In the morning, the line of the day
A notification brings one line, and the app shows the whole passage it comes from, with the line highlighted and a short reflection that ties it to work, money, relationships or health
Stoic journal for iPhone, iPad and Android
Lychnos
One passage a day, and a few minutes to think about it
Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca each morning, the original Greek or Latin a tap away and, in the evening, a quiet place to write or record what the day taught you
App StoreGoogle PlayComing soon to the App Store and Google Play
A day in Lychnos
Do this, my dear Lucilius: claim yourself back for yourself, and gather and keep the time that until now was being taken from you, or stolen, or was simply slipping away.
Latin original
Ita fac, mi Lucili; vindica te tibi, et tempus, quod adhuc aut auferebatur aut subripiebatur aut excidebat, collige et serva.
Greek original · Marcus Aurelius · Book 5, §1
Ὄρθρου, ὅταν δυσόκνως ἐξεγείρῃ, πρόχειρον ἔστω ὅτι ἐπὶ ἀνθρώπου ἔργον ἐγείρομαι
In the morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present,—I am rising to the work of a human being.
Lychnos (λύχνος) is the Greek clay oil lamp: Seneca reviewed his day once the light was out, and Epictetus, after his iron lamp was stolen, made do with one of clay
Morning and evening
In the evening, your reflection
Seneca's three questions, what went well, where you slipped, what to do better tomorrow, in writing or out loud, kept encrypted on your device
What's inside
The original a tap away
Every passage in Greek or Latin, from the critical editions, behind the Æ button
366 days, 12 themes
Time, what is up to us, judgments, the passions and more, one theme a month
Archive and calendar
The days you read and reflected on, your saved lines and what you wrote a year ago
Widgets
The line of the day and your last seven days on the home screen
Private sync
Your reflections on all your devices through your own iCloud or Google Drive, encrypted before they leave the device
Export and share
Your journal as PDF or Markdown, and any line as an image for the feed or stories
A quiet app
Private by design
- No account and no sign-up
- No servers of our own: your journal stays on your device, encrypted
- No ads, no analytics and no tracking in the app
- Your data only leaves the device when you turn on sync, export or share
The app does not use AI
Lychnos does not write, summarize or answer your reflections, and nothing you write is read by a model: the thinking is yours
Free to start, one purchase to keep everything
Free
- Today's line and the full passage
- Every day since you installed the app
- Morning and evening notifications
- 3 reflections a week, with no expiry
- The first 7 days with everything unlocked
Lychnos Complete
One-time purchase, no subscription
- All 366 days, past or future
- Unlimited written and spoken reflections
- Choose when the line arrives and when to reflect
- On this day, a year ago, and export as PDF or Markdown
- Private sync through your own iCloud or Google Drive
The price appears in the App Store and Google Play, in your currency
Questions
Do I need to know philosophy?
No, each day comes with a short reflection that explains the context and brings the passage to today's life
Where do the translations come from?
English uses the public-domain translations by George Long and Aubrey Stewart, and our own translation from the Latin for Seneca's letters; Portuguese and Spanish are our own translations from the Greek and Latin
Is Lychnos a therapy or health app?
No, Lychnos is a philosophy journal and does not replace medical or psychological advice; if you need emotional support, reach out to a health or support service in your country
Which languages does it speak?
English, Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish, following your device's language
When will it be available?
Soon, on the App Store for iPhone and iPad and on Google Play for Android, in the countries of the Americas