ENGLISH

Letters from a Stoic

By Lucius Annaeus Seneca , Robin Campbell (trans.)

Book information

Publisher
Penguin Books
Year
1969
ISBN
0140442103, 9780140442106
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
9 MB (9239490 bytes)
Series
Penguin Classics
Pages
254\256
Orientation
yes
Scanned
yes
Time added
2014-11-23 20:11:14

Description

A philosophy that saw self-possession as the key to an existence lived 'in accordance with nature', Stoicism called for the restraint of animal instincts and the severing of emotional ties. These beliefs were formulated by the Athenian followers of Zeno in the fourth century BC, but it was in Seneca (c. 4 BC - AD 65) that the Stoics found their most eloquent advocate. Stoicism, as expressed in the Letters, helped ease pagan Rome's transition to Christianity, for it upholds upright ethical ideals and extols virtuous living, as well as expressing disgust for the harsh treatment of slaves and the inhumane slaughters witnessed in the Roman arenas. Seneca's major contribution to a seemingly unsympathetic creed was to transform it into a powerfully moving and inspiring declaration of the dignity of the individual mind.

Similar books