Letters from a Stoic

Seneca spends a considerable amount of time seeking to define the pursuit of wisdom and establish it as the main priority of the philosopher’s life. What Seneca means by wisdom is the study required to become a “wise man” in the Stoic view; this academic side of learning virtue is also known as philosophy. This study has the “single task of discovering the truth about the divine and human worlds” (162). Through engaging in philosophy, one discovers the need to worship what is divine and love what is human, meaning that pursuing wisdom brings one knowledge of the natural laws by which Stoics should live.

That virtue is the only good, and therefore the study of it the most worthwhile pursuit, is an idea central to Stoicism. Seneca stresses the importance of this, frequently emphasizing that learning truth should always be prioritized. In Letter 16, Seneca makes it explicitly clear that the quality of one’s life depends on this, stating, “[N]o one can lead a happy life, or even one that is bearable, without the pursuit of wisdom, and [...] the perfection of wisdom is what makes the happy life, although even the beginnings of wisdom make life bearable” (63).