Review: Seneca - Letters
I felt sad when I finished reading Seneca's final letter. I was saying goodbye to a very dear friend who I not only felt that I had come to know intimately over the past weeks, but to someone whose philosophies resonated with my own on various topics, and also at the most fundamental levels.
Seneca's letters are, in my opinion, not only an essential work of Ethics, but an essential work in themselves.
I also think that they epitomise the Stoic doctrine. They are more expansive than Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, and cover a wider range of topics than Epictetus' lectures. He gives poignant analogies and examples from Roman life. He is not rigid in his adherence to the Stoic tenets, but applies elements from other schools when he believes that they have merit; indeed, during a large number of the earlier letters, he ends with quotations from Epicurus.
Imaginary Baroque Portrait Bust of Seneca, Anonymous, 17th Century
Too many people go through life not thinking about their own actions; not thinking about why they are performing those very actions in the first place.
Perhaps you are simply continuing to do/think what you were taught during childhood. You are emulating your parents. Your friends. Those around you. Those in the same socio-economic class. People on your social networks. People you look up to. Your idols. Famous people. "Successful" people.
Seneca's letters can change this. They not only contain advice on a vast number of topics, but advice that can be put to use immediately, and I truly believe that his brand of stoicism can be life-changing. He can help you to stop and think about the best way to live your life. To identify and correct faulty judgments. To think for yourself. To free you.
The Letters are not only one of the best works of philosophy, but one of the best works period that I have read so far. Seneca has the potential to change your entire perspective on various topics, but also on life itself. His letters can also make you laugh. Feel grief. Happiness. Sadness. Disgust. Loathing. Surprise. He can move you, inspire you. He gets down to fundamental aspects of the human condition. He can touch your spirit. Your soul.
At least, he did mine . . .
Although I have only read a rather modest number of books across a few genres as of writing this review, and although I have a lot more seminal works to read (Plato, Aristotle, Proust, Shakespeare, The Greek Dramatists . . . ), I honestly do not think that a work will move me quite like this has (I suspect Plato and Aristotle may, and also Montaigne's Essays, but then Montaigne himself was highly influenced by Seneca!)
I hope you give Seneca's Letters a chance, and I hope he affects you as much as he did me.
Farewell
Do Seneca justice and get a complete copy of his letters. This edition is a great copy; an immensely readable translation with extensive, useful notes.
If you are interested in Stoicism I can recommend reading Marcus Aurelius and some of Cicero's dialogues (On Friendship & On The Good Life), but I think Epictetus and Seneca have the most wisdom to impart.
The Death of Seneca, Manuel Domínguez Sánchez
