The old Romans had a custom which survived even into my lifetime. They would add to the opening words of a letter: “If you are well, it is well; I also am well.” Persons like ourselves would do well to say. “If you are studying philosophy, it is well.” For this is just what “being […]
Letter 14: On the Reasons for Withdrawing from the World
I confess that we all have an inborn affection for our body; I confess that we are entrusted with its guardianship. I do not maintain that the body is not to be indulged at all; but I maintain that we must not be slaves to it. He will have many masters who makes his body […]
Letter 13: On Groundless Fears
https://media.blubrry.com/littlebook/www.lettersfromastoic.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Letter_13_-_On_Groundless_Fears.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: Email | RSSI know that you have plenty of spirit; for even before you began to equip yourself with maxims which were wholesome and potent to overcome obstacles, you were taking pride in your contest with Fortune; and this is all the more true, now that […]
Letter 12: On Old Age
https://media.blubrry.com/littlebook/www.lettersfromastoic.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Letter-12-On-Old-Age.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: Email | RSSWherever I turn, I see evidences of my advancing years. I visited lately my country-place, and protested against the money which was spent on the tumble-down building. My bailiff maintained that the flaws were not due to his own carelessness; “he was doing everything […]
Letter 11: On the Blush of Modesty
https://media.blubrry.com/littlebook/www.lettersfromastoic.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Letter_11-_On_The_Blush_of_Modesty.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: Email | RSSYour friend and I have had a conversation. He is a man of ability; his very first words showed what spirit and understanding he possesses, and what progress he has already made. He gave me a foretaste, and he will not fail to answer […]