Model mothers -- A band of brothers -- The mystery of marriage -- The desirable contest between fathers and sons -- The imperfect imperial family -- Rewriting the family

This book is the first extensive study of the role of the family in the work of Seneca. It offers a new way of reading philosophy that combines philosophical analysis with social, cultural and historical factors to bring out the ways in which Stoicism presents itself as in tune with the universe. The family serves a central role in an individual's moral development - both the family as conventionally understood, and the wider conceptual family which Stoicism constructs. Innovative readings of Seneca's work bring out the importance of the family to his thought and how it interacts with other Stoic doctrines. We learn how to be virtuous from observing and imitating our family, who can be biological relatives or people we choose as our intellectual ancestors. The Ethics of the Family in Seneca will be of particular interest to researchers in Roman Stoicism, imperial culture and the history of the family.

From acclaimed classical historian, author of Ghost on the Throne (“Gripping . . . the narrative verve of a born writer and the erudition of a scholar” —Daniel Mendelsohn) and editor of The Landmark Arrian:The Campaign of Alexander (“Thrilling” —The New York Times Book Review), a high-stakes drama full of murder, madness, tyranny, perversion, with the sweep of history on the grand scale. At the center, the tumultuous life of Seneca, ancient Rome’s preeminent writer and philosopher, beginning with banishment in his fifties and subsequent appointment as tutor to twelve-year-old Nero, future emperor of Rome. Controlling them both, Nero’s mother, Julia Agrippina the Younger, Roman empress, great-granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus, sister of the Emperor Caligula, niece and fourth wife of Emperor Claudius. James Romm seamlessly weaves together the life and written words, the moral struggles, political intrigue, and bloody vengeance that enmeshed Seneca the Younger in the twisted imperial family and the perverse, paranoid regime of Emperor Nero, despot and madman. Romm writes that Seneca watched over Nero as teacher, moral guide, and surrogate father, and, at seventeen, when Nero abruptly ascended to become emperor of Rome, Seneca, a man never avid for political power became, with Nero, the ruler of the Roman Empire. We see how Seneca was able to control his young student, how, under Seneca’s influence, Nero ruled with intelligence and moderation, banned capital punishment, reduced taxes, gave slaves the right to file complaints against their owners, pardoned prisoners arrested for sedition. But with time, as Nero grew vain and disillusioned, Seneca was unable to hold sway over the emperor, and between Nero’s mother, Agrippina—thought to have poisoned her second husband, and her third, who was her uncle (Claudius), and rumored to have entered into an incestuous relationship with her son—and Nero’s father, described by Suetonius as a murderer and cheat charged with treason, adultery, and incest, how long could the young Nero have been contained? Dying Every Day is a portrait of Seneca’s moral struggle in the midst of madness and excess. In his treatises, Seneca preached a rigorous ethical creed, exalting heroes who defied danger to do what was right or embrace a noble death. As Nero’s adviser, Seneca was presented with a more complex set of choices, as the only man capable of summoning the better aspect of Nero’s nature, yet, remaining at Nero’s side and colluding in the evil regime he created. Dying Every Day is the first book to tell the compelling and nightmarish story of the philosopher-poet who was almost a king, tied to a tyrant—as Seneca, the paragon of reason, watched his student spiral into madness and whose descent saw five family murders, the Fire of Rome, and a savage purge that destroyed the supreme minds of the Senate’s golden age.

This volume offers authoritative discussions of all aspects of the philosophy of Epicurus (340-271 BCE) and then traces Epicurean influences throughout the Western tradition. It is an unmatched resource for those wishing to deepen their knowledge of Epicureanism's powerful arguments about death, happiness, and the nature of the material world.

"Today philosophy's promises to enhance the lives of those who study it are couched, like justifications for the humanistic disciplines more generally, in circumspect terms. In the ancient world, however, philosophy commonly claimed for itself the status of an exclusive guide to happiness. Through philosophy's characteristic practices of argument and rational inquiry, its advocates believed, human beings could learn what was really good for themselves and free themselves from illusion. In the process, they would necessarily come to lead happier lives. This link between learning and action meant that philosophy was often regarded as an entire way of life, in which intellectual activity and practice were closely associated and mutually interdependent. Nowhere else in ancient literature is this ideal given such full and nuanced exposition as in the prose writings of Seneca, in which we can see a philosopher and literary artist of the first rank exploring in detail the dilemmas posed by the confrontation of the idea of the philosophical life with the historical and cultural specificity of the first-century CE Rome in which he wrote. His vast prose oeuvre defends, elaborates, and aims to make appealing this ideal of a life guided by disciplined thought. He is unequivocal about the necessary centrality of philosophy to any attempt at living a good life: philosophy, he writes, "shapes and forges the mind, it puts life in order, it directs actions, it points out what is to be done and what is not to be done, it sits at the helm and steers a course through the hazards of the waves" (animum format et fabricat, vitam disponit, actiones regit, agenda et omittenda demonstrat, sedet ad gubernaculum et per ancipitia fluctuantium derigit cursum, Ep. 16.3). A successful life, for Seneca as for many other ancient philosophers, is governed by, indeed constituted by, the practice of philosophy. His rich and varied corpus, I argue, presents us with a unique opportunity to learn how one reflective and well-informed ancient philosopher reconciled this ideal of philosophical living, and all the aspirations to independence and universality that come with it, to the fact that he and his readers were living in a sociopolitical setting with its own set of norms and customs. These customs, and the claims of community more generally, stand in potential contradiction with the practical guidance philosophy aims to supply. For Seneca, as we will see, this tension was a prodigiously fruitful one. Recent work has rehabilitated Seneca's standing as a major philosopher"--

