On a Happy Life

Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC to AD 65), usually known as Seneca, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist from the Silver Age of Latin literature. Seneca was trained in rhetoric and philosophy and his works include some of the most important writings on stoicism.

On a Happy Life was written in his later years as a letter to his brother that presents the moral thoughts of the author at their most mature. The main premise in it is that we can only be happy and live a happy life by being reasonable. He explains that the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of reason. Reason meant not only using logic, but also understanding the processes of nature. This age-old wisdom is as applicable to us in our lives today as it was when Seneca wrote it in Imperial Rome.