66 pages 2 hours read

Seneca

Letters from a Stoic

Nonfiction | Collection of Letters | Adult | BCE

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Important Quotes

Quotation Mark Icon

“You ask what is the proper limit to a person’s wealth? First, having what is essential, and second, having what is enough.”


(Letter 2, Page 34)

In this quote, Seneca underscores the Stoic principle of moderation. He suggests that wealth is unnecessary beyond providing for essential well-being and emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between needs and wants. Accepting the difference between these is important to the moral development of the Stoic.

Quotation Mark Icon

“But if you are looking on anyone as a friend when you do not trust him as you trust yourself, you are making a grave mistake, and have failed to grasp sufficiently the full force of friendship.”


(Letter 3, Page 35)

The importance of friendship in the improvement of a philosopher is a topic of recurring focus for Seneca. Despite the Stoic view of detachment, Seneca takes the topic of friendship very seriously. He believes friendship is a serious and intimate bond that necessitates absolute trust.

Quotation Mark Icon

“The standard which I accept is this: One’s life should be a compromise between the ideal and the popular morality.”


(Letter 5, Page 37)

While discussing the proper way to present oneself, Seneca establishes a principle that applies to much of the rest of his writings. Seneca’s advice often takes a middle path between ideal Stoic detachment and the facts of human fragility, exemplifying the problem of Virtuous Action in an Ethically Complex World.