Every quote in this book is real. Every practice is drawn from primary sources — the actual words of Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Seneca, not summaries of summaries. The citations are provided so you can verify them yourself.
The philosophy behind these letters has survived twenty-three centuries, the fall of Rome, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the invention of the smartphone. It has been practiced by men who had everything and men who had nothing and men who had everything taken from them.
It is not offered here as a solution to your life. It is offered as a tool — precise, tested, and quiet enough not to get in the way of using it.
Marcus Aurelius
Roman Emperor, 161–180 AD · Meditations
Epictetus
Greek philosopher, born into slavery · Discourses & Enchiridion
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Roman statesman, 4 BC – 65 AD · Letters to Lucilius