Why should one read Seneca today?

The question assumes that people are still reading books in our century, instead of watching movies, playing video-games, or practising sports. Indeed, a percentage of the population still enjoys reading. Those are the only ones who purchase books. Thus, the question is wrongly formulated. Instead of asking why we should read Seneca today, I should have asked why we should read Seneca’s books instead of books by other authors. My answer entails two aspects. First, Seneca is giving a detailed, practical exposition of the Stoic philosophy, which can prove very beneficial to our life. Second, because Seneca wisely avoided mistakes made by other Stoics philosophers. Let me explain these two aspects by means of an example. I am going to compare Seneca with Aulus Persius Flaccus (34-62 AD), a Stoic poet, to illustrate the uniqueness of Seneca’s exposition of Stoicism. In contrast to Persius and the other Stoics engaging in social criticism, Seneca regarded philosophy as an individual recipe. He wanted to provide a formula for happiness for himself and his readers, irrespective of the overall state of society. Seneca was conscious of his unique perspective in this area. He wrote extensively, but never bothered to give prescriptions for a perfect world. He knew that individuals will always have to face challenges, and wanted to develop a solid philosophy to cope with those. Persius held a different view, one shared by many Stoics in Ancient Rome. He took upon himself the task of criticising the severe problems of society, but declared himself incapable of solving them. As a result, he fell into passivity and resignation. Seneca’s philosophy is proactive and prompts us to develop good intellectual and physical habits. The purpose of his ideas is to heal spiritual wounds and strengthen the mind. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/why-read-seneca-today/