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Product Identifiers
PublisherPenguin Publishing Group
ISBN-100140442103
ISBN-139780140442106
eBay Product ID (ePID)37080
Product Key Features
Book TitleLetters from a Stoic
Number of Pages256 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year1969
TopicAncient / Rome, Letters, General, History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical
IllustratorYes
GenrePhilosophy, Literary Collections, History
AuthorSeneca
FormatUk-B Format Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height0.5 in
Item Weight6.7 Oz
Item Length7.7 in
Item Width5 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN70-459637
Selected byCampbell, Robin
Dewey Edition23
Grade FromTwelfth Grade
Dewey Decimal188
Grade ToUP
Table Of ContentLetters from a Stoic - Seneca Introduction Seneca's Life Seneca and Philosophy Seneca and Literature: His letters and other writings; his style; his influence and appeal Note on translation and text Postscript Letters Notes Bibliography Appendix: Tactitus' account of Seneca's death Index of persons and places
Synopsis"It is philosophy that has the duty of protecting us...without it no one can lead a life free of fear or worry." For several years of his turbulent life, Seneca was the guiding hand of the Roman Empire. His inspired reasoning derived mainly from the Stoic principles, which had originally been developed some centuries earlier in Athens. This selection of Seneca's letters shows him upholding the austere ethical ideals of Stoicism--the wisdom of the self-possessed person immune to overmastering emotions and life's setbacks--while valuing friendship and the courage of ordinary men, and criticizing the harsh treatment of slaves and the cruelties in the gladiatorial arena. The humanity and wit revealed in Seneca's interpretation of Stoicism is a moving and inspiring declaration of the dignity of the individual mind. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators., 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., The power and wealth which Seneca the Younger (c.4B.C.-A.D. 65) acquired as Nero's minister were in conflict with his Stoic beliefs. Nevertheless he was the outstanding figure of his age. The Stoic philosophy which Seneca professed in his writings, later supported by Marcus Aurelius, provided Rome with a passable bridge to Christianity. Seneca's major contribution to Stoicism was to spiritualize and humanize a system which could appear cold and unrealistic. Selected from the Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, these letters illustrate the upright ideals admired by the Stoics and extol the good way of life as seen from their standpoint. They also reveal how far in advance of his time were many of Seneca's ideas -- his disgust at the shows in the arena or his criticism of the harsh treatment of slaves. Philosophical in tone and written in the 'pointed' style of the Latin Silver Age these 'essays in disguise' were clearly aimed by Seneca at posterity. Book jacket.