Who is Seneca? (Rome's Greatest Stoic Thinker)

"Lives of the Stoics" by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman comes out on September 29th. Preorder today to get preorder bonuses like signed copies of the book and more at: dailystoic.com/preorder
For a boy born in a tiny village in Southern Spain-some 1,500 miles away from the place he dreamed of making a name for himself-it would please Lucius Annaeus Seneca very much to know we are still talking about him today.
His fellow Stoics wrote at length about the worthlessness of celebrity, the foolishness of chasing posthumous fame, the inevitably of time passing and sweeping our names into obscurity.
Seneca studied those philosophers. He read those writings. He agreed with them.
“The deep flood of time will roll over us,” he wrote. “Some few great men will raise their heads above it.” But most are “destined...to depart into the same realms of silence, [to] battle against oblivion.”
Aware as Seneca was of the improbability of lasting significance, it didn’t deter him. If anything, it propelled him. In a way, it only reaffirmed what he already knew.
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Stoicism is a practical philosophy. The main thinkers that the Daily Stoic focuses on in stoicism are Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Seneca. The Daily Stoic is a guide to how to practice Stoicism in your daily life, the daily routines of Stoicism, and is a practical guide to Stoicism. This channel is Stoicism 101, it will tell you what Stoicism is and how to be a Stoic. Ryan Holiday has been practicing stoicism and writing about stoicism for more than a decade and his insights will give you guidance to practicing stoicism in your day to day life.
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Пікірлер: 142

  • @jaxx-inspiregrowcreate2862
    @jaxx-inspiregrowcreate28623 жыл бұрын

    Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. -Seneca

  • @punkeasy

    @punkeasy

    2 жыл бұрын

    Or when click-bait meets idiots.

  • @bighoss7506

    @bighoss7506

    Жыл бұрын

    @@punkeasy You’re watching too, you got baited

  • @auralunaa
    @auralunaa3 жыл бұрын

    “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested" - Seneca 😍 If you haven't already, read the Seneca "On The Shortness of Life" - such a great book that really gets you reflecting on time. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

  • @alphagonist4748

    @alphagonist4748

    Жыл бұрын

    Tiktok

  • @positivp

    @positivp

    Жыл бұрын

    But it is short..more so for others but you can go any day so life is short. Was short for my brother at 19

  • @Fascistbeast

    @Fascistbeast

    10 ай бұрын

    @@alphagonist4748 Haha exactly

  • @killuame2742

    @killuame2742

    3 ай бұрын

    Thank you I hope there is audiobooks

  • @NenaLavonne
    @NenaLavonne3 жыл бұрын

    Absolutely still relevant ♥️ Some words actually become even more true as they age. ✨

  • @georgeimmanuel4850

    @georgeimmanuel4850

    3 жыл бұрын

    That's Lindy effect

  • @Bdubya38
    @Bdubya383 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Ryan for tenaciously writing these books. They have opened my eyes to so many new ways of thinking and how to live as a better person. Cheers

  • @StoicEvolution1
    @StoicEvolution15 ай бұрын

    Marcus Aurelius: "Our life is what our thoughts make it."

  • @gracefitzgerald2227
    @gracefitzgerald22273 жыл бұрын

    What a great way to start my morning, a new book by Ryan Holiday, and lessons from Seneca. Thank you for the wisdom.

  • @AngelsMindsetPR
    @AngelsMindsetPR8 ай бұрын

    His teachings have made a great impact in my life.

  • @HenryHale
    @HenryHale3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Ryan for another beautiful lesson. Wishing you much success with your new book.

  • @lakramjaggai6084
    @lakramjaggai60843 жыл бұрын

    great a new book ! I'm confident that you've composed this book in the most practical way possible, can't wait to read

  • @pushansblog1046
    @pushansblog10463 жыл бұрын

    only makes me stronger!! when I listen to these audios

  • @tonygolledge7906
    @tonygolledge79063 жыл бұрын

    Well structured and delivered. Many thanks!!!

  • @DronesTwinkies
    @DronesTwinkies3 жыл бұрын

    I cant wait to listen to this. Ryan i loved all your books.

