I read it quickly, since it was due back to the library. I'm amazed as much by the wisdom as by the age. Some things never change, and some principles need to be learned over and over again.

So you must not think a man has lived long because he has white hair and wrinkles: he has not lived long, just existed long. For suppose you should think that a man had had a long voyage who had been caught in a raging storm as he left harbour, and carried hither and thither and driven round and round in a circle by the rage opposing winds. He did not have a long voyage, just a long tossing about.

Brilliant. Going to have to start over & mark all of my favourite passages. Which, incidentally, will be almost all of them.

The original “YOLO”.

Truth telling from across the centuries. If you haven't read it you are missing out.

Seneca does it again: big life lessons delivered simply, sternly, and sagely. I heartily recommend the translation by Gareth Williams, whose introductory remarks distill Seneca and Stoicism into their absolute essentials and provide valuable historical context.

4 stars. Quite strong when used as a "daily devotional" but by the nature of its form very brief. Letters like these serve as a good jumping-off point into deeper reflection.