Essays 1: Of Providence Audiobook (Free)

The first book in the essays of Seneca deals with good and evil. The dialogue is certainly opened up by Lucilius complaining with his friend Seneca that adversities and misfortunes can occur to good men too. How do this fit with the goodness linked to the look of providence? Seneca answers according to the Stoic point of view. Nothing actually poor can happen to the nice man (the wise guy) because opposites don’t combine. What looks like adversity is in fact a means by which the man exerts his virtues..READING MORE approximately Essays 1: Of Providence As such, he will come out of the ordeal stronger than before.

So, in perfect harmony using the Stoic philosophy, Seneca explains how the truly wise guy can’t ever surrender when confronted with misfortunes but mainly because he will always go through them and even if he should fall he’ll continue fighting on his legs. The wise guy understands destiny and its design, and therefore he has nothing to dread from the future. Neither does he expect anything, because he currently offers everything he requirements – his great behaviour.

The final outcome is that truly nothing bad happens to good men. One just has to understand what poor means: harmful to the wise man would be to possess bad thoughts, to commit crimes, to desire cash or fame. Whoever behaves sensibly already has all of the good possible.

Translation by Aubrey Stewart and Produced by Vox Stoica

Seneca’s Essays Series:

1) Of Providence – addressed to Lucilius

2) Around the Firmness of the Wise Man – addressed to Serenus

3,4,5) Of Anger (Books 1-3) – tackled to his sibling Novatus

6) On Consolation – dealt with to Marcia

7) Of a Happy Life – addressed to Gallio

8) Of Amusement – resolved to Serenus

9) On Tranquillity of Brain – resolved to Serenus

10) Within the shortness of life – resolved to Paulinus

11) On Consolation – addressed to Polybius

12) On consolation – addressed to Helvia