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The Moral Epistles cover art

The Moral Epistles

By: Seneca the Younger
Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
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Summary

Towards the end of his life, Seneca the Younger (c4 BCE-65 CE) began a correspondence with a friend in Sicily, later collected under the title The Moral Epistles.

In these 124 letters, Seneca expresses, in a wise, steady and calm manner, the philosophy by which he lived - derived essentially from the Stoics. The letters deal with a variety of specific topics - often eminently practical - such as 'On Saving Time', 'On the Terrors of Death', 'On True and False Friendships', 'On Brawn and Brains' and 'On Old Age and Death'.

His views are as relevant to us today as in his own time. He remarks on how we waste our time through lack of clarity of purpose, how we jump from one attraction to another and how fleeting life is. But these are letters to a friend, so the tone is not grandly didactic but friendly, personal and direct and speak to us across the centuries.

Though not so well known as Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, The Moral Epistles are approachable, memorable and immensely rich in content - and especially so in this sympathetic reading by James Cameron Stewart.

Translation Richard Gummere.

Public Domain (P)2016 Ukemi Audiobooks

What listeners say about The Moral Epistles

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Superb Epistles, Great Narration

Fascinating and while these letters were written so long ago amazing how relevant they are to life today.
EXCELLENT narration from James Cameron Stewart. Perfectly paced, lovely to listen to and while it might seem LONG at 23 hours 18 minutes great to dip in to from time to time.

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excellent, very interesting

beautiful wisdom, knowing that there is nothing new under the sun. wisdom one will still apply today. what really counts in life. makes alot of sense

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4 people found this helpful

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A long listen

its a very long listen but totally worth it. its well narrated throughout. I'd highly recommend...

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4 people found this helpful

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Still relevant today

Great collection of letters with messages/morals still relevant today. Very well narrated too. As they are individual letters you can easily take a break and go back to the book later.

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1 person found this helpful

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Brilliant!

I have listened to this many, many, times. The narrator is perfect, and the words are wise and powerful.
I will be listening many more times. This is very unusual for me but I find, no matter how many times I listen, it always brings me comfort and peace,
As relevant today as it was 2000 years ago.

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Complete well-spoken wisdom

Pick this complete version over the Penguin classics "Seneca letters from a stoic" version.

The chapters are well structured and the narrator's accent suits the contents of which are inspiring and enlightening.

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Beautifully crafted wisdom, peerless narration.

The human mind at its finest, dismantling pretence, capturing common struggles and pointing the ways to better thinking and living.
James Cameron-Stewart is up to the task set the fine writing.

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