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Seneca: Moral and Political Essays
This volume offers new translations of the most important of Seneca's "Moral Essays": On Anger, On Mercy, On the Private Life, and the first four books of On Favours. They give a full picture of the social and moral outlook of an ancient Stoic thinker. A General Introduction describes Seneca's life and career and explains the fundamental ideas underlying the Stoic moral, social and political philosophy in the essays. Individual introductions, footnotes and biographical notes explain their historical and philosophical contexts.
366 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 64
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Seneca
2,713 books3,896 followersLucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca or Seneca the Younger); ca. 4 BC – 65 AD) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero, who later forced him to commit suicide for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to have him assassinated.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 11, 2015
The selection of moral and political essays in this volume, translated and edited by John M. Cooper and J.F. Procopé, is a tough read; it's somewhat like going to several churches all day Sunday and into Monday.
Seneca writes about anger (he's against it; it isn't reasonable), mercy (he's for it; it's virtuous if appropriate), the private life (Stoics thought there was an inner man, who could be private and free, and a corporeal man, if you will, who had to adapt to circumstances and mortality), and favors (he's for them,the more the better.)
The issue all these essays present is the puzzle of the adviser to Nero (ultimately an amoral beast) offering sage advice to . . . whom? Clearly Nero wouldn't have been, at age 17, able to comprehend and internalize Seneca's exhortations on mercy. This essay, like the others, demonstrates a broad intellect operating with its foot on the peddle; it anticipates every objection to being merciful and it proposes every reason for being merciful. An adolescent, even an emperor, could not have absorbed it all.
The advice here, regardless of its immediate recipient, clearly was being directed at Roman society at large, which makes us understand that Rome in the times of the Caesars was angry, not merciful, stinting on private life and downright cheap when it came to favors.
Seneca wrote these essays as philosophy, apologia pro sua vita, and exhortation. In American public life, the only comparable documents produced by statesmen-level individuals would be, in my experience, the majority and dissenting opinions of the Supreme Court, which aren't written by the justices, but rather by their brilliant "clerks." One exception to this thought would be--at the risk of offending some of my readers--Henry Kissinger, whose books are broad in scope and profound in insight, whether one agrees with their conclusions or not.
In simplest terms,Seneca is advising his readers on how to behave, on what is good and what is bad, on how to distinguish between the good and the bad. His Stoic view was essentially that all emotions are distractions. Reasoning should prevail, and he is on hand to provide that reasoning.
Here's a current example: The Clinton Foundation took money from the Saudi Arabian government. That government endorses unfair treatment of women. The Clinton Foundation supports the rights of women. Is it better to take money for a good purpose from a bad donor, or turn it down, and not advance your good purpose?
Here's another example: When Michael Dukakis was asked in a televised debate how he would respond to his wife having been raped and murdered, he took the reasonable position that he would want justice to take its course and displayed no anger . . . for which he was belittled.
I could go on,but the point is that the issues are real, and, as far as I know, we do not have in American public life the equivalent of a Seneca, someone whose monumental rhetorical gifts and intellectual thoroughness would let no question rest. BUT, I hasten to add, someone who assisted Nero in some of his worst crimes; for instance, Seneca wrote the false explanation of why and how Nero's mother met her untimely death.
Going back to the church reference I made earlier, I went to church six days a week for five years when I was at boarding school. I haven't been back since. But it's possible that some of our preachers get after things like anger, mercy, and favors from the pulpit with Seneca's vigor, albeit in an attenuated fashion.
The point Seneca obsessively makes is that one can think one's way into doing the right thing in accord with the order of the cosmos and the most temperate, middle-of-the-road path available to a man or woman. But this can only result from the exercise of reasoning.
I wonder about this. I have two forms of anger. In a given instance, once every five or ten years, I will explode in anger. I undoubtedly have my reasons, but they are not in the forefront of my explosions. Generally, after this happens, I'm not entirely happy with myself. In fact, I'd advise against outbursts of anger, small or large. But I have another kind of anger that essentially nourishes me over decades. This is anger--real anger--against guns, racism, discrimination, exploitation, violence, war, and self-serving sanctimony. I don't think divorcing this kind of anger from reasoning makes sense. Emotions matter. Thinking matters. Stoics like Seneca, in much less regulated and policed circumstances than 21st century America, fought hard on behalf of reason over anger because there was so much anger, caprice, sadism, etc., all around them all the time.
