BC) to St. Thomas Aquinas (1225—1274). To assist us in our journey, we’ll turn to resources like Lives of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius, along with more recent works like Examined Lives by James Miller, Socrates’ Children by Peter Kreeft, Lives of the Stoics by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman, and others works.
Who is Seneca?
As many of you know, every Sunday, we explore one of Lucius Annaeus Seneca's (4 BC to 65 AD) letters. Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and advisor to Emporer Nero. He is most known for his philosophical works, including a dozen essays and one hundred twenty-four letters. Seneca's letters are mainly to Lucilius and cover several timeless topics, from wisdom to death and everything in between. His letters are known today as Letters from a Stoic, and sales increased by more than 700 percent during the pandemic.
Learn more about Seneca’s life in my conversation with James Romm, the author of Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero.
How Seneca Can Save Your Life
We all want to live happy lives, observed Seneca, but when it comes to discerning what makes life happy—we are in the dark. Seneca believed there was nothing more talked about and less understood than the business of a happy life.
In Seneca’s On the Happy Life, he wrote,
It is every man’s wish and design; and yet not one of a thousand that knows wherein that happiness consists. We live, however, in blind and eager pursuit of it; and the more haste we make in a wrong way, the further we are from our journey’s end.
According to Seneca, many of us wander aimlessly—squandering our time. Therefore, the first task is determining where we are headed and by what path. Seneca urges us to remember that time is our most valuable resource. He stressed to Lucilius: “What man can you show me who places any value on his time, who reckons the worth of each day, who understands that he is dying daily?”
In a collection titled Fifty Letters of a Roman Stoic, editors Margaret Graver and A.A. Long write, “The best way to learn about Seneca, as a person, and as a philosopher, is to read his letters. Begun late in his life, the Letters on Ethics adhere to a format that he himself devised and that proved especially congenial to his talents.” These are serious writings, using the intimacy of the personal letter as a vehicle for a searching examination of values and life choices.
Seneca explains the premise of his entire work near the beginning of a letter known today as Writing as a form of service, where he wrote,
The work that I am doing is for posterity: it is they who can benefit from what I write. I am committing to the page some healthful admonitions, like the recipes for useful salves. I have found these effective on my own sores, which, even if not completely healed, have ceased to spread. The right path, which I myself discovered late in life when weary from wandering, I now point out to others.
Although philosophers may not be able to solve the immediate problems of their societies, Graver and Long explain, their writings can still benefit others by teaching readers how to live happy and productive lives.
Learn more about Seneca’s philosophy in my conversation with David Fideler, author of Breakfast with Seneca.
Final Thoughts
As with all of the meditations in our Perennial Lives series, we have merely scratched the surface of Seneca’s life and philosophy. Thankfully, for those eager to learn more, we have nearly a year of our Sundays with Seneca series in the archive to explore. Here are a handful to get you started:
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Thank you for reading/listening; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
P.S. Feel free to comment, ask questions, or make suggestions!