Andrea Kirk Assaf

365 Lessons from the Stoics

This compilation of 365 daily lessons on Stoic philosophy is designed to be started at any point in the year. The teachings of Stoic philosophy began and thrived in the Greek and Roman world until the 3rd century AD, and has since experienced multiple revivals right up to the modern day. With wise lessons in key philosophical subjects, from Acceptance and Change to Virtue and Cooperation with Nature, there is much that we can learn from the writings of the Stoics. And in this book, readers can explore 365 expertly chosen extracts—one for each day of the year—from Stoicism’s most notable names: Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus. Using translations of their original writings and meditations, 365 Lessons from the Stoics provides access to the Stoics’ ancient wisdom in bite-sized chunks. Each quote is matched to a guiding theme, allowing readers to realize the power of the Stoic’s words in relation to self-improvement, learning and understanding in their life. Including an Introduction to the Stoics and Stoicism, readers will gain insight into the lives and era of the Stoics, before delving into the wise words that continue to rise in popularity, proving all the more relevant in today’s increasingly complex world. Each themed, daily entry delivers a reflection or mini-lecture, enabling the reader to either mentally prepare for the day ahead or contemplate the day as it draws to a close. ACCEPT AND COOPERATE WITH NATURE: “…tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they can't tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own – not of the same blood and birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are unnatural.”