The Tao of Seneca: Practical Letters from a Stoic Master, Volume 3

The Tao of Seneca

by Timothy Ferriss

Genres: Philosophy, Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Psychology, Classics, Personal Growth

315 pages, ebook

About the author

Tim Ferriss is author of three #1 NYT/WSJ bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef. He is also a start-up advisor specializing in positioning, PR, and marketing (Uber, Evernote, etc.). When not damaging his body with abusive sports, he enjoys chocolate, bear claws, and Japanese animation.

Reviews

[Toma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one contained more letters about philosophy in general, it was a bit too theoretical for my tastes but nevertheless it contained a lot of wisdom.

[Ciarán Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

These letters are quite heavy in the theoretical and religious tones rather than the earlier letters more practical points

[Mike Panton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as volume 1 but better than volume 2. This volume poses some challenging thoughts.

What I like most about reading Seneca is that it forces me to break the habit of reading quickly through a book. It forces me to slow down and contemplate as I read.

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final volume of Tim Ferriss’ Tao of Seneca features a further 32 letters from Seneca to his friend Lucilius Junior. These offer thoughtful philosophical reflections, full of wisdom for anyone willing to sit with them. Yes, some passages feel a little wordy, but that’s to be expected given the era and Seneca’s style — and I personally enjoyed reading them immensely.

They’re obviously not for everyone, though I do wonder how anyone would make it through the first two volumes and not want to continue here. I’d love to see Tim release a physical edition of the series; it would be great to pull it from the bookshelf and open to a random letter whenever the mood strikes — something that’s not quite as easy on a Kindle.

The inclusion of short pieces from modern Stoics, such as Ryan Holiday, is a nice touch that bridges ancient and contemporary thought. I enjoyed some letters more than others, but overall this has been a rewarding and worthwhile series.

[Du · Rating 5 out of 5]

(This review is for the combined volumes of The Tao of Seneca)
The Tao of Seneca which is a compilation of letters that Lucius Annae Seneca wrote to his friend Lucilius is an extremely fascinating read. While it's not a textbook on stoicisim, it's an amazing read on how stoicism can be used in real life (even if that real life is in Roman times). Because it's written in the Roman times, the translation is also a bit hard to read at certain parts but it still holds up pretty well. As for the stoic content, it's one of the core readings in stoicism, an accessible yet deep account of stoicism.

I can highly recommend this!

[Ann L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I give this one a 1.5. I really could not get into this one at all and it was so wordy and so long and I tried to "get it" or understand the meaning of some of it. Some I got but it was stuff I already knew, but most of it I could of cared less about it.

I enjoyed and learned more from the last 9 pages of the book at the end with the interview with Naval Ravikant. I printed that out so I could re-read those pages again.

Other than those 9 pages, it was a waste of time for me. I will never re-read this ever again.

The interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger was pretty good too.

I recommend reading a modern day stoic type book instead of these ancient letters.

[Akita · Rating 2 out of 5]

So so. I prefered Volume 1. But letters 104 and 116 are interesting. And the canva strategy too, by Ryan Holiday.

[Edrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third and final volume of Seneca's wisdom in audiobook format. Highly recommended.

[Eric Kalnins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, a little more challenging than first two volumes for mere mortals like me but with the perseverance. Highly recommended.

19.08

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still unbearably slow for the majority to me. Good tips at the end.

[Newton Nitro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente coletânea de textos do Sêneca. Leitura obrigatória para quem se interessa pela filosofia estoica.

[Muhammad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an elegy and lay out the dignity. There is no God, but Allah SWT. Peace be upon him. Ahlussunnah wal jama'ah.

[Cristobal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe the weakest of the 3 volumes but still worth your while.

[Enrico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the letters in this third part were really hard to get through. In the third part almost all letters get significantly longer. Overall the letters from all three parts are awesome though.