The art of living
- MeditationsMeditations
A Roman emperor writes private notes to himself on how to stay calm, fair, and humble. He never meant them for others, and the first book simply thanks the people who shaped him.
- Walden and On the Duty of Civil DisobedienceWalden and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
A record of two years in a cabin beside a pond, paired with an essay on refusing unjust laws. Thoreau lists what his house cost to build, down to the half cent: $28.12½.
- The EnchiridionThe Enchiridion
A small handbook of short, practical rules for staying calm, drawn from the teaching of a former slave. It begins by dividing everything into what is in our power and what is not.
- NatureNature
A short essay argues that time alone in nature can show us truths we cannot learn from books. Walking across an empty field, Emerson feels he becomes a transparent eyeball that sees all and is nothing.
- The Art of Worldly WisdomThe Art of Worldly Wisdom
Three hundred short rules of advice on how to get ahead in life and handle other people wisely. One warns never to compete with someone who has nothing to lose.
- The EssaysThe Essays
Short, pointed essays on everyday subjects like friendship, ambition, marriage, and revenge. One essay says some books are to be tasted, others swallowed, and a few chewed and digested.
- Seneca's MoralsSeneca's Morals
A shortened English retelling of a Roman thinker's advice on kindness, anger, and living a happy life. A long section looks at gifts and favors: how to give them well, and how to receive them.
- On Friendship and On Old AgeOn Friendship and On Old Age
Two imagined conversations examine what makes a true friend and how to face old age. The elderly Cato defends later life, including its pleasures of farming and conversation.
- The Way to WealthThe Way to Wealth
Advice on saving money and working steadily takes the form of a speech filled with short sayings. At an auction, Father Abraham repeats Poor Richard's advice to a crowd waiting for the sale.
- The Conquest of HappinessThe Conquest of Happiness
This practical guide examines common causes of unhappiness and habits that can make life more enjoyable. Its chapter on boredom argues that a happy life still needs stretches of quiet and routine.
- The ProphetThe Prophet
A departing prophet answers townspeople's questions about love, work, and death in short, poetic speeches. Before his ship leaves Orphalese, Almustafa speaks of children as arrows sent from a bow.