I read the book as it was originally published, not yet the supplementary material ‘Assorted Opinions and Maxims’ and ‘The Wanderer and His Shadow’. It was a really excellent book that presents a practical philosophy in the way of Seneca, but of greater depth and so much more relevant to the modern man, while at the same time covering a more diverse array of subjects.
As is typical when I read a good book, I struggle to identify a single excellent thing, as I would rather gesture to the entire work. There is a lot of great advice, it feels that the real goodness comes in waves of increasing strength through a chapter, as in there tends to be some buildup to some great moment, continuously through the chapters. The most memorable and penetrating aphorisms were about thought itself, how we should approach thinking, how to be honest with ourselves about our thinking, which is peppered throughout, and towards the end on the differences between convictions and opinions. Also because of the aphoristic style, it never feels unapproachable, if a part does not make sense I just reread the aphorism and that makes it clear.