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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
8.5/10
A hard but rewarding read. Definitely real gems to apply to life and even gets vaguely Islamic at some points (the body being a rental from “Fortune”).
Took way longer than I thought it would to read.
A hard but rewarding read. Definitely real gems to apply to life and even gets vaguely Islamic at some points (the body being a rental from “Fortune”).
Took way longer than I thought it would to read.
Enjoyably bitchy, oddly—there's a lot of high camp goss here towards the various subjects of Seneca's scorn. That makes much of his otherwise pretty remote and theoretical thinking a little more grounded.
Some great refreshers on being intentional about making the most out of life and being wise about who we live for.
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Good quote on gold and silver belonging in the dark earth:
"It casts, no backward glance at wealth; gold and silver – things which are fully worthy of the gloom in which they once lay."
...
Seneca on bodily misfortunes such as losing a leg. To reckon that one cannot have a radiant happy existence is to make a false equivalence; that a limb is some how as noble and honorable as all the virtues of a life well lived.
"For reverence is due to justice, duty, loyalty, bravery, and prudence; on the contrary, those attributes are worthless with which the most worthless men are often blessed in fuller measure, – such as a sturdy leg, strong shoulders, good teeth, and healthy and solid muscle"
"It casts, no backward glance at wealth; gold and silver – things which are fully worthy of the gloom in which they once lay."
...
Seneca on bodily misfortunes such as losing a leg. To reckon that one cannot have a radiant happy existence is to make a false equivalence; that a limb is some how as noble and honorable as all the virtues of a life well lived.
"For reverence is due to justice, duty, loyalty, bravery, and prudence; on the contrary, those attributes are worthless with which the most worthless men are often blessed in fuller measure, – such as a sturdy leg, strong shoulders, good teeth, and healthy and solid muscle"
“I shall never be ashamed to go to a bad author for a good quotation.”
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
informative
reflective
fast-paced
reflective
Worth rereading throughout one's life and spending some time in thoughtful reflection afterwards to consider how to actually implement the lessons into your own life rather than just continuing on unchanged.
Through a series of three letters/essays, Seneca defines life, its flaws, and how to live it correctly. Touching on stoic principles, giving countless examples through history, if nothing else, he is pretty eloquent.
In all honesty, I do agree with him, not everywhere, but I do. But often he gives the impression of just talking too much. I don’t know if it’s badly aged or badly translated metaphors, but it feels like he doesn’t know when to stop explaining, and at a point it’s just idealist.
And that is my main issue with him, how many times he comes off as being too idealist, and elitist, so very elitist.
The ideas themselves were not something that we don’t inherently know, he just puts them across more strongly, which is nice at times. But difference in time periods does change values and what we look for. Take what you want from it, I suppose.
In all honesty, I do agree with him, not everywhere, but I do. But often he gives the impression of just talking too much. I don’t know if it’s badly aged or badly translated metaphors, but it feels like he doesn’t know when to stop explaining, and at a point it’s just idealist.
And that is my main issue with him, how many times he comes off as being too idealist, and elitist, so very elitist.
The ideas themselves were not something that we don’t inherently know, he just puts them across more strongly, which is nice at times. But difference in time periods does change values and what we look for. Take what you want from it, I suppose.