The Spiritual Teachings of Seneca Book

Philosophy is for fuzzy-headed academics in tweed jackets, right? Wrong. And The Spiritual Teachings of Seneca shows just how wrong. Ancient philosophy was not primarily about linguistics and metaphysics, but how to discover wisdom and live well. True to this spirit, Mark Forstater and Victoria Radin introduce the thought of a first century Roman statesman and philosopher and relate it to life in the 21st century. The book is divided neatly in half by the two authors. With a clear, easy style, Forstater tells the intriguing story of Seneca's life and gives us the philosophical and cultural background of his wisdom. Radin sifts through Seneca's writings and presents them in daily-sized chunks. Seneca's essays, stories and quips are bullet-pointed for quick access and memorability. The whole book provides a handy self-help manual for people who want wisdom for life unencumbered with a specific religion. Seneca himself provides an interest that goes beyond his thought. Born in one of the far-flung reaches of the Roman Empire at the time of Christ, he rose to become the Emperor Nero's teacher, then his right-hand man, and one of the wealthiest individuals in the entire empire. He also had the unusual distinction of being condemned to death by three different Roman emperors. Having managed to wriggle out of the first two sentences, he was eventually forced to commit suicide by his erstwhile pupil, Nero. As a thinker, Seneca followed the Greek philosophy of Stoicism, which taught that true happiness comes from virtue and a rational approach to life, and the criticism of Seneca remains the criticism of Stoicism itself: it is rational, cool and beautiful, but somehow lacks passion, verve and risk. Nevertheless, The Spiritual Teachings of Seneca is a smart volume delivering ancient wisdom to modern people in a user-friendly style. --Dwight LongeneckerRead More