How to Keep Your Cool

An Ancient Guide to Anger Management

Seneca, James S. Romm, James S. Romm

$29.99

Hardback

In stock
Ready to ship

QTY:

English

Princeton University Pres
29 April 2019

Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500; Ethics & moral philosophy; Social & political philosophy; Self-help & personal development; Latin

Series: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers

Timeless wisdom on controlling anger in personal life and politics from the Roman Stoic philosopher and statesman Seneca

In his essay On Anger (De Ira), the Roman Stoic thinker Seneca (c. 4 BC-65 AD) argues that anger is the most destructive passion: 'No plague has cost the human race more dear.' This was proved by his own life, which he barely preserved under one wrathful emperor, Caligula, and lost under a second, Nero. This splendid new translation of essential selections from On Anger, presented with an enlightening introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, offers readers a timeless guide to avoiding and managing anger. It vividly illustrates why the emotion is so dangerous and why controlling it would bring vast benefits to individuals and society.

Drawing on his great arsenal of rhetoric, including historical examples (especially from Caligula's horrific reign), anecdotes, quips, and soaring flights of eloquence, Seneca builds his case against anger with mounting intensity. Like a fire-and-brimstone preacher, he paints a grim picture of the moral perils to which anger exposes us, tracing nearly all the world's evils to this one toxic source. But he then uplifts us with a beatific vision of the alternate path, a path of forgiveness and compassion that resonates with Christian and Buddhist ethics.

Seneca's thoughts on anger have never been more relevant than today, when uncivil discourse has increasingly infected public debate. Whether seeking personal growth or political renewal, readers will find, in Seneca's wisdom, a valuable antidote to the ills of an angry age.

'This is wisdom down the ages.' - Paradigm Explore

'This is a well-produced, stimulating book and a worthy addition to an excellent series.' - Ray Morris, Classics for All

By: Seneca
Introduction by: James S. Romm
Translated by: James S. Romm
Imprint: Princeton University Pres
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 171mm, Width: 114mm,
ISBN: 9780691181950
ISBN 10: 0691181950
Series: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 29 April 2019
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

James Romm is the editor and translator of Seneca's How to Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life (Princeton) and the author of Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero (Knopf). He has written for the New York Review of Books and the Wall Street Journal, among other publications. He is the James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics at Bard College and lives in Barrytown, New York.