Seneca's Letters from a Stoic

What Hacker News says

1. agent008tAug 2021
   This is also where philosophy can help. I would recommend reading Seneca's 'Letters from a Stoic'.
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2. genghisjahnDec 2018
   I was skeptical but you are correct. Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic is fantastic.
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3. graemeMar 2016
   I liked Seneca's letters from a Stoic, and the miracle of mindfulness. There's also some helpful exercises in the four hour workweek (writing down worst case scenarios), and bits of the Black Swan were formative.

   Of course, a big part of the latter two books was also structuring my life so I don't have situations where I need to deal with office politics as part of my livelihood. But I can confirm that the techniques do work for very real stresses I've had that can't be avoided.

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4. kornishOct 2015
   The three best-known literary products of Stoic culture and philosophy are probably:

   - Marcus Aurelius' Meditations (make sure to get the Hays translation! By far the best). Aurelius was an emperor of Rome; Meditations are his musings to himself in later life. It's interesting to reading the internal grapplings of a man who was, to his countrymen, basically a walking god.

   - Lucius Annaeus Seneca's Letters from a Stoic

   - Epictetus' Enchiridion, which translates roughly as "handbook" and was assembled from the teachings of Epictetus, an exiled former slave, to those who traveled to live and study with him.

   I strongly recommend all three. If you're interested in more modern interpretations of the above, a couple good jumping off points would be A Guide to the Good Life by William Irvine (which was mostly pretty good) or The Inner Citadel by Pierre Hadot (which studies Meditations). Ryan Holiday also has a book called The Obstacle Is The Way, though I didn't enjoy it as much as any listed above, to be honest.

   A personal favorite gem which, found several years ago: http://stoicletters.blogspot.com/. This blog bundles Seneca's letters into a modern style of prose and is much more accessible while conveying much of the same meaning as the original letters.

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5. hvassNov 2013
   Starting Washington by Paul Johnson and rereading a lot of favorites: John Boyd's biography by Coram & Seneca's Letters from a Stoic.

   On the side, I am trying to finish Eisenhower's biography - 500/700 pages.

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6. FlyingSnakeJan 2021
   Finished Range and Siddhartha, and now reading Seneca's letters from a stoic.

   Range is a great book that extols the virtues of playing around and dabbling with multiple skills. Immensely readable.

   Siddhartha, is a fascinating take on advaita vedanta, Sramana, and Buddhism. As someone familiar with these 3 philosophies, I liked Hesse's take on them. The story is really simple and can be finished in 2-3 sittings.

   Letters from a stoic is full to the brim of wisdom and I've never filled a book with so many bookmarks and notes before. Seneca writes like a straight arrow and doesn't mince words. No wonder the book is still around, one of the best examples of Lindy effect.

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