Ultimately Nero asked Seneca if he had ever considered suicide--hint, hint--and Seneca complied. Yet Seneca clearly was a man determined to have the last word, and he did . . . he just didn't take a realistic view of who should live or die--a statesman philosopher or a sadistic emperor. We can be consoled, I suppose, that Nero was hounded into death only a few years after Seneca's demise.
Read this book if you want a synthesis of Stoicism or an indirect picture of what it was like to live in the Rome of the Caesars--an abysmal, cruel, selfish fiefdom that ruled by force and cunning, not reason.
Seneca writes about anger (he's against it; it isn't reasonable), mercy (he's for it; it's virtuous if appropriate), the private life (Stoics thought there was an inner man, who could be private and free, and a corporeal man, if you will, who had to adapt to circumstances and mortality), and favors (he's for them,the more the better.)
The issue all these essays present is the puzzle of the adviser to Nero (ultimately an amoral beast) offering sage advice to . . . whom? Clearly Nero wouldn't have been, at age 17, able to comprehend and internalize Seneca's exhortations on mercy. This essay, like the others, demonstrates a broad intellect operating with its foot on the peddle; it anticipates every objection to being merciful and it proposes every reason for being merciful. An adolescent, even an emperor, could not have absorbed it all.
The advice here, regardless of its immediate recipient, clearly was being directed at Roman society at large, which makes us understand that Rome in the times of the Caesars was angry, not merciful, stinting on private life and downright cheap when it came to favors.
Seneca wrote these essays as philosophy, apologia pro sua vita, and exhortation. In American public life, the only comparable documents produced by statesmen-level individuals would be, in my experience, the majority and dissenting opinions of the Supreme Court, which aren't written by the justices, but rather by their brilliant "clerks." One exception to this thought would be--at the risk of offending some of my readers--Henry Kissinger, whose books are broad in scope and profound in insight, whether one agrees with their conclusions or not.
In simplest terms,Seneca is advising his readers on how to behave, on what is good and what is bad, on how to distinguish between the good and the bad. His Stoic view was essentially that all emotions are distractions. Reasoning should prevail, and he is on hand to provide that reasoning.
Here's a current example: The Clinton Foundation took money from the Saudi Arabian government. That government endorses unfair treatment of women. The Clinton Foundation supports the rights of women. Is it better to take money for a good purpose from a bad donor, or turn it down, and not advance your good purpose?
Here's another example: When Michael Dukakis was asked in a televised debate how he would respond to his wife having been raped and murdered, he took the reasonable position that he would want justice to take its course and displayed no anger . . . for which he was belittled.
I could go on,but the point is that the issues are real, and, as far as I know, we do not have in American public life the equivalent of a Seneca, someone whose monumental rhetorical gifts and intellectual thoroughness would let no question rest. BUT, I hasten to add, someone who assisted Nero in some of his worst crimes; for instance, Seneca wrote the false explanation of why and how Nero's mother met her untimely death.
Going back to the church reference I made earlier, I went to church six days a week for five years when I was at boarding school. I haven't been back since. But it's possible that some of our preachers get after things like anger, mercy, and favors from the pulpit with Seneca's vigor, albeit in an attenuated fashion.
The point Seneca obsessively makes is that one can think one's way into doing the right thing in accord with the order of the cosmos and the most temperate, middle-of-the-road path available to a man or woman. But this can only result from the exercise of reasoning.
I wonder about this. I have two forms of anger. In a given instance, once every five or ten years, I will explode in anger. I undoubtedly have my reasons, but they are not in the forefront of my explosions. Generally, after this happens, I'm not entirely happy with myself. In fact, I'd advise against outbursts of anger, small or large. But I have another kind of anger that essentially nourishes me over decades. This is anger--real anger--against guns, racism, discrimination, exploitation, violence, war, and self-serving sanctimony. I don't think divorcing this kind of anger from reasoning makes sense. Emotions matter. Thinking matters. Stoics like Seneca, in much less regulated and policed circumstances than 21st century America, fought hard on behalf of reason over anger because there was so much anger, caprice, sadism, etc., all around them all the time.
