Seneca Letters From a Stoic

How Stoicism Came to Rome: The Philosophers’ Embassy of 155 BC

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus — Mon, 09 Nov 2026 19:57:30 +0000

In 155 BC Athens sent three philosophers to Rome to argue its way out of a heavy fine. One was the Stoic Diogenes of Babylon. How that embassy charmed Rome’s young men, alarmed Cato the Elder, and planted Stoicism in Rome.

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How to Grieve, According to Seneca: Weep, but Don’t Wail

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 19:55:04 +0000

Seneca’s advice on grief, from two of his most human letters: let the tears come, don’t put sorrow on display, and let memory slowly turn sweet.

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Who Was Chrysippus? The Runner Who Built Stoicism Into a System

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 18:56:27 +0000

Chrysippus was a long-distance runner who became the third head of the Stoic school, wrote more than 705 books, and turned Stoicism into a complete system. His life, his logic, and what Seneca thought of him.

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Who Were the Cynics? Diogenes, Crates and the Dog Philosophers Behind Stoicism

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:40:15 +0000

Diogenes lived in a storage jar and told Alexander the Great to move. Crates gave away a fortune and taught Zeno. Meet the Cynics who shaped Stoicism, and what Seneca made of them.

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Who Was Zeno of Citium? The Shipwrecked Merchant Who Founded Stoicism

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:40:15 +0000

Zeno of Citium lost his cargo in a shipwreck and founded Stoicism on a public porch in Athens. Who he was, what he taught, how he lived, and what Seneca thought of him.

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Who Was Cleanthes? The Boxer Who Carried Water and Kept Stoicism Alive

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:02:44 +0000

Cleanthes was a boxer who hauled water by night so he could study with Zeno by day, then led the Stoic school for more than thirty years. His life, his Hymn to Zeus, and what Seneca thought of him.

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Epicureanism vs. Stoicism: Pleasure or Virtue? The Great Ancient Rivalry

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus — Sun, 11 Oct 2026 19:45:38 +0000

Epicureans chose pleasure, Stoics chose virtue. Here is the ancient rivalry round by round, where the two schools quietly agree, and why Seneca kept quoting Epicurus.

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Letter 124: On the True Good as Attained by Reason

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:34:34 +0000

This is the last of Seneca’s surviving letters to Lucilius, and it ends on the biggest question of all: what is the real good, and where do we find it? Pleasure-seekers say we feel it through the senses. Seneca says it belongs to reason: “a free mind, an upright mind, subjecting other things to itself […]

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Letter 123: On the Conflict Between Pleasure and Virtue

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:32:28 +0000

Seneca arrives at his country house late at night, tired from a rough trip, and finds nothing ready: no dinner, no bread, no bath. Instead of getting angry, he sits down and writes. “Nothing is heavy if you accept it with a light heart.” From there he moves to the voices that tempt us toward […]

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Letter 122: On Darkness as a Veil for Wickedness

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:30:36 +0000

The days are getting shorter as Seneca writes, and he uses the season to poke fun at Rome’s fashionable night owls: rich people who sleep through the day and party through the night, not out of need, but to be different and talked about. Underneath the satire is a serious idea. “The way of goodness […]

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