Moral Letters

Moral Letters

This is a modern take on Seneca's Moral Letters to Lucilius. I use them as tools in the ongoing search for what it means to live a good life. Although Seneca's words have been mined for centuries, each generation keeps turning up gemstones. I seek to polish old stones to show them in a new light.
Nov
11
Path with mountains in background - Moral Letters to Lucilius

040 - On Composure - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Just as the glib speaker fools the lazy listener, so we mistake fervor in argument for conviction, and conviction for correctness.
2 min read
Nov
08
Trail through forest with mountains in background - Moral Letters to Lucilius

039 - On Drinking Deeply - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Think of a summary as but a sip, nourishing if it comes after a full meal, but leaving you empty if you have consumed nothing before it.
3 min read
Nov
04
Yellow train on a green hillside - Moral Letters to Lucilius

038 - On A Good Talk - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Give me persons of any age who have made their own choice to learn, not because anyone compels them to, but because they believe it will bring them something of value.
2 min read
Nov
01
Alpine village - Moral Letters to Lucilius

037 - On Keeping Your Promise - Moral Letters for Modern Times

It should give you pause to consider that the great many who think themselves in possession of their faculties are in fact being mindlessly swept along.
2 min read
Oct
28
Mountain meadows with steep mountains in background - Moral Letters to Lucilius

036 - On Defining Your Own Success - Moral Letters for Modern Times

To follow your own mind, especially when it directs a course that goes against all others, is the greatest achievement.
2 min read
Oct
25
Courtyard of modern building - Moral Letters to Lucilius

035 - On Like Minds - Moral Letters for Modern Times

The coward looks on and says all is good; it is the hero who says your ship is veering off course. Watch carefully your instinct to reward the first one and punish the second.
2 min read
Oct
21
Edinburgh castle, stone houses in foreground - Moral Letters to Lucilius

034 - On A Successor's Success - Moral Letters for Modern Times

If the sincere student is not ready, the teacher is not done.
2 min read
Oct
18
Hilltop lined with yellow-flowered bushes - Moral Letters to Lucilius

033 - On Instagram-Worthy Quotes - Moral Letters for Modern Times

You mustn’t take the headline for the whole of the message, but rather read on.
2 min read
Oct
14
Brown reeds in front of smooth lake - Moral Letters to Lucilius

032 - On Continuous Improvement - Moral Letters for Modern Times

The steady progress we make by never stopping is a gift that compounds. Step by step, you pull away, and the crowd can never catch you.
2 min read
Oct
11
Small boats moored along a quiet lake - Moral Letters to Lucilius

031 - On The Value Of Work - Moral Letters for Modern Times

The true value of work is when it brings you not possessions, but self-possession, and knowledge of what is worth pursuing and what can be safely cast aside.
3 min read