The Stoics: The Philosophy of Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius

by Michael Moore (Editor), Marcus Aurelius, Epicurus

Arcturus Publishing Ltd The Stoics The Philosophy of Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius ABISBOOK Arcturus Publishing Ltd.

Genres: Philosophy, Classics, History, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published March 4, 2025

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Michael Moore is an American filmmaker, author and liberal political commentator. He is the director and producer of Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, and Capitalism: A Love Story, four of the top nine highest-grossing documentaries of all time.[3] In September 2008, he released his first free movie on the Internet, Slacker Uprising, documenting his personal crusade to encourage more Americans to vote in presidential elections.[4] He has also written and starred in the TV shows TV Nation and The Awful Truth.
Moore is a self-described liberal who has criticized globalization, large corporations, assault weapon ownership, the Iraq War, U.S. President George W. Bush and the American health care system in his written and cinematic works.

Wikipedia

Reviews

[QC1608 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of some of the works of Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and Epicetus. While the translation of the works of Seneca is in modern English, the translation (I imagine directly from latin) used for the works of Marcus Aurelius is in XIX century? English and contains a lot archaisms no longer in use today, for example ''Art thou not content that thou hast done something confortable to thy nature''. Those ever present archaisms added a extra layer of complexity to an already dense text.

[Sean Malone · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seems like a fairly good selection of stoic philosophy of the ancients, which will forever remain a point of interest to me. I don't think Seneca reads particularly well these days, he was the least relatable of the three but interesting, I suppose, for historical purposes.

Epictetus went back rather joltingly between poignant and compelling and ridiculous and winded! I think he exemplifies why most philosophers were seen with a degree of ridicule and contempt, both now and possibly forever. Still, some good quotes to pick out from him.

Marcus Aurelius seems to remain the gold standard for a few reasons: readable style, relatable framing, and heightened truths, especially when you consider his dual role as Roman Emperor when writing "Meditations."

I think I may need to read a modern expose' on stoicism...or maybe write one someday! The format and examples remain a little dense, limited, and repetitive in these ancient authors.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Syntaxt of words manifested in a existential outlook of life. Items to ruminate, ponder and consider when you are walking the path of life. Glad I read this book