anger

body

courage

criticism

critique

death

fortune

friendship

greed

habit

health

leisure

night

patriotism

pleasure

retirement

suicide

time

virtue

nationality

Roman

occupation / innovator as

philosopher

rhetorician

innovator in the field of

philosophy

poet

playwright

Ancient Roman senator

aphorist

intellectual movement

stoicism

politician

race / ethnicity

Ancient Romans

ethics

statesperson

political philosophy

cause of death

forced suicide

Letters from a Stoic

is not concerned that the judgement it gives be just... only that it seems to be just.

Reason wishes that the judgement it gives be just... anger wishes that the judgement it has given seem to be just.Seneca the Younger

is limited by pity, and were it not there to limit it, the entire world would perish.

The entire world would perish, if pity were not to limit anger.Seneca the Younger

, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.

Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.Seneca the Younger

Hesitation is the best cure for anger. The first blows of anger are heavy, but if it waits, it will think again.Seneca the Younger

Plato described [the body] as 'the prison-house of the soul', Seneca spoke of 'thedetestable habitation of the body', while Epictetus described himself as 'a poor soulshackled to a corpse' and Porphyry, in his panegyric life of his master wrote of him :'Piotinus, Porphyry, in his panegyric life of his master wrote of him: 'Piotinus, ourcontemporary philosopher, seemed ashamed to be in the body'' (Bottomley 1979, 157).

is all that is vulnerable about me. The goal is therefore to minimize the role of the body and to enhance the soul so as to render oneself tranquil in the face of fortune.

The account of the importance of fortuna also helps us to understand Seneca's denigration of the body and his critique of physical pleasure. The body is, like fame, subject to the ravages of time and the vicissitudes of fortune. Although there are certain salutary exercises that we might perform or habits we might develop, ultimately health and a strong body do not lie within our sphere of control. To Seneca, the body is the part of human beings that is at the mercy of fortune: 'For that body is all that is vulnerable about me: within this dwelling so liable to injury there lives a spirit that is free' (123). He does not forbid or dissuade his addressee, Lucilius, from partaking in physical exercise, but he exhorts him with a frequently used illness metaphor to cultivate his soul first and foremost: 'Without wisdom the mind is sick, and the body itself, however physically powerful, can only have the kind of strength that is found in persons in a demented or delirious state. So this is the sort of healthiness you must make your principal concern. You must attend to the other sort as well, but see that it takes second place' (60). Thus, the body must be taken care of for the sake of health but nothing else. Seneca enjoins his novice, 'Indulge the body just so far as suffices for good health' (45). Since the body is a potential victim of the changes of fortune, it is, for Seneca, pointless to try to cultivate it like the soul. Like Plato (Phaedo 82e), he goes so far as to speak of the body as a place in which the soul is held captive (122). The goal, then, is to minimize the role of the body and to enhance the soul so as to render oneself tranquil in the face of fortune. It is to the soul that we must dedicate our most resolved efforts: 'Reflect that nothing merits admiration except the spirit' (46). Seneca's account of the body once again puts him at odds with both contemporary public sentiment and long-standing Roman tradition. Physical strength and beauty were cardinal values for both the Greeks and the Romans, as evidenced by some of their most outstanding achievements in the plastic arts. The famous Roman copy of the Discobolus or discus thrower by the Greek sculptor Myron clearly demonstrates the Romans' adulation of an idealized human body that incarnates strength, agility, balance and elegance all in one. In addition, a condition for many of the priesthoods and religious offices was that the candidates be free of bodily infirmities or defects, the most obvious case being the strict regulations governing the Vestal Virgins (Morgan). In their historical and biographical writings, both Suetonius and the writers of the Augustan History were careful to give detailed accounts of the physiognomy of the emperors and other pretenders to the throne. Rome's great heroes are virtually always portrayed as vigorous men with great strength, and it is not by accident that the same man often incarnated both civic and military prowess. Virgil's Aeneas is a paradigm case. In Book IV of the Aeneid, Dido is captivated by Aeneas not only because of Juno's spell but also because of his 'strong. . . chest and arms' (81). As he approaches the hunt just prior to the improvident meeting in the cave, Aeneas is expressly described as 'handsome past all others' (86). Many martial virtues on which the Romans prided themselves depended on this corporeal fitness-running quickly, hurling weapons, wrestling with an opponent, etc. Once again, almost all of Livy's heroes from early Roman history were known for these sorts of virtues, and the later heroes, such as Caesar and Augustus, did not deviate from this model. The Romans in Seneca's time had developed a cult of the body, so to speak, and thus his criticism of physical exercise and the body runs entirely against the grain of an old and revered Roman system of values.

is not a home but an inn, and that only briefly.

not a home but an inn, and that only briefly.

is more important than learning: But the one does not come without the other.

I will say no more, Lucilius, my excellent friend, about the causes themselves of earthquakes: now I address those matters that pertain to reassuring our minds, for it is more important for us to have courage than learning... but the one does not come about without the other. (Seneca 'dialogues' 'on earthquakes' : 245)

 should not omit those views of which one disapproves. They should suffer condemnation rather than my neglect.

Because we have a duty, let us listen to Metrodorus of Chios* stating his preference in advancing his own opinion. For I do not allow myself to omit even those views of which I disapprove, since it is better that there should be a full range of all theories and that the ones I disapprove of should suffer my condemnation rather than my neglect. (Seneca 'dialogues' 236)

is the duty to not omit those views of which we disapprove, but make them suffer condemnation rather than neglect.

is afraid of it will never play the part of a live man.

A man afraid of death will never play the part of a live man.

is an escape hatch always at our disposal. 'I have made nothing easier than dying. There is always a way to not detain you against your will '.

Above all I have taken care that no one may detain you against your will... the way out lies open: if you do not wish to fight, you may run away. That is why, out of all the things I judged necessary for you, I have made nothing easier than dying. I placed life on a downward slope: if it is prolonged, only observe and you will see how short, how easy is the path that leads to freedom. (Seneca 'dialogues' 17)

is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all.

Death is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all. Lucius Annaeus Seneca

is good fortune when it consist in not needing good fortune.

Inside I have given you every good... your good fortune consist in not needing good fortune. (Seneca 'dialogues' 16)

's beauty is in understanding and being understood.

One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood. Lucius Annaeus Seneca

is one for whom all of nature is too little.

For greed all nature is too little. Lucius Annaeus Seneca

is difficult to break. The mind unlearns with difficulty what it has long learned.

The mind unlearns with difficulty what it has long learned. (Seneca)

is the soul that animates all the enjoyments of life, which fade and are tasteless without it.

Health is the soul that animates all the enjoyments of life, which fade and are tasteless without it. Lucius Annaeus Seneca

is necessary in that the mind must have relaxation, and will rise stronger and keener after recreation.

The intellect must not be kept at consistent tension, but diverted by pastimes.... The mind must have relaxation, and will rise stronger and keener after recreation.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Authors(0)

Books (0)

Books (0)

Lucius Annaeus SenecaThinkers

Books (0)

Lucius Annaeus Seneca