  • @Jbalaji
    @Jbalaji Жыл бұрын

    Your videos and presentations are excellent. Thank you so much for bringing such wonderful teachings to us. - Warm regards - Balaji - Sydney - Australia

  • @iwonder6221
    @iwonder62212 ай бұрын

    Thank you so much bro for making this video 💯💯💯

  • @dallasleec
    @dallasleec3 жыл бұрын

    Dude your channel is awesome. One of the best. Thank you

  • @justaworkingbloke6537
    @justaworkingbloke65373 жыл бұрын

    Most definitely getting this book!!

  • @qwuifffle
    @qwuifffle Жыл бұрын

    "It's not because things are difficult that we dare not venture."-Seneca

  • @nnotny
    @nnotny3 жыл бұрын

    One thing I've always kept in mind regarding my own life and significance: In a hundred years there will be nobody alive who ever knew me.

  • @vidalsaucedo6415
    @vidalsaucedo6415 Жыл бұрын

    Someone should make a movie about this.

  • @ufcknockouts07
    @ufcknockouts073 жыл бұрын

    Purchasing the book now - must have all your books in my collection.

  • @heekyungkim8147
    @heekyungkim81473 жыл бұрын

    Really interesting explanation. Thanks. I would like to order the book.

  • @allanwastani8268
    @allanwastani82683 жыл бұрын

    Great motivation, thnks alot for ,making this video.

  • @pukus123
    @pukus1233 жыл бұрын

    Beautifully Narrated! Great job, Ryan.

  • @D.E.Middleton
    @D.E.Middleton3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks Ryan

  • @Cinemagoer_64
    @Cinemagoer_6410 ай бұрын

    What Nero did to Seneca is really heartbreaking. A righteous man he was! Seneca is one of my very favorite philosopher's if not my favorite.

  • @nihilo616

    @nihilo616

    10 ай бұрын

    Nero was a brat

  • @autozyklusi5093

    @autozyklusi5093

    8 ай бұрын

    And Senecas politics were not completly rightous. Pretty big difference between his philosophy and politics

  • @BobAg_

    @BobAg_

    4 ай бұрын

    Hardly. Seneca was fully complicit in Nero's barbarism. He was an apologist, and took an active role in discussing and arranging assassinations. One of the hardest things to reconcile is the life he lived and the life he inspires others to live. I don't think he lived up to his own Stoic ideals. His Letters are wonderful, but let's not retcon the historical accounts of his life.

  • @robbanks5023
    @robbanks50233 жыл бұрын

    Well done , Ryan

  • @carlotapuig
    @carlotapuig3 жыл бұрын

    "For a boy born in a tiny village in Southern Spain..." What??? Seneca was blessed to be born in Cordoba, the capital of Hispania Baetica, one of the greatest cultural centers of the entire world at that time. Furthermore, his father was one of the greatest orators in the history of the Roman Empire. Seneca was destined from the very beginning to become one of the greatest philosophers of the ancient world. He was born at the right place, at the right time, in the right family. Everything played in his favour.

  • @deanodog3667

    @deanodog3667

    3 жыл бұрын

    I know ffs this guy Ryan holiday is the Jordan Peterson of neo stoics !

  • @carlotapuig

    @carlotapuig

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@deanodog3667 What do you mean exactly?

  • @deanodog3667

    @deanodog3667

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@carlotapuig I'm saying holiday is as big a fraud as Seneca and Jordan Peterson!

  • @carlotapuig

    @carlotapuig

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@deanodog3667 Ryan Holiday definitely doesn't like telling the truth. He's a coward, nothing admirable about that. He makes up stories and ignores facts out of fear of the liberal mobs (BLM, antifa) and for selling books.

  • @NOVA.PROSPEC

    @NOVA.PROSPEC

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@deanodog3667 Interesting. Who would you prefer over Seneca, and Peterson (for the sake of todays philosophers)? Thanks.

  • @lovenikolatesla846
    @lovenikolatesla84611 ай бұрын

    So many things about Seneca is one of my favourite philosophers 🙏

  • @ufcknockouts07
    @ufcknockouts073 жыл бұрын

    That mysterious music

  • @JoeCiccarone
    @JoeCiccarone3 жыл бұрын

    So good.

  • @mihiershastri4499
    @mihiershastri44993 жыл бұрын

    How awesome is the background music!! Can anyone tell where can I find it?

