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I don't often see marble busts with facial hair; looks hard to carve! |
"Letters from a Stoic" – another of my book group reads – compiles 124 letters written by Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca to his friend Lucilius. Seneca writes about daily life and current events, using them to expound upon the stoic philosophy of living a good life by cultivating virtue.
Contrary to the common modern take, Stoicism is not about covering up
emotions (keeping a stiff upper lip, as the British might say); that's a
caricature created by the Epicurean critics of Stoicism. Stoics returned the
favor, and now we typically think of Epicureans as incorrigible hedonists.
It's pretty ironic that these days, each philosophy is best remembered for
what its critics, rather than founders, had to say about it.
