Letters from a Stoic

Welcome! Today we’ll be reviewing Letters from a Stoic by Seneca.

Faithfully translated by Robin Campbell, “Letters from a Stoic” offers a particularly unique insight into the mind of Seneca, of the the greatest philosophers in the field of stoicism. Sequentially listed across time, the letters cover a wide range of topics as Seneca discusses everything from his day to day activities to lessons on how to life an optimal life. For historical accuracy, and to provide better insight into the books content, it should be noted that Nero was notoriously known as one of Rome’s worst emperors. While one might think this reflects poorly on Nero’s closest advisors and teachers (namely Seneca) the reality couldn’t be any farther from the truth – in fact, the overwhelming popularity of Seneca’s philosophy and teachings is what eventually drove some of Nero’s most corrupt advisors to persuade him to compel Seneca’s suicide, an ultimately tragic and biblical-esqe end to one of the worlds greatest philosophers.

What you’ll get from this book are the real letters between a teacher (Seneca) and pupil (Nero), separated across space and time, lightly touching on both the daily life of Seneca and his guiding philosophical musings. It’s heartfelt, it’s touching, and it reads very much like reading the hand written letters between two great friends who don’t see each other anymore, with the additional wisdom of Seneca thrown in the mix. In other letters, it reads more as a series of lessons Seneca might have taught at one of Rome’s many schools of philosophy. It’s interesting, it’s refreshing, and it really comes off as a series of wholesome interactions that have a very “father and son” vibe with many philosophical lessons and insights thrown into the mix. If any of this has caught your interest, I think you’ll find “Letters from a Stoic” as excellent a read as I did.