The art of consoling those who are suffering has a long history. Some thinkers eventually became basic references in this respect in the West, and their writings exercised major influence, especially in the tradition of the medicine of the soul. One such writer was Seneca, an innovative heir of early stoicism, who wrote Consolation to Márcia (Ad Marciam de Consolatione) between the years 37 and 41 A.D., in Rome, which was then under the rule of Caligula. This public letter addressed to a Roman noblewoman who had lost a son is considered the oldest known and dated work of this great politician and thinker. He was born in Cordoba in the year 4 B.C. and died in 65. This famous letter is a text of major interest to those who wish to understand the ancient practice of consolation.
Consolation; stoicism; medicine of the soul; Seneca