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No man is good by chance. Virtue is something which must be learned.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BCE – AD 65) is one of the most eminent Roman philosophers. Instrumental in guiding the Roman Empire under Emperor Nero, Seneca influenced him from a young age with his Stoic principles. Later in life, Seneca wrote Episulae Morales ad Lucilium, or Letters from a Stoic, detailing these principles in full, sharing the many traditional themes of Stoic philosophy, such as the contempt of death, the value of friendship and virtue as the supreme good.

This selection of Seneca’s letters in translation shows his belief in the ethical ideas of Stoicism and continues to provide practical, personal counsel for readers seeking guidance in the turbulent twenty-first century.