Ultimately Nero asked Seneca if he had ever considered suicide--hint, hint--and Seneca complied. Yet Seneca clearly was a man determined to have the last word, and he did . . . he just didn't take a realistic view of who should live or die--a statesman philosopher or a sadistic emperor. We can be consoled, I suppose, that Nero was hounded into death only a few years after Seneca's demise.
Read this book if you want a synthesis of Stoicism or an indirect picture of what it was like to live in the Rome of the Caesars--an abysmal, cruel, selfish fiefdom that ruled by force and cunning, not reason.
May 28, 2010
Amazon:
This excellent new translation (with an introduction and notes) of On Anger, On Mercy, On the Private Life, and On Favours will be extremely helpful to those interested in Stoic ethics and also to those whose interest is in ancient political thought, the Roman use of Greek ideas, or the thought of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century European writers like Clavin, Montaigne, and Lipsius, whom Seneca influenced." Ethics "Cooper and Procope in this volume have presented students with a very useful and valuable aide for the study of Stoic political philosophy."
This excellent new translation (with an introduction and notes) of On Anger, On Mercy, On the Private Life, and On Favours will be extremely helpful to those interested in Stoic ethics and also to those whose interest is in ancient political thought, the Roman use of Greek ideas, or the thought of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century European writers like Clavin, Montaigne, and Lipsius, whom Seneca influenced." Ethics "Cooper and Procope in this volume have presented students with a very useful and valuable aide for the study of Stoic political philosophy."
March 29, 2025
What I love most is that Seneca never separates the personal from the political. He believed that our inner lives matter just as much as our public roles, and that good governance begins with clarity, humility, and compassion. His Stoicism isn’t cold or rigid—it’s rooted in care: for truth, for justice, for the common good. In his writing, I hear the voice of a man who served an empire, but never stopped seeking wisdom beyond its walls. Reading him is like being reminded—gently, but firmly—that character is the heart of all true leadership.
Reading Seneca on morality and politics feels like receiving a letter from someone who has lived deeply, loved wisdom, and wrestled with the same doubts and longings we carry today. His words are steady and gentle, often addressed not to the crowd, but to the soul. Through his reflections, he reminds us that politics without virtue is hollow—and that real power comes not from dominating others, but from mastering oneself.
Reading Seneca on morality and politics feels like receiving a letter from someone who has lived deeply, loved wisdom, and wrestled with the same doubts and longings we carry today. His words are steady and gentle, often addressed not to the crowd, but to the soul. Through his reflections, he reminds us that politics without virtue is hollow—and that real power comes not from dominating others, but from mastering oneself.
March 26, 2021
These are works of Stoic philosophy. Whilst less difficult to untangle than say, Plato or Aristotle or, for certain, Kant, they cover topics that modern people frequently don't take up because it doesn't appear to pertain to modern life. In some cases, the essays were aimed a specific audience, magistrates, that most of us are not. ON ANGER, however, should be read by everyone; it contains practical advice on why anger is not only useless, but dangerous. It corrodes everything it touches. Like Buddha who considered anger one of the three poisons, Seneca has no use for anger. Whilst ON MERCY was written for his brother, Seneca makes points about mercy that anyone can use. All in all, a difficult and perhaps a dry read, but a worthwhile one for people looking for practical philosophy.
September 14, 2018
Buy, Borrow or Burn: Buy! For those interested in Stoicism or a logical approach to life philosophy, Seneca's writing are essential and the most clear of the ancient writers.
One Word: Worldly.
Style/Structure: Smooth writing for the time but can be a little difficult due to its age for new readers not exposed to this type of material before.
One Word: Worldly.
Style/Structure: Smooth writing for the time but can be a little difficult due to its age for new readers not exposed to this type of material before.
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September 14, 2020Seneca
September 2, 2022
The section on anger is a standout, and the section on favors has gems, but the rest can be skipped.
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June 26, 2024assigned: [p. 17-45, 110-16 (on Anger); p. 172-80 (On the Private Life)]
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November 7, 2024On Anger and On the Private Life
July 31, 2016
Although some of the essays are incomplete, this book provides several thorough and thought-provoking pieces. Long and brilliantly written pieces by ancient stoics are hard to come by so this book will be appreciated. The scholarly intros and footnotes are helpful. The main writings on anger, mercy, and favors offer fresh perspectives, insight, and concise arguments. I'm glad i read this book, although it took me a while to get around to finishing it
December 2, 2017
Too much analysis of charity and the role of Gods.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews