Audio only
Length1h 27m
About this audiobook
A vivid new translation in which the Stoic philosopher argues that virtue is the only path to contentment
Why are so many people unhappy when happiness can be attained by anyone who simply lives virtuously? That question prompted Seneca, the great Stoic philosopher of the early Roman Empire, to write On the Happy Life, and he continued to seek answers in his Moral Epistles. In How to Live, Seneca biographer and translator James Romm presents vivid new versions of passages from both works, distilling Seneca’s passionate and inspiring argument for a path to perfect contentment, no matter what befalls us.
As a Stoic, Seneca believed that only ethical virtue leads to happiness; all other goals, including wealth and success, are neutral in their effects—or, if they torment us with what we haven’t achieved, sources of unhappiness. For role models, Seneca looks to Socrates, who embodied virtue and reason, and to a hypothetical sage who is always in tune with the divine mind that governs the cosmos. Extolling these paragons with nearly messianic fervor, Seneca urges us to imitate their example.
Featuring an inviting introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, How to Live captures the persuasive power of Seneca’s argument that the universe wants us to be virtuous—and happy.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.1 (16)
Includes Goodreads
GenrePhilosophy, Self-Help
Length1 hr 27 mins
Narrated byMack Sanderson
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJul 7, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Old Path White CloudsThich Nhat Hanh16h 39m4.6 (15K)$25
Metaphysics (Annotated)Aristotle13h 30m4.6 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
Sceptical Essays (Annotated)Bertrand Russell9h 16m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
WitnessAriel Burger8h 1m4.6 (1.3K)$20 · $0.00
The Magic PresenceGodfré Ray King10h 21m4.6 (307)$1.20 · $0.00
The Practicing StoicWard Farnsworth9h 56m4.5 (9.2K)$20
Moral Letters to LuciliusLucius Annaeus Seneca24h 26m4.5 (71.7K)$1.99 · $0.00
Lessons in TruthH. Emilie Cady3h 50m4.5 (2.4K)$20 · $0.00
The LawFrédéric Bastiat2h 7m4.4 (17K)$10
IlluminationsWalter Benjamin10h 12m4.4 (16.2K)$20 · $0.00
That Bird Has My WingsJarvis Jay Masters9h 49m4.4 (13.7K)$29 · $0.00
Tâo Teh KingLaozi2h 34m4.4 (230.9K)$2 · $0.00
SymposiumPlato3h 26m4.4 (97.9K)$1.20 · $0.00
Buddhist Boot CampTimber Hawkeye2h 39m4.4 (8.4K)$18 · $0.00
Change Your MindRJ Spina7h 5m4.6 (288)$17
Enchiridion & The Discourses of Epictetus (Annotated)Arrian Epictetus18h 9m4.4 (3.5K)$2 · $0.00
The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius AntoninusEmperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius5h 41m4.4 (1.8M)$1 · $0.00
Crime and PunishmentFyodor Dostoevsky23h 11m4.4 (1.3M)$12 · $0.00
MeditationsMarcus Aurelius5h 52m4.4 (433.7K)$1 · $0.00
Everyday DharmaSuneel Gupta5h 2m4.5 (761)$20 · $0.00
Autism Out Loud: the instant New York Times Bestseller. Moving Stories and Parenting Lessons Learned from Three Mothers of Children with AutismKate Swenson, Carrie Cariello, Adrian Wood8h 41m4.8 (2.1K)$26 · $0.00
365 Days of Hope and Healing for Your Body, Mind, and SoulJoan Hunter8h 48m4.9 (158)$10 · $0.00
Rewrite the Mother CodeDr. Gertrude Lyons10h 55m4.9 (144)$25
The Best of Les Brown Audio CollectionLes Brown8h 12m4.7 (1.8K)$65
Swayam Ki AwaazPrem Rawat8h 34m4.7 (1.1K)$26 · $0.00
Finding Your VoiceMannette Morgan8h 10m4.8 (187)$20
Forever BoyKate Swenson9h 27m4.7 (5K)$29 · $0.00
You Are Worth ItKyle Carpenter, Don Yaeger8h 53m4.7 (4.8K)$29 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
Finding MeViola Davis9h 15m4.6 (256.4K)$29 · $0.00
AretéBrian Johnson19h 57m4.7 (2.2K)$35
Spiritual AnatomyDaaji Kamlesh D. Patel9h 47m4.7 (319)$29 · $0.00
The Dangerous Truth about Today’s MarijuanaLaura Stack CSP, MBA9h 57m4.7 (384)$20 · $0.00
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00
Ghetto BastardK’wan7h 37m4.6 (2.9K)$20
Legally YoursManasi Chaudhari8h 52m4.7 (223)$29 · $0.00
CrossroadsKaleb Dahlgren7h 56m4.6 (4.9K)$26 · $0.00
Life on the BridgeKaelynn Partlow5h 40m4.6 (1.1K)$24 · $0.00
From Questioning to KnowingLisa Barnett5h 34m4.7 (244)$17
Keep Your Love OnDanny Silk9h 4m4.6 (8.1K)$10 · $0.00
You may also like
Defining Moments in Black HistoryDick Gregory7h 37m4.4 (6K)$26 · $0.00
Any Given TuesdayLis Smith10h 33m4.1 (1.9K)$29 · $0.00
Why We Did ItTim Miller8h 15m4.0 (9.3K)$26 · $0.00
First in LineKate Andersen Brower10h 58m4.0 (6K)$29 · $0.00
Leadership BSJeffrey Pfeffer7h 51m3.9 (2.1K)$26 · $0.00
MachiavelliMiles J. Unger15h 39m4.2 (480)$25 · $0.00
Kings and PawnsHoward Bryant10h 9m4.6 (678)$29 · $0.00
THE STOICTheodore Dreiser15h 19m4.4 (3.1K)$2 · $0.00
The Vision of the AnointedThomas Sowell9h 21m4.4 (6.4K)$20 · $0.00
Grace CanceledDana Loesch6h 2m4.4 (334)$17 · $0.00
Nicomachean Ethics (Annotated)Aristotle11h 24m4.2 (118.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
Under Western EyesJoseph Conrad12h 39m3.9 (20.6K)$2 · $0.00
CritoPlato1h 58m4.1 (17.6K)$1 · $0.00
The Big LieDinesh D’Souza9h 30m4.0 (8.1K)$20
Commercialism and JournalismHamilton Holt1h 25m3.5 (10)$2 · $0.00
Vanity Fair: November 2015 IssueVanity Fair5h 35m$14
Good CitizenshipGrover Cleveland45m4.2 (33)$2.30
Fool ProofTess Wilkinson-Ryan9h 16m3.9 (337)$29 · $0.00
The Turn-OnSteven Goldstein9h 12m3.3 (61)$29 · $0.00
The Rise of BlueAnonDavid Harsanyi8h 14m4.1 (95)$26 · $0.00