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Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (/ ˈ s ɛ n ɪ k ə / SEN-ik-ə; c. 4 BC – AD 65), [1] usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature.
Seneca's De Clementia is an instructional contrast between the good ruler and the tyrant, and an evaluation of the relationship between ruler and subject. A survey of history is made in the first volume to select different rulers to point out as examples, including Dionysius of Syracuse and Sulla being used as cautionary tales and young Augustus as the exemplar.
The work cannot be precisely dated, but since it is addressed to Lucilius, who is the addressee of some of Seneca's final works including his Letters, and since the essay has similarities to letters 106, 108, and 109 then the work is usually considered a late one dating to around 64 AD.
Seneca mentioned the poet Ovid as being a star declaimer; the works of the satirists Martial and Juvenal and the historian Tacitus reveal substantial declamatory influence. [9] Seneca's work here, however, is neither a collection of his own declamations nor fair copies of those delivered by other declaimers; it is an anthology.
De Beneficiis (English: On Benefits) is a first-century work by Seneca the Younger.It forms part of a series of moral essays (or "Dialogues") composed by Seneca. De Beneficiis concerns the award and reception of gifts and favours within society, and examines the complex nature and role of gratitude within the context of Stoic ethics.
De Vita Beata ("On the Happy Life") is a dialogue written by Seneca the Younger around the year 58 AD. It was intended for his older brother Gallio, to whom Seneca also dedicated his dialogue entitled De Ira ("On Anger"). It is divided into 28 chapters that present the moral thoughts of Seneca at their most mature.
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Seneca compares those who have a lot and do not know how to enjoy it to a person who owns a large library of books for mere display (chapter 9). In chapter 11, Seneca introduces the figure of the Stoic sage, whose peace of mind ( ataraxia ) springs directly from a greater understanding of the world.