Sublime

"Nec bella fuerunt, Faginus astabat dum scyphus ante dapes." "Nor wars did men molest, When only beechen bowls were in request." "You who govern public affairs, what need have you to employ punishments? Love virtue, and the people will be virtuous. The virtues of a superior man are like the wind; the virtues of a common man are like the grass—the

The essay On the Constancy of the Wise Man deals with a comparable subject and is addressed to another great friend of Seneca’s, Serenus Annaeus (possibly a relative, who later became a powerful man in Rome—probably thanks to Seneca’s intervention). The name “Serenus” means “Calm,”

“Make sure you’re not made ‘Emperor,’ avoid that imperial stain. It can happen to you, so keep yourself simple, good, pure, saintly, plain, a friend of justice, god-fearing, gracious, affectionate, and strong for your proper work. Fight to remain the person that philosophy wished to make you. Revere the gods, and look after each other. Life is

Epictetus with philosophers like Socrates and Diogenes, who were inspirations to the later Stoics. We turn to focus on Zeno, Cleanthes and Chrysippus as they formulated the core ideas of their school. We also believe an under-appreciated figure, Musonius Rufus, deserves focused attention for his story, given his role in Epictetus’s introduction to

rhetor doing the work of a philosopher.” It might be more accurate to say that he was a critic doing the work of a prophet.