How to Die

An Ancient Guide to the End of Life

By: Seneca, James S. Romm - introduction and translation

Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan

Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

"It takes an entire lifetime to learn how to die", wrote the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca (c. 4 BC-65 AD). He counseled readers to "study death always", and took his own advice, returning to the subject again and again in all his writings, yet he never treated it in a complete work. How to Die gathers in one volume, for the first time, Seneca's remarkable meditations on death and dying. Edited and translated by James S. Romm, How to Die reveals a provocative thinker and dazzling writer who speaks with a startling frankness about the need to accept death or even, under certain conditions, to seek it out.

Seneca believed that life is only a journey toward death and that one must rehearse for death throughout life. Here, he tells us how to practice for death, how to die well, and how to understand the role of a good death in a good life. He stresses the universality of death, its importance as life's final rite of passage, and its ability to liberate us from pain, slavery, or political oppression.

Featuring beautifully rendered new translations, How to Die also includes an enlightening introduction, notes, the original Latin texts, and an epilogue presenting Tacitus's description of Seneca's grim suicide.

Introduced, edited, and translated by James S. Romm

©2018 Princeton University Press (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

A solid narrative performance!

Most clear intonation, although full of nuances. A true classic, both in content and execution.

Seneca

I enjoyed perception of the story. I’ve often said that were born to die so I guess I think Seneca I didn’t know that.

Interesting

If I didn’t consider myself a Christian, these would be my sentiments still. I have mental illness. The medication I take gives me Parkinson’s. I left my gas from my fireplace on for hours. Then lit a lighter right by the fireplace. Nothing happened. My daughter was trying to break in the house. So I turned off the gas and talked to her. I was willing to go to the hospital but she didn’t make me. I had gotten off my medication and my Parkinson’s symptoms had gone away. However, I got worse and worse mentally. I eventually had to go in the hospital and get back on medication. I want my suffering to end. It’s just that the Bible says thou shall not kill in the Ten Commandments. But people still killed in the Bible. Even God commanded it. I’m really apolitical but oppressed. I don’t want to become some kind of cyborg that can’t die or something either. I’m looked down on for being ill and different. My own family is my enemies. I have so many more. Including neighbors. I don’t think I do anything wrong. I just want to be left alone and do my time here as best as I can under the circumstances. I wish my enemies, sometimes, would just kill me themselves to get away from them.

Audio performance not great

The speaker’s voice sounded robotic and mispronounced the name of Seneca’s compatriots. Maybe I am wrong but I don’t think Marcia is pronounced “Mark-ia” or Lucilius as “Lu-kill-ius”.

The reading is somewhat flat.

His voice can be somewhat dull and boring at times, however it was still a good purchase.

How to Live by Learning How to Die

How to Die is a guide on how to live and how to be free. James Romm has selected, translated, and provided context on Seneca’s works about death to help me live better and to prepare for death when it comes. I learned why I should not fear death, how not to have regrets, and how to live freely. He made Seneca’s words come alive.

I am working my way through this series of books. They are an excellent way to present different concepts in philosophy. Each book is a great way to learn about living and dying, leadership, controlling your emotions, and other ideas. They introduce me to different philosophers and point me in directions I would not have gone without such introductions.

The audible version enhanced the experience and made it easier to understand the concepts presented.

Book need more explanation but GOOD!

This book was great, but needs more in-depth explanation. Try other books to give you a further explanation of certain theories based upon the authors titles.

Good advice..!

Life and death are a natural cycle for everything alive, and inevitably as life matures , decays and finally dies.

Simply fantastic

James Romm has done a fabulous job of picking these selections to help us understand both how Seneca thought about death and life and how we might use those ideas for ourselves. I have listened to this book several times, and every time I am taking new notes.

Awful narration

The narrator speaks like Google's TTS, ruined it for me. Also, as the audio book lacks the Latin it is consequently very brief. Having been reading and rereading Seneca for years I know that he had an awful lot more to say about death and suicide which has been omitted from this book. Also, his tradegies are not included which included some great lines, such as "Greedy for life is he, who refuses to die, along with the dying world". Why couldn't these quotes and many like them been added to an appendix? Romm is a great translator, and his book 'Dying Every Day: Seneca in the court of Nero' is fantastic. Just a shame he hasn't included more passages from Seneca in this book. The hardcover might be good for those who are new to Seneca and just want a taste of Seneca's views on death and suicide, but not really suitable for seasoned readers of Seneca. This audiobook was really let down by the narration though, irritating at times.