1.0: The Letters on Morality by Seneca, a story
In August 2023 we are reading: The Letters on Morality by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Classics Reader's Diary is about encouraging you, the inquisitive reader, to focus on literature that withstood the test of time, and also about helping you to enjoy it by providing the necessary context about the authors, the books, and the times they were written at.
In August 2023 we are reading: The Letters on Morality by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Who is the author?
Lucius Annaeus Seneca ('Seneca' further in the text) is well-known nowadays primarily to two facts: he was a Roman stoic (some would say the most famous one, but I would add: 'second to Marcus Aurelius'), living in the I century AD, and he was the emperor Nero's adviser. Seneca is often quoted, and, indeed, many of his words are worth remembering, and advice — worth following.
And here we are facing a rather intriguing peculiarity: Seneca was also well-known for trying, but ultimately failing to follow his own advice. Being a devoted (at least judging from his own words) Stoicism philosophy follower, he preached total independence and even disdain to riches, but was one of the richest men in the Roman empire; he preached peaceful, wise, and tolerant attitude to people and events, but was an adviser to quite a fiendish emperor Nero and was involved in at least some of his ferocious schemes.
Indeed, the famous saying that goes 'do what I say, not what I do' refers to Seneca to quite a significant degree.
Why you should read this book?
Seneca authored a significant number of texts (in addition to dramas, that we do not currently bring to the discussion table): the earlier ones are frequently called 'dialogues', since they were usually addressed to a particular person and sometimes contained a polemical exchange, and 'essays', since they covered a specific subject (for example, On Mercy or On Anger). While those remain to be of a poignant interest to scholars willing to trace Seneca's views and philosophy from his young years to more mature ones, and also to see how they reflected the circumstances he found himself in (apparently, a lot of his works were written in order to impress either Roman public, improving or fixing his reputation, or to impress a particular person, namely the emperor), I find them less interesting to a broader audience intending not only to learn more about Seneca himself, but also to learn from him.
Thus our attention falls to his last work, Epistulae Morales, known as The Letters on Morality, or sometimes The Letters to Lucilius, and can justly be called Seneca's Magnum Opus. It was written as a sum of his life lessons and beliefs and was not distorted by any practical necessity — this time Seneca didn't need neither to whiten his reputation (as in a case when he was sent into exile after being accused of adultery with Caligula's sister), nor to moderate unjust urgings of the emperor Nero. The Letters were written when Seneca finally managed to be as far from the court as possible, and his only intention was to put on paper the most precious and practical advice he could come up with, as if writing to his younger self.
What is surprising about this book?
There is an opinion that Seneca was indeed writing to himself, Lucilius being an ‘imaginary friend’ — such a striking resemblance they actually had. The scholars are still not able to establish this for sure, but in any way it does not diminish the value of this work: it is indeed the compilation of Seneca's most cherished life lessons, and it contains his truest beliefs and most useful advise (which is especially precious for those who prefer to learn from books, and not only enjoy reading them).
What else should you know before reading?
Learning the context is always the key to enjoying a book, especially written in a different time than ours. I advise you to first read more about who Seneca was — the Wikipedia page will do, although the material there is a bit one-dimensional and not too engaging. Also read more about Stoicism — again, you can start with Wikipedia, but if you're ready to put a bit more efforts into it, better pay attention to the following books:
Seneca: A Life by Emily Wilson — a well-written biography of Seneca that doesn’t shy away from shedding some light at the most controversial parts of Seneca’s life
Stoicism: A Very Short Introduction by Brad Inwood — an introduction to the philosophy of Stoicism and its roots from historical perspective (not a self-help book, but rather leaning to giving an academic overview), written by a distinguished scholar
A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine — this time it is a self-help book for the most part, but one of the most well-written on the topic, so it still can be a great prerequisite for reading Seneca
The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius — a gem: written in AD 121 by a Roman historian, provides an excellent overview of the times Seneca used to live in
And now, I wish you a pleasant journey familiarising yourself with a compelling story of one of the greatest and most controversial Roman philosophers and speakers in preparation to read his final work that summarised all of his wisdom: The Letters on Morality. When you are ready — dive into reading it with me, and I will return to you with my impressions and the best quotations from the book in three weeks, on August 25th.
The edition I am reading: Seneca: Selected Letters (Oxford World's Classics), OUP Oxford, 2010
Bye!
Yours,
Mark Marchenko, the Classics Reader