PHILOSOPHICAL BOOK FOR THE PHILOSOPHICAL LIFE

Some of us are stressed. Others are overworked. Perhaps you’re struggling with the new responsibilities of parenthood. Or the chaos of a new venture. Or are you already successful and grappling with the duties of power or influence? Wrestling with an addiction? Deeply in love? Or moving from one flawed relationship to another? Are you approaching your golden years? Or enjoying the spoils of youth? Busy and active? Or bored out of your mind?

Whatever it is, whatever you’re going through, there is wisdom from the Stoics that can help. In fact, in many cases they have addressed it explicitly in terms that feel shockingly modern. That’s what we’re going to focus on in this book.

Drawing directly from the Stoic canon, we present a selection of original translations of the greatest passages from the three major figures of late Stoicism—Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius—along with a few assorted sayings from their Stoic predecessors (Zeno, Cleanthes, Chrysippus, Musonius, Hecato). Accompanying each quotation is our attempt to tell a story, provide context, ask a question, prompt an exercise, or explain the perspective of the Stoic who said it so that you may find deeper understanding of whatever answers you are seeking.

The works of the Stoics have always been fresh and current, regardless of the historical ebb and flow of their popularity. It was not our intention with this book to fix them or modernize them or freshen them up (there are many excellent translations out there). Instead, we sought to organize and present the vast collective wisdom of the Stoics into as digestible, accessible, and coherent a form as possible.

In the meantime, here, for the busy and active reader, we have

attempted to produce a daily devotional that is as functional and to the point as the philosophers behind it.

And in the Stoic tradition, we’ve added material to provoke and facilitate the asking of big questions.

Organized along the lines of the three disciplines (Perception, Action, and Will) and then further

divided into important themes within those disciplines, you’ll find that each month will stress a particular

trait and each day will offer a new way to think or act. The areas of great interest to the Stoics all make an

appearance here: virtue, mortality, emotions, self-awareness, fortitude, right action, problem solving,

acceptance, mental clarity, pragmatism, unbiased thought, and duty.

The Stoics were pioneers of the morning and nightly rituals: preparation in the morning, reflection in

the evening. We’ve written this book to be helpful with both. One meditation per day for every day of the

year (including an extra day for leap years!). If you feel so inclined, pair it with a notebook to record and

articulate your thoughts and reactions (see January 21st and 22nd and December 22nd), just as the Stoics

often did.

The aim of this hands-on approach to philosophy is to help you live a better life. It is our hope that

there is not a word in this book that can’t or shouldn’t, to paraphrase Seneca, be turned into works.

To that end, we offer this book.