Seneca’s moral letters

Seneca’s great work “Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium,” known in English as “Letters From A Stoic,” consists of 124 missives to Lucilius Junior, a younger friend and colleague. Though they are filled with references to personal matters and even gossip, it seems clear that Seneca composed for a larger audience than just his friend; the epistolary form was a common literary device in the ancient world. We read Seneca’s letters today for lessons, observations, and philosophical musings on how to live a virtuous life.

The imperial Roman mail service could deliver a letter from Seneca in Baiae to Lucilius in Sicily in about a week. In our digital age, texts and emails are delivered instantly to anywhere on the globe – and beyond: I once sent an email to the astronauts on the International Space Station as I watched it dance across the night sky.

The miracle of digital communication

The expedience of digital communication is miraculous, but it takes away from the permanence of our thoughts. Typing on a keyboard is quick work; there is a sense of gratification to instantly see our words race across the screen, powered by the engine of our train of thought. These quickly formed words can flee our brains just as quickly as they speed to the recipient.

Hand-written letters

Writing by hand is more contemplative and slower. We are attentive to our words. It is engrossing and focused work and concentrates the mind. It is conscious writing.

Handwritten correspondence has waned in the past few decades, but I am all in for a resurgence. Let’s not allow the art of letter writing to wither and die. This piece you are reading – my letter to you – started out as scratches on a foolscap pad using my favourite pen. I usually get ink on my left pinky as I drag it across the page, so it looks like a light blue cloud is casting a shadow over my words.

A letter of gratitude a day

My cousin Tim Hurley was a New York City police officer. Officer Hurley died a hero, in the line of duty, at the age of 26. He never got to see his son grow up, he never got to grow old. When I turned 26, I decided that a small way to honour his life was to write a letter of gratitude every day.

I’ve kept this promise to myself, and to my late cousin. Sometimes I write to someone I know, other days it’s to someone I read about in the news. Today I sent two notes, one to a small business owner I admire, the other to a writer I heard reading their work the night before. When you start writing thank you notes, you recognize more opportunities to be thankful.

Short notes vs. long letters

With all due respect to Seneca and his writing stamina, I prefer to send short notes rather than one endless treatise. My advice to letter writers is to jot down thoughts and ideas in a notebook as they come to you. They will be your first drafts of notes to come. If you wait for divine inspiration to clobber you over the head, you’ll never post a letter.

Connecting through letters

I read about a man named Joe Girard, who was the most renowned car salesman in history. Every month he sent his clients a card that simply said: “I like you.” In a way, isn’t that the message of most of the cards and notes we send?

Regarding Lord Byron’s correspondence, the historian Jacques Barzun remarked that letters are “the only device for combining solitude and good company”. Letter writing allows us to feel connected. I think of my cousin Tim every time I go to the mailbox on the corner. The time and effort to write and post a handwritten message, rather than peck out a text, carries meaning. You are expressing to the recipient that they are important and worthy of your time, effort, and careful consideration.

Letters as intellectual nectar

Writing letters helps us prioritize what matters in life. Seneca notes that writers should be like bees, “who flit about and cull flowers that are suitable for producing honey, and then arrange and assort their cells all that they have brought in”. Letters, 84.3 Letter writing inspires us to gather bits of information, to pollinate our thoughts and create an intellectual nectar in the form of a written letter. Writing letters holds up a mirror to ourselves; as we reflect, we gain new insights, and these help us understand our world with greater clarity.

The average person spends more than 24 hours a week online, more than one full day. Take back just 15 minutes of your texting time and give your brain the exercise of handwriting a letter instead. In the words of Joe Girard, “I like you,” and thank you for reading.

Karen Duffy is a producer, actress, and former MTV VJ. Her latest book on Stoicism. Wise Up (https:// amzn.to/3PpLv5D) is published by Seal Press.

---