Becoming Stoic

6 essays · four seasons

Everything we've written, in the order we wrote it.

Every essay is tied to a passage. Filter by book, by season, or by the kind of thinking you're after.

Newest · Close reading · 9 min

Marcus Aurelius never meant for you to read this

A private notebook became the most quoted book on leadership. Something was lost in that promotion, and it's the part that makes it worth reading.

Daniel Okrent · August 4, 2026

Image 3:2

2026

Practice · Jul 28 · 6 min

The discipline of assent, without the jargon

Epictetus asks you to do one thing before you react. The vocabulary is forbidding; the instruction is not.

Objections · Jul 21 · 11 min

Is Stoicism just emotional suppression in a toga?

The most common criticism is also the most useful one. It is worth taking seriously before answering it.

Translation · Jul 14 · 14 min

Hays, Long, Hard: three Meditations compared

One passage, three translators, and what each one had to give up to get the rest.

Objections · Jul 7 · 8 min

The Stoics were wrong about grief

Seneca's consolations don't survive contact with a real funeral, and he seems to have known it.

History · Jun 30 · 10 min

What a Roman morning actually looked like

Before you copy his routine, understand the household that was running it.