Book: Letters from a Stoic by Seneca. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I was expecting a bit more about this book but I’m sure it is just a problem with my expectations. The book is a collection of letters from Seneca to Lucilius, and that’s exactly what you should expect from it. Seneca was a wise man and these letters contain great pieces of advice. Many of these advices are still valid today, but some makes much more sense when you consider the whole context in which Seneca was at the time.

I decided to read this book because of Stoicism but finished for other reasons. One of the reasons is the description of true friendship.

If you want to read more about Stoicism, I recommend reading A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy instead of this one. If you already know Stoicism and want to understand what Seneca has to say about it, you may enjoy this one.

Here are my raw notes about this book

  • I don’t regard a man as poor if what is left it enough for him
  • Everywhere means nowhere. If someone lives the life traveling, he/she will end up with many acquaintances but no friends
  • It’s not the man who has too little that is poor, but the man who always craves more
  • If you consider someone a friend and you do not trust him/her as you would trust you, you’re probably mistaken
  • After a friendship is settled, you must trust. Before a friendship is formed, you must pass judgment. You should not judge someone after making this person a friend, but making him/her a friend after he/she pass your judgment.
  • We suffer from things in the past and from things yet to come. Memory is a blessing and a curse
  • Sometimes sick man is congratulated because they can recognize they are sick
  • You should go for the scene of action first because the man put more faith in their eyes than their ears
  • If knowledge should be given to me in a manner that I could not share it, I should refuse it
  • No good things are worth possessing without friends to share it – that’s interesting. Is it true? I believe the definition of a friend here is broad, and we can also add family and wife/husband to the list. In this case, it will make sense to me.
  • I began to be a friend of myself. Such a person can never be alone. –