Individual Philosophical Counselling in the Hellenistic & Roman Eras

The Epicureans, Galen & Plutarch

In this series, we have been seeing that Chapter 4 of Ilsetraut Hadot’s book Sénèque shows how seriously she takes her own advice, that to write well on Seneca, it is necessary to know your Cicero, but also as much of wider ancient philosophical culture as we can.

Following her account of Epictetus’ extant writings (in fact, recorded by a student), and their basis in his ways of teaching, Hadot transitions to an account of what her…