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Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Latin for "Moral Letters to Lucilius"), also known as the Moral Epistles and Letters from a Stoic, is a letter collection of 124 letters that Seneca the Younger wrote at the end of his life, during his retirement, after he had worked for the Emperor Nero for more than ten years.
The information about Lucilius comes from Seneca's writings, especially his Moral Letters, which are addressed to Lucilius. Seneca also dedicated his Naturales Quaestiones and his essay De Providentia to Lucilius. Lucilius seems to have been a native of Campania, and Seneca refers repeatedly to "your beloved Pompeii." [1] At the time Seneca ...
It appears in an occupatio passage wherein Seneca imagines Lucilius's objections to his arguments. Non vitae sed scholae discimus ("We learn [such literature] not for life but for classtime") was thus already a complaint, the implication being that Lucilius would argue in favor of more practical education and that mastery of literature was ...
These neoclassicists adopted Seneca's innovation of the confidant (usually a servant), his substitution of speech for action, and his moral hairsplitting. The 1800s saw a period of general disparagement of Senecan drama, as criticism surrounding the violence and supposed monotony of the plays flourished. [ 21 ]
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.
As a Roman letter expressing ambivalence about slavery from the 1st century, it has been compared to the early Christian writing in Paul's Epistle to Philemon. [5] And Gregory of Nyssa in the 4th century condemns slavery outright, in rhetorical terms that may draw from Seneca, but that go beyond him.
Seneca was most likely motivated to write this letter of consolation to Marcia in order to gain her favor; Marcia was the daughter of a prominent historian, Aulus Cremutius Cordus, and her family's enormous wealth and influence most likely inspired Seneca to write this letter of consolation. Through the essay he sticks to philosophical ...
Seneca's Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium advise Lucilius Junior to meditate on death. [1] [26] Later, Epictetus was reported by his students in his Discourses to advise reminding oneself of the impermanent nature of things and the mortality of living beings. [27]