Seneca the Younger

Moral Letters & Essays


Moral Letters from a Stoic to Lucilium

  • Letter 1: On Saving Time
  • Letter 2: On Discursiveness in Reading
  • Letter 3: On True and False Friendship
  • Letter 4: On the Terrors of Death
  • Letter 5: On the Philosopher’s Mean
  • Letter 6: On Sharing Knowledge
  • Letter 7: On Crowds
  • Letter 8: On the Philosopher’s Seclusion
  • Letter 9: On Philosophy and Friendship
  • Letter 10: On Living to Oneself
  • Letter 11: On the Blush of Modesty
  • Letter 12: On Old Age
  • đź’ˇ Letter 13: On Groundless Fears
  • Letter 14: On the Reasons for Withdrawing From the World
  • Letter 15: On Brawn and Brains
  • Letter 16: On Philosophy, the Guide of Life
  • Letter 17: On Philosophy and Riches
  • đź’ˇ Letter 18: On Festivals and Fasting
  • Letter 19: On Worldliness and Retirement
  • đź’ˇ Letter 20: On Practicing What You Preach
  • Letter 21: On the Renown Which My Writings Will Bring You
  • Letter 22: On the Futility of Half-Way Measures
  • Letter 23: On the True Joy Which Comes from Philosophy
  • Letter 24: On Despising Death
  • Letter 25: On Reformation
  • Letter 26: On Old Age and Death
  • Letter 27: On the Good Which Abides
  • Letter 28: On Travel as a Cure for Discontent
  • Letter 29: On the Critical Condition of Marcellinus
  • Letter 30: On Conquering the Conqueror
  • Letter 31: On Siren Songs
  • Letter 32: On Progress
  • Letter 33: On the Futility of Learning Maxims
  • Letter 34: On a Promising Pupil
  • Letter 35: On the Friendship of Kindred Minds
  • Letter 36: On the Value of Retirement
  • Letter 37: On Allegiance to Virtue
  • Letter 38: On Quiet Conversation
  • Letter 39: On Noble Aspirations
  • Letter 40: On the Proper Style for a Philosopher’s Discourse
  • Letter 41: On the God Within Us
  • Letter 42: On Values
  • Letter 43: On the Relativity of Fame
  • Letter 44: On Philosophy and Pedigrees
  • Letter 45: On Sophistical Argumentation
  • Letter 46: On a New Book by Lucilius
  • Letter 47: On Master and Slave
  • Letter 48: On Quibbling as Unworthy of the Philosopher
  • Letter 49: On the Shortness of Life
  • Letter 50: On Our Blindness and Its Cure
  • Letter 51: On Baiae and Morals
  • Letter 52: On Choosing Our Teachers
  • Letter 53: On the Faults of the Spirit
  • Letter 54: On Asthma and Death
  • Letter 55: On Vatia’s Villa
  • Letter 56: On Quiet and Study
  • Letter 57: On the Trials of Travel
  • Letter 58: On Being