  • @Macromental
    @Macromental Жыл бұрын

    What an epic boss and thinker

  • @enzoberka431
    @enzoberka4313 ай бұрын

    as long as you live keep learning to live

  • @michaelrichardson989
    @michaelrichardson989 Жыл бұрын

    I'm really wanting this tome Lives of the Stoics, looks good. Honours and libations to those Forefathers of the West. Thanks and Praises for having access to our collective Ancestral Inheritance.

  • @mohammedrashid2906
    @mohammedrashid29065 ай бұрын

    Thank

  • @jamesrobbins3582
    @jamesrobbins35823 жыл бұрын

    Freedom is not free.

  • @jamesrobbins3582

    @jamesrobbins3582

    3 жыл бұрын

    No one becomes wise by chance!

  • @chris10hi
    @chris10hi8 ай бұрын

    Great

  • @782YKW
    @782YKW2 жыл бұрын

    Seneca was a great writer.

  • @selfhelpchampion9664
    @selfhelpchampion96643 жыл бұрын

    Thanks Ryan, we are posting your video on anger management at selfhelpchampion under Understanding Anger🙏❤️selfhelpchampion

  • @marcelopendragon1690
    @marcelopendragon16902 жыл бұрын

    Seneca realized at an early age, what so many never do, life is short.................. and so he needed a quick profit, so he forced huge unsolicited loans to British Celtic tribes, and demanded that they pay back with interest shortly thereafter....... How stoic

  • @perenetre
    @perenetre3 жыл бұрын

    The name of the Spanish sculptor is Eduardo Barrón.

  • @jerry-ny7hs
    @jerry-ny7hs3 жыл бұрын

    looking forward to " Lives of the Stoics". Todays crazy times are at an all time low because they are global. I hope we can right this ship because our rights are being taken from us . I hope someone will fight this agenda that is not about health or saving lives.

  • @tedrobbins5811
    @tedrobbins58112 жыл бұрын

    So looking forward to hearing this on Audible!!!!!!!

  • @samuelkkimani514
    @samuelkkimani5143 жыл бұрын

    You make me love philosophy.

  • @pushansblog1046

    @pushansblog1046

    3 жыл бұрын

    Not only Nero all the roman rulers were cruel. I personally do not consider Rome to have any civilisation, at that time.It was uncivilised. Full of despotic cruel and inefficient rulers.It should really be considered as dark age.

  • @Sabyas_Hub
    @Sabyas_Hub3 жыл бұрын

    Ryan Holiday : Seneca of this generation

  • @nihilo616

    @nihilo616

    10 ай бұрын

    Who?

  • @jasonmerryman4452
    @jasonmerryman44523 жыл бұрын

    Ryan, I noticed you had a copy of one of Loeb’s classics on your couch that has both the English and Koine Greek. Have you considered studying Koine Greek to read the stoic philosophers in their original language? I took 5 semesters of koine Greek in college and it’s my dream to read through Seneca, Epictetus, Aurelius, and others in the original.

  • @omegacardboard5834

    @omegacardboard5834

    2 жыл бұрын

    I believe Seneca wrote in Latin

  • @javer9706

    @javer9706

    2 жыл бұрын

    Mate, I've lived in Greece for 15 years and attended school there. I was taught both modern and ancient Greek there, and I must tell you that ancient Greek is insanely difficult to learn. Back then I was a geek about Greek language and philosophy, and tried very hard to learn as much as possible. Yet, after 8 years of learning ancient Greek, I still find it hard to understand the scripts from prototype. However, translated in modern Greek these texts are piece of cake to read.

  • @wrestlexwrestlingshorts661
    @wrestlexwrestlingshorts6613 жыл бұрын

    Do a video on fearless cato

  • @beingisthebestjoy
    @beingisthebestjoy2 жыл бұрын

    Seneca was a real legendary person

  • @drewnelson8692
    @drewnelson86922 ай бұрын

    Bro death by heat and dense air is my new worst way to die...

  • @Jerry823Coates
    @Jerry823Coates3 жыл бұрын

    We not talking about him today I'm just hearing of him and I absolutely love history..... and rome philosophers and historians or phonies and refer to Josephus and claim he was Roman but his own words biography tells who he actually is...

  • @asdfg6h5g7h
    @asdfg6h5g7h3 жыл бұрын

    I am unable to order your new book in India.... there is only one seller On amazon selling it at an inflated price... the main issue is the sellers rating is just 55%... do something... make the book available in India!,!,

  • @kyles8396
    @kyles83963 жыл бұрын

    Hey Ryan can you make a video about using stoicism as a "power greater than your own" for AA? I'm an atheist and I'm having a hard time grasping that concept and want to view stoicism or the logos that way.

