# Letters from a Stoic by Seneca

3 Hacker News commenters recommended Letters from a Stoic by Seneca and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for its language and for hitting hard in the first letter; one critic found it unremarkable and not insightful.

## Why people recommend it

- Language people enjoy (1 comments): "I have just always liked the language in it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46630511))
- First letter hit hard (1 comments): "The first one really hit me hard" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46629621))
- Useful for comparing translations (1 comments): "Based on some reading in a study group using both the Hays and Waterfield translations" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46630319))

## What people warn about

- Felt unremarkable, not insightful (1 comments): "Overall, it felt like something you or I could have written - I didn't see something insightful that enlightened me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46636071))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Tao Te Ching by Laozi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tao-te-ching-translated.md): 32 recommend
- [Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance.md): 24 recommend
- [Meditations by Marcus Aurelius](https://hackerapproved.com/p/meditations.md): 17 recommend
- [I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter](https://hackerapproved.com/p/i-am-a-strange-loop.md): 16 recommend
- [Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard](https://hackerapproved.com/p/simulacra-and-simulation.md): 12 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0865164878?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780865164871) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Letters from a Stoic by Seneca", https://hackerapproved.com/p/letters-from-a-stoic/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).