How to Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers)

Timeless wisdom on death and dying from the celebrated Stoic philosopher Seneca

"It  takes an entire lifetime to learn how to die," wrote the Roman Stoic  philosopher Seneca (c. 4 BC–65 AD). He counseled readers to "study death  always," and took his own advice, returning to the subject again and  again in all his writings, yet he never treated it in a complete work. How to Die gathers in one volume, for the first time, Seneca's remarkable  meditations on death and dying. Edited and translated by James S. Romm, How to Die reveals a provocative thinker and dazzling writer who speaks with a  startling frankness about the need to accept death or even, under  certain conditions, to seek it out.

Seneca believed that life is  only a journey toward death and that one must rehearse for death  throughout life. Here, he tells us how to practice for death, how to die  well, and how to understand the role of a good death in a good life. He  stresses the universality of death, its importance as life's final rite  of passage, and its ability to liberate us from pain, slavery, or  political oppression.

Featuring beautifully rendered new translations, How to Die also includes an enlightening introduction, notes, the original Latin  texts, and an epilogue presenting Tacitus's description of Seneca's grim  suicide.