  • @peg4847

    @peg4847

    3 жыл бұрын

    check out the book Rational Rational Recovery and online SMART Recovery if you haven't already. Great for the incredulous-at-heart

  • @peg4847

    @peg4847

    3 жыл бұрын

    Also-I've often thought the 12 steps parallel Marcus Aurelius's 'Meditations'. Nothing new under the sun.

  • @kyles8396

    @kyles8396

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@peg4847 I've read meditations a few times and I'll check out the other book you recommended. I know Ryan mentioned the 12 step program taking some things from stoicism. I just can't frame stoicism as a power greater than my own. I'm very new to the program and fall into the athiest category. My zoom group is an agnostic one and we haven't talked about step 2 really

  • @peg4847

    @peg4847

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@kyles8396 great! It's actually Rational Recovery. Typed it twice. SMART Recovery is excellent and there's tons online from them. Bill Wilson's connection with Jung and no doubt Jung, being cognizant of Meditations is the roots of the 12 steps/12 trad. Good luck in your sober quest! Better this way.

  • @kyles8396

    @kyles8396

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@peg4847 Thank you!!!

  • @heavymeddle28
    @heavymeddle283 жыл бұрын

    What chronic illness did he suffer from? Anyone knows? 🤔 Beautifully made video. Thanks 😊

  • @heavymeddle28

    @heavymeddle28

    3 жыл бұрын

    @Donald Quirk Hmmm. Sad. Thank you 😊

  • @Dino_Medici
    @Dino_Medici3 жыл бұрын

    Holy shit fam! Poured some out for the gods...

  • @truenorthaffirmations7049
    @truenorthaffirmations70493 жыл бұрын

    Freedom is in our next thought🤘🔥🤘🔥THINK BETTER..better thoughts from another youtuber

  • @rjpj474
    @rjpj4749 ай бұрын

    Ryan Holiday, always selling.

  • @shelleyharris2850
    @shelleyharris28502 жыл бұрын

    2.3 Spain village

  • @bolognivm
    @bolognivm2 жыл бұрын

    Rome's greatest Stoic thinker is not Seneca but Marcus Aurelius, as Seneca was a power-hungry usurer and hypocrite who was pretty bad at practicing what he preached. However, being a student of Stoicism means that we should learn from his writings and words and see his life as a cautionary tale.

  • @omegacardboard5834

    @omegacardboard5834

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yeah, surprised he called him Rome’s greatest when this guy absolutely loves Marcus Aurelius

  • @LookAtDat4ss
    @LookAtDat4ss10 ай бұрын

    Yo that was sick ❤ poor Seneca

  • @DavidRodriguez-yy6kc
    @DavidRodriguez-yy6kc Жыл бұрын

    😔

  • @DJSTOEK
    @DJSTOEK3 жыл бұрын

    💘

  • @saadmarsil6929
    @saadmarsil69293 жыл бұрын

    Who suffers here of episodes of anxiety where you do not have any will inside you and avoid the tasks that you need to do to strive? I love stoicism and the fact that you can only control your mind, but when you are anxious you cannot control your mind. Or at least I don't. Does anyone has any answer?

  • @Cinemagoer_64

    @Cinemagoer_64

    Жыл бұрын

    I would highly recommend the CHAANGE program for anxiety and agoraphobia. As a matter of fact it was through this program that I discovered stoicism. The program is drug free and uses cognitive therapy. They also use stoic quotes.

  • @ArchieMgrk
    @ArchieMgrk2 жыл бұрын

    FYI thats Greece in the video

  • @matthewblackwell9416
    @matthewblackwell94162 жыл бұрын

    What do we think Seneca's female associate meant by her statement that he would die of "consumption"? Does this mean he had an addiction, or did she just do this to save him?

  • @AsadtheTutor

    @AsadtheTutor

    2 жыл бұрын

    The old-fashioned name for tuberculosis was consumption. It's a lung disease.

  • @PartyOnDude_

    @PartyOnDude_

    Жыл бұрын

    Consumption is what people used to call tuberculosis

  • @punkeasy
    @punkeasy2 жыл бұрын

    Ironic that stoicism be used as a clickbait lure for a pen and ink campaign. Is there a free version either audio or pdf download available.

