On the Happy Life

“True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.” 

- Lucius Annaeus Seneca.



De Vita Beata or On the Happy Life is a dialogue written by Seneca the Younger around the year 58 AD. It was intended for his older brother Gallio, to whom Seneca also dedicated his dialogue entitled De Ira (On Anger). It is divided into 28 chapters that present the moral thoughts of Seneca at their most mature. Seneca explains that the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of reason – reason meant not only using logic, but also understanding the processes of nature.


This new edition of De Vita Beata from includes an introduction by William Smith and a Seneca image gallery.