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renuked's review against another edition
3.0
I think this paled slightly in comparison to Meditations for me. I do think it’s a great pandemic/quarantine read, and is a quick read. It's broken into three of his essays, but I did not like all of them equally.
(1) In the first essay, On the Shortness of Life, Seneca discusses how to live life, given that our lifespans are pretty short. He dismisses most ways of life, and then says that the best way to elongate life is to dedicate it to the study of some old, dead (white male) philosophers. I’m not really sure I agree. In fact, I definitely don’t agree, although it’s an interesting take. I don't think the world would work if we all just sat around talking about Socrates and Pythagoras all day. What a privilege if we could all live life like that. He also says that these are "better men" than us, and that those "distinguished founders of holy creeds were born for us and prepared for us a way of life." I don't think that is true at all. In fact, I'm positive many of them owned slaves, and no doubt believed in a lot of very unsavory things. I think their ideas are fun to discuss (clearly), but I do not think every human in life should sit around and dedicate their lives to the study of philosophy. Life is simply too short for that.
(2) That brings me to the second essay. This second essay in particular did not really resonate with me. This is named Consolation to Helvia, and is written to his mother Helvia to assure her that he is fine after being exiled to Corsica. The reasons for his exile are a little murky, but essentially he was accused of adultery with Caligula's sister.
My qualms are mostly with a few weird parts about women that I don’t love. He talks a bit about power-hungry women who rule through their sons, women who grieve too much, women who are not chaste, women who like jewels and pearls and their looks, women who have abortions, and women who are cowards. He does briefly mention women who are brave like "great men" including his aunt, but mostly there is a lot of disdain for a lot of different women. Yikes.
This essay is also not persuasive. I do not think exile was fine. It sounds awful and humiliating, and the circumstances around the exile are also not exactly a great look. Who knows how much was exaggerated, but still. Adultery is a hefty crime to be accused of for such a great philosopher, although I guess it was the emperor doing the accusing.
(3) The last essay was my favorite for sure, On Tranquility of Mind. I felt like this one was excellent to read for people who feel stressed or anxious. It's pretty relatable for something that was written in like 60 AD. I could jive with it.
Overall, a lot of interesting ideas but I felt it resonated more poorly than Meditations (which felt more relevant/relatable -- sans the homophobia of course). I personally felt less persuaded by Seneca, and I’m not sure Seneca really seemed to practice what he preached. Then again, I'm not sure how many people do. Worth the quick read.
(1) In the first essay, On the Shortness of Life, Seneca discusses how to live life, given that our lifespans are pretty short. He dismisses most ways of life, and then says that the best way to elongate life is to dedicate it to the study of some old, dead (white male) philosophers. I’m not really sure I agree. In fact, I definitely don’t agree, although it’s an interesting take. I don't think the world would work if we all just sat around talking about Socrates and Pythagoras all day. What a privilege if we could all live life like that. He also says that these are "better men" than us, and that those "distinguished founders of holy creeds were born for us and prepared for us a way of life." I don't think that is true at all. In fact, I'm positive many of them owned slaves, and no doubt believed in a lot of very unsavory things. I think their ideas are fun to discuss (clearly), but I do not think every human in life should sit around and dedicate their lives to the study of philosophy. Life is simply too short for that.
(2) That brings me to the second essay. This second essay in particular did not really resonate with me. This is named Consolation to Helvia, and is written to his mother Helvia to assure her that he is fine after being exiled to Corsica. The reasons for his exile are a little murky, but essentially he was accused of adultery with Caligula's sister.
My qualms are mostly with a few weird parts about women that I don’t love. He talks a bit about power-hungry women who rule through their sons, women who grieve too much, women who are not chaste, women who like jewels and pearls and their looks, women who have abortions, and women who are cowards. He does briefly mention women who are brave like "great men" including his aunt, but mostly there is a lot of disdain for a lot of different women. Yikes.
This essay is also not persuasive. I do not think exile was fine. It sounds awful and humiliating, and the circumstances around the exile are also not exactly a great look. Who knows how much was exaggerated, but still. Adultery is a hefty crime to be accused of for such a great philosopher, although I guess it was the emperor doing the accusing.
(3) The last essay was my favorite for sure, On Tranquility of Mind. I felt like this one was excellent to read for people who feel stressed or anxious. It's pretty relatable for something that was written in like 60 AD. I could jive with it.
Overall, a lot of interesting ideas but I felt it resonated more poorly than Meditations (which felt more relevant/relatable -- sans the homophobia of course). I personally felt less persuaded by Seneca, and I’m not sure Seneca really seemed to practice what he preached. Then again, I'm not sure how many people do. Worth the quick read.
km2214's review against another edition
4.0
This is a short read-- I wanted to give it three stars, but the fact that it was written in the year 65 makes it a four star. You will likely not enjoy this much if you have had to deal with mortality at an early age, but who knows. Worth an afternoon of your life for sure.
xispo's review against another edition
5.0
If you can mentally change all the use of “man” to “human” and accept the mentions of servants/slaves and latent misogyny as par for the course in Ancient Rome, there are some nice nuggets of Stoicism to tuck into. Some things that I hope to remember or use as a lens when thinking about my life and how to live it:
The importance of gratitude.
Be deliberate, flexible and self reliant.
Life is made more complete with public service or service toward fellow humans.
Reflect on the past; don’t dwell in the chaos of the present.
Modesty: live simply, but not carelessly.
Indulge the mind, but also allow it leisure.
Most importantly, remember that time is by far the most precious resource in your life. Guard against those who would take it from you without consideration.
The importance of gratitude.
Be deliberate, flexible and self reliant.
Life is made more complete with public service or service toward fellow humans.
Reflect on the past; don’t dwell in the chaos of the present.
Modesty: live simply, but not carelessly.
Indulge the mind, but also allow it leisure.
Most importantly, remember that time is by far the most precious resource in your life. Guard against those who would take it from you without consideration.
greaydean's review against another edition
4.0
Perhaps I am simply late to the table, but it is hard to grasp the ancients clear grasp of the human experience and how they understood life can be stripped of its joy. Seneca's guidance about how to have tranquility and "lengthen" life are remarkably insightful. Maybe it is not remarkable, I am simply acclimated to assuming that this sort of insight belongs to the moderns and post-moderns.
Wake up!
Wake up!