  • @Con_College_Academic
    @Con_College_Academic Жыл бұрын

    Life is what you make it. Your path is your own but let me say this: the more you look in. The bigger the picture gets. Humans are not any different than a chicken or a virus. The more you look. The more you see. A chicken doesnt do much. But from his perspective, its everything. Think of the mayflies who never experience night time. Life is what you make it and the more you look. The more you can see

  • @drlca6601
    @drlca6601 Жыл бұрын

    reigns*

  • @RemyISnow
    @RemyISnow3 жыл бұрын

    “Trumped up charge” lol

  • @victoriaguidici5574
    @victoriaguidici5574 Жыл бұрын

    Needs better proofreading. Seneca did not live through the “reins”, but the “reigns” of …. And in addition to typos, someone didn’t run “a fowl” but “afoul” …

  • @natnaelfasil9174
    @natnaelfasil91743 жыл бұрын

    Shaking perspective how to endure even if you have plenty of excuses to whine and to give up.

  • @APPLEcrispBISH
    @APPLEcrispBISH Жыл бұрын

    You sound like David Foster Wallace

  • @joedavis4150
    @joedavis41503 жыл бұрын

    ... Boy, what a messy life Seneca had. Ego Gone Wild. He should have read The Tao Te Ching, if it was around then.

  • @yankee2666

    @yankee2666

    3 жыл бұрын

    What a completely asinine comment.

  • @dotdashdotdash
    @dotdashdotdash3 жыл бұрын

    The representations of Seneca with a beard and a full head of hair have long been proven to be inaccurate, the bust of Seneca that was found shows he was balding and clean shaven.

  • @veronica0076
    @veronica00763 жыл бұрын

    Aaaa aa aa asaa

  • @sambarryofficial
    @sambarryofficial3 жыл бұрын

    100% HIGH WHILE WATCHING THIS

  • @SubwayToTheSun
    @SubwayToTheSun3 жыл бұрын

    Am I really the only one commenting on the spelling mistakes in the translation? And English is not even my mother tongue ... More importantly, it seems that not everything he says, is true or at least correctly interpreted.

  • @ThomasDohertyJD
    @ThomasDohertyJD2 жыл бұрын

    Need an editor for the captions of the narration. The "rein" of Caesar? Try reign. Running "a fowl" of Nero? It's afoul. Also other apostrophe and spelling mistakes. Voice to text is not perfect technology

  • @c-LAW
    @c-LAW9 ай бұрын

    7:40 The point o f Stoicism is to make you better in the real world. Why?

  • @HostileLemons
    @HostileLemons3 жыл бұрын

    Just another reason to hate Nero. Gosh that guy was cruel.

  • @evangelosdikopoulos7213
    @evangelosdikopoulos72137 ай бұрын

    Why are you showing Athens all the time? Seneca lived in Rome

  • @isaelnavarrete3701
    @isaelnavarrete3701 Жыл бұрын

    Seneca was ready to die Its all he talked about

  • @mihir2077
    @mihir20773 жыл бұрын

    Markus Aurelius: am I a joke to you?

  • @tullamorejameson480

    @tullamorejameson480

    3 жыл бұрын

    History: No, but your son is *Commodus cries in the distance*

  • @Human_Evolution-
    @Human_Evolution-3 жыл бұрын

    Don't show the psuedo-Seneca bust as if it is Seneca.

  • @nnotny

    @nnotny

    3 жыл бұрын

    Really? That's your big takeaway from all this?

  • @Human_Evolution-

    @Human_Evolution-

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@nnotny yes, and no.

  • @modernmonk3676
    @modernmonk3676 Жыл бұрын

    History repeating again. No different than his time

  • @sk8corpuz
    @sk8corpuz3 жыл бұрын

    No stoic would care if they were remembered. Seneca was a man of principle but like Confucius had too many rules. Text in the middle of the screen ruins the pictures. The cadence sounds like it's being read for the first time or chopped & recorded one sentence at a time. Aurelius was way cooler

  • @deanodog3667
    @deanodog36672 жыл бұрын

    " born with a chronic illness!" , he had asthma ffs lol !!

  • @EliasVergsen

    @EliasVergsen

    2 жыл бұрын

    that is literally a chronic illness even today.