With a title like How to Die, I had to check it out. Also, it’s part of a series of books from Princeton University Press called Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers. They’re short, compact, very readable “How To” translations of ancient philosophical works. I’ve read four so far and this is my second by Seneca,... Continue Reading →

    This book is difficult to sum up in a review. It’s one of those great Christian books that belongs on the Mt. Rushmore with Mere Christianity and Desiring God. (That’d be interesting to think of what say four books belong on the Mt. Rushmore of great Christian books.) No matter how I comment... Continue Reading →

This quote is a bit long, but well worth the read.  “Caligula once held in custody the son of a distinguished Roman knight, Pastor, and grew annoyed at the young man’s elegance and very well-groomed hair. When the boy’s father asked that, for his sake, the boy be kept safe, Caligula, acting as though that... Continue Reading →

“A good look at ourselves will make us more temperate if we ask ourselves: ‘Haven’t we ourselves also done something like that? Haven’t we gone astray in the same way? Does condemning these things really benefit us?’” (p.66-67) Being aware of our sins makes us more patient and gracious with others. I’m reminded of the... Continue Reading →

  “Where self-indulgence has ruined both the body and mind, nothing seems bearable, not because the task is hard but because the one doing it is soft.” (p.53)   The things that send us into a rage are often not as monumental as we think they are. It’s just that our threshold for what we... Continue Reading →

  “A punishment that’s delayed can still be imposed, but once imposed, it can’t be withdrawn.” (p.49)   As the parent of a three-year old  and a one-year old, I have a hard time connecting with Seneca here. If my kids do something wrong and I wait to punish them later, they won’t be able... Continue Reading →

  “Whenever they win and do something worthy of praise, let’s allow them to hold their heads high but not to become boastful, for exultation follows rejoicing, and after exaltation comes inflated ego and too great a sense of self-worth.” (p.39)   There’s a fine line between confident and proud. I want my kids to... Continue Reading →

  “To someone doling out punishment, nothing is less suitable than anger. A penalty is more useful for correction when the judgement imposing it is more sound.”    This one hits me as a parent of a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. My kids are currently unregenerate little sinners in need of a savior. There’s nothing... Continue Reading →

  “The good man will carry out his duties, without fear or turmoil; he’ll act in a manner worthy of a good man, such that he’ll do nothing unworthy of a man. My father is being killed; I’ll defend him, He has been killed; I’ll avenge him--but because it’s right, not because I’m grieved...To get... Continue Reading →

  “Once shaken and overthrown, the mind becomes a slave to that which drives it.”    We like to think of mind as a safe home base that we can rely on. The only thing that’s truly ours. An unbiased starting point from which we experience the world. But Seneca doesn’t think so. The mind... Continue Reading →