Letters to LuciliusSeneca

Letters to Lucilius

Seneca · c. 65 CE · Translated by Richard Mott Gummere

124 letters of practical advice to a friend: on time, friendship, fear, wealth and how to live.

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Contents

  1. Letter 1On saving time
  2. Letter 2On discursiveness in reading
  3. Letter 3On true and false friendship
  4. Letter 4On the terrors of death
  5. Letter 5On the philosopher's mean
  6. Letter 6On sharing knowledge
  7. Letter 7On crowds
  8. Letter 8On the philosopher's seclusion
  9. Letter 9On philosophy and friendship
  10. Letter 10On living to oneself
  11. Letter 11On the blush of modesty
  12. Letter 12On old age
  13. Letter 13On groundless fears
  14. Letter 14On the reasons for withdrawing from the world
  15. Letter 15On brawn and brains
  16. Letter 16On philosophy, the guide of life
  17. Letter 17On philosophy and riches
  18. Letter 18On festivals and fasting
  19. Letter 19On worldliness and retirement
  20. Letter 20On practising what you preach
  21. Letter 21On the renown which my writings will bring you
  22. Letter 22On the futility of half-way measures
  23. Letter 23On the true joy which comes from philosophy
  24. Letter 24On despising death
  25. Letter 25On reformation
  26. Letter 26On old age and death
  27. Letter 27On the good which abides
  28. Letter 28On travel as a cure for discontent
  29. Letter 29On the critical condition of Marcellinus
  30. Letter 30On conquering the conqueror
  31. Letter 31On siren songs
  32. Letter 32On progress
  33. Letter 33On the futility of learning maxims
  34. Letter 34On a promising pupil
  35. Letter 35On the friendship of kindred minds
  36. Letter 36On the value of retirement
  37. Letter 37On allegiance to virtue
  38. Letter 38On quiet conversation
  39. Letter 39On noble aspirations
  40. Letter 40On the proper style for a philosopher's discourse
  41. Letter 41On the god within us
  42. Letter 42On values
  43. Letter 43On the relativity of fame
  44. Letter 44On philosophy and pedigrees
  45. Letter 45On sophistical argumentation
  46. Letter 46On a new book by Lucilius
  47. Letter 47On master and slave
  48. Letter 48On quibbling as unworthy of the philosopher
  49. Letter 49On the shortness of life
  50. Letter 50On our blindness and its cure
  51. Letter 51On Baiae and morals
  52. Letter 52On choosing our teachers
  53. Letter 53On the faults of the spirit
  54. Letter 54On asthma and death
  55. Letter 55On Vatia's villa
  56. Letter 56On quiet and study
  57. Letter 57On the trials of travel
  58. Letter 58On being
  59. Letter 59On pleasure and joy
  60. Letter 60On harmful prayers
  61. Letter 61On meeting death cheerfully
  62. Letter 62On good company
  63. Letter 63On grief for lost friends
  64. Letter 64On the philosopher's task
  65. Letter 65On the first cause
  66. Letter 66On various aspects of virtue
  67. Letter 67On ill-health and endurance of suffering
  68. Letter 68On wisdom and retirement
  69. Letter 69On rest and restlessness
  70. Letter 70On the proper time to slip the cable
  71. Letter 71On the supreme good
  72. Letter 72On business as the enemy of philosophy
  73. Letter 73On philosophers and kings
  74. Letter 74On virtue as a refuge from worldly distractions
  75. Letter 75On the diseases of the soul
  76. Letter 76On learning wisdom in old age
  77. Letter 77On taking one's own life
  78. Letter 78On the healing power of the mind
  79. Letter 79On the rewards of scientific discovery
  80. Letter 80On worldly deceptions
  81. Letter 81On benefits
  82. Letter 82On the natural fear of death
  83. Letter 83On drunkenness
  84. Letter 84On gathering ideas
  85. Letter 85On some vain syllogisms
  86. Letter 86On Scipio's villa
  87. Letter 87Some arguments in favour of the simple life
  88. Letter 88On liberal and vocational studies
  89. Letter 89On the parts of philosophy
  90. Letter 90On the part played by philosophy in the progress of man
  91. Letter 91On the lesson to be drawn from the burning of Lyons
  92. Letter 92On the happy life
  93. Letter 93On the quality, as contrasted with the length, of life
  94. Letter 94On the value of advice
  95. Letter 95On the usefulness of basic principles
  96. Letter 96On facing hardships
  97. Letter 97On the degeneracy of the age
  98. Letter 98On the fickleness of fortune
  99. Letter 99On consolation to the bereaved
  100. Letter 100On the writings of Fabianus
  101. Letter 101On the futility of planning ahead
  102. Letter 102On the intimations of our immortality
  103. Letter 103On the dangers of association with our fellow-men
  104. Letter 104On care of health and peace of mind
  105. Letter 105On facing the world with confidence
  106. Letter 106On the corporeality of virtue
  107. Letter 107On obedience to the universal will
  108. Letter 108On the approaches to philosophy
  109. Letter 109On the fellowship of wise men
  110. Letter 110On true and false riches
  111. Letter 111On the vanity of mental gymnastics
  112. Letter 112On reforming hardened sinners
  113. Letter 113On the vitality of the soul and its attributes
  114. Letter 114On style as a mirror of character
  115. Letter 115On the superficial blessings
  116. Letter 116On self-control
  117. Letter 117On real ethics as superior to syllogistic subtleties
  118. Letter 118On the vanity of place-seeking
  119. Letter 119On nature as our best provider
  120. Letter 120More about virtue
  121. Letter 121On instinct in animals
  122. Letter 122On darkness as a veil for wickedness
  123. Letter 123On the conflict between pleasure and virtue
  124. Letter 124On the true good as attained by reason

Text: Richard Mott Gummere’s translation, from Wikisource. Public domain in the US.