Brad Inwood presents a selection of his most influential essays on the philosophy of Seneca, the Roman Stoic thinker, statesman, and tragedian of the first century AD. Including two brand-new pieces, and a helpful introduction to orient the reader, this volume will be an essential guide for anyone seeking to understand Seneca's fertile, wide-ranging thought and its impact on subsequent generations. In each of these essays Seneca is considered as a philosopher, but with as much account as possible taken of his life, his education, his intellectual and literary background, his career, and his self-presentation as an author. Seneca emerges as a discerning and well-read Stoic, with a strong inclination to think for himself in the context of an intellectual climate teeming with influences from other schools. Seneca's intellectual engagement with Platonism, Aristotelianism, and even with Epicureanism involved a wide range of substantial philosophical interests and concerns. His philosophy was indeed shaped by the fact that he was a Roman, but he was a true philosopher shaped by his culture rather than a Roman writer trying his hand at philosophical themes. The highly rhetorical character of his writing must be accounted for when reading his works, and when one does so the underlying philosophical themes stand out more clearly. While it is hard to generalize about an overall intellectual agenda or systematic philosophical method, key themes and strategies are evident. Inwood shows how Seneca's philosophical ingenium worked itself out in a fundamentally particularistic way as he pursued those aspects of Stoicism that engaged him most forcefully over his career.

Parenting is stressful. For many parents, who are always busy, usually tired, and probably not trained in dealing with children, the words “tranquility” and “parenting” do not go together. Don’t you just wish there was some technique out there that could help you become calm, content, and confident parent? Something that you could have on hand all the time to help you through your most challenging situations and stressful days? Well, there is something, and it comes from a wisdom tradition that has been helping people through difficult situations for about 2300 years. The psychological techniques developed by ancient Stoics have recently been rediscovered, and Stoicism is enjoying a renaissance among people from all walks of life who are looking for fulfillment, tranquility, and yes, the meaning of life. Modern Stoicism has straightforward answers to all these questions, as well as practical techniques for achieving eudaimonia (the Greek word for “human flourishing”). Stoicism encourages everyone to think things through for themselves and use their own capacity for reason and goodness. And once you learn the basic principles of Stoicism, you can apply them all the time, in any situation. Tranquility Parenting describes how Brittany Polat discovered modern Stoicism and what it can offer to stressed-out parents of the 21st century. As a mother of three young children, Polat used to constantly doubt her parenting abilities. She felt anxious, frustrated, and guilty about her perceived failings as a parent. Now, as a practicing Stoic, she gained the confidence and calm she was craving and has more energy to be fully engaged and happy with them. What will this book do for you? It will not tell you how to potty train your child, but it will tell you how to enjoy the time you spend potty training your child. It will not tell you how to monitor your teen on social media, but it will show you how to use practical wisdom to make decisions about media consumption. It will not tell you how to make your kids eat vegetables, but it will explain how to be present and engaged while you are teaching your kids to eat vegetables. So if you are willing to invest time and energy in applying Stoic insights, you may find that tranquility parenting is not only possible, but truly the best option for you and your family.

The Role Ethics of Epictetus: Stoicism in Ordinary Life offers an original interpretation of Epictetus’s ethics and how he bases his ethics on an appeal to our roles in life. Epictetus believes that every individual is the bearer of many roles from sibling to citizen and that individuals are morally good if they fulfill the obligations associated with these roles. To understand Epictetus’s account of roles, scholars have often mistakenly looked backwards to Cicero’s earlier and more schematic account of roles. However, for Cicero, roles are merely a tool in the service of the virtue of decorum where decorum is one of the four canonical virtues—prudence, justice, greatness of spirit, and decorum. In contrast, Epictetus sets those virtues aside and offers roles as a complete ethical theory that does the work of those canonical virtues. This book elucidates the unique features of Epictetus’s role based ethics. First, individuals have many roles and these roles are substantial enough that they may conflict. Second, although Epictetus is often taken to have only a sparse theory of appropriate action (or “duty” in older translations), Brian E. Johnson examines the criteria by which appropriate action is measured in order to demonstrate that Epictetus does have an account of appropriate action and that it is grounded in his account of roles. Finally, Epictetus downplays the Stoic ideal of the sage and replaces that figure with role-bound individuals who are supposed to inspire each of us to meet the challenges of our own roles. Instead of looking to sages, who have a perfect knowledge and action that we must imitate, Epictetus’s new ethical heroes are those we do not imitate in terms of knowledge or action, but simply in the way they approach the challenges of their roles. The analysis found in The Role Ethics of Epictetus will be of great value both to students and scholars of ancient philosophy, ethics and moral philosophy, history, classics, and theology, and to the educated reader who admires Epictetus.

Perennial wisdom from one of history's most important but lesser-known Stoic teachers "He knew that all a philosopher could do was respond well--bravely, boldly, patiently--to what life threw at us. That's what we should be doing now."--Ryan Holiday, Reading List email The Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus was one of the most influential teachers of his era, imperial Rome, and his message still resonates with startling clarity today. Alongside Stoics like Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, he emphasized ethics in action, displayed in all aspects of life. Merely learning philosophical doctrine and listening to lectures, they believed, will not do one any good unless one manages to interiorize the teachings and apply them to daily life. In Musonius Rufus's words, "Philosophy is nothing else than to search out by reason what is right and proper and by deeds to put it into practice." At a time of renewed interest in Stoicism, this collection of Musonius Rufus's lectures and sayings, beautifully translated by Cora E. Lutz with an introduction by Gretchen Reydams-Schils, offers readers access to the thought of one of history's most influential and remarkable Stoic thinkers.