  • Letter 59: On Pleasure and Joy
  • Letter 60: On Harmful Prayers
  • Letter 61: On Meeting Death Cheerfully
  • Letter 62: On Good Company
  • Letter 63: On Grief for Lost Friends
  • Letter 64: On the Philosopher’s Task
  • Letter 65: On the First Cause
  • Letter 66: On Various Aspects of Virtue
  • Letter 67: On Ill-Health and Endurance of Suffering
  • Letter 68: On Wisdom and Retirement
  • Letter 69: On Rest and Restlessness
  • Letter 70: On the Proper Time to Slip the Cable
  • Letter 71: On the Supreme Good
  • Letter 72: On Business as the Enemy of Philosophy
  • Letter 73: On Philosophers and Kings
  • Letter 74: On Virtue as a Refuge From Worldly Distractions
  • Letter 75: On the Diseases of the Soul
  • Letter 76: On Learning Wisdom in Old Age
  • Letter 77: On Taking One’s Own Life
  • Letter 78: On the Healing Power of the Mind
  • Letter 79: On the Rewards of Scientific Discovery
  • Letter 80: On Worldly Deceptions
  • Letter 81: On Benefits
  • Letter 82: On the Natural Fear of Death
  • Letter 83: On Drunkenness
  • Letter 84: On Gathering Ideas
  • Letter 85: On Some Vain Syllogisms
  • Letter 86: On Scipio’s Villa
  • Letter 87: Some Arguments in Favour of the Simple Life
  • Letter 88: On Liberal and Vocational Studies
  • Letter 89: On the Parts of Philosophy
  • Letter 90: On the Part Played by Philosophy in the Progress of Man
  • Letter 91: On the Lesson to be Drawn From the Burning of Lyons
  • Letter 92: On the Happy Life
  • Letter 93: On the Quality, as Contrasted With the Length, of Life
  • Letter 94: On the Value of Advice
  • Letter 95: On the Usefulness of Basic Principles
  • Letter 96: On Facing Hardships
  • Letter 97: On the Degeneracy of the Age
  • Letter 98: On the Fickleness of Fortune
  • Letter 99: On Consolation to the Bereaved
  • Letter 100: On the Writings of Fabianus
  • Letter 101: On the Futility of Planning Ahead
  • Letter 102: On the Intimations of Our Immortality
  • Letter 103: On the Dangers of Association With Our Fellow Men
  • Letter 104: On Care of Health and Peace of Mind
  • Letter 105: On Facing the World With Confidence
  • Letter 106: On the Corporeality of Virtue
  • Letter 107: On Obedience to the Universal Will
  • Letter 108: On the Approaches to Philosophy
  • Letter 109: On the Fellowship of Wise Men
  • Letter 110: On True and False Riches
  • Letter 111: On the Vanity of Mental Gymnastics
  • Letter 112: On Reforming Hardened Sinners
  • Letter 113: On the Vanity of the Soul and Its Attributes
  • Letter 114: On Style as a Mirror of Character
  • Letter 115: On the Superficial Blessings
  • Letter 116: On Self-Control
  • Letter 117: On Real Ethics as Superior to Syllogistic Subtleties
  • Letter 118: On the Vanity of Place-Seeking
  • Letter 119: On Nature as Our Best Provider
  • Letter 120: More About Virtue
  • Letter 121: On Instinct in Animals
  • Letter 122: On Darkness as a Veil for Wickedness
  • Letter 123: On the Conflict Between Pleasure and Virtue
  • Letter 124: On the True Good as Attained by Reason

Essays by Seneca

  • (64) On providence (De Providentia) – addressed to Lucilius
  • (55) On the Firmness of the Wise Person (De Constantia Sapientis) – addressed to Serenus
  • (41) On anger (De Ira) – A study on the consequences and the control of anger – addressed to his brother Novatus
  • (book 2 of the De Ira)
  • (book 3 of the De Ira)
  • (40) To Marcia, On Consolation (Ad Marciam, De consolatione) – Consoles her on the death of her son
  • (58) On the Happy Life (De Vita Beata) – addressed to Gallio
  • (62) On Leisure (De Otio) – addressed to Serenus
  • (63) On the tranquillity of mind (De Tranquillitate Animi) – addressed to Serenus
  • đź’ˇ (49) On the shortness of life (De Brevitate Vitæ) – Essay expounding that any length of life is sufficient if lived wisely – addressed to Paulinus
  • (44) To Polybius, On consolation (De Consolatione ad Polybium – Consoling him on the death of his brother.
  • (42) To mother Helvia, On consolation (Ad Helviam matrem, De consolatione) – Letter to his mother consoling her on his absence during exile.

  • Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
  • Discourses of Epictetus
    • Enchiridion of Epictetus
    • Fragments of Epictetus
  • Letters and Essays by Seneca
  • Essays on Stoicism by James Stockdale
  • The Man in the Arena by Theodore Roosevelt
  • Invictus by William Ernest Henley
  • If– by Joseph Rudyard Kipling
  • Experiment by Cole Porter