Seneca: Selected Letters

Elucidates the language, literary style and distinctive approach to the philosophy of Seneca's letters in their historical context.

Seneca (Author), Catharine Edwards (Edited by)

9780521460118, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 June 2019

354 pages
22.3 x 14.3 x 2 cm, 0.6 kg

The letters of Seneca are uniquely engaging among the works that have survived from antiquity. They offer an urgent guide to Stoic self-improvement but also cast light on Roman attitudes towards slavery, gladiatorial combat and suicide. This selection of letters conveys their range and variety, with a particular focus on letters from the earlier part of the collection. As well as a general introduction, it features a brief introductory essay on each letter, which draws out its themes and sets it in context. The commentary explains the more challenging aspects of Seneca's Latin. It also casts light on his engagement with Stoic (and Epicurean) ideas, on the historical context within which the letters were written and on their literary sophistication. This edition will be invaluable for undergraduate and graduate students and scholars of Seneca's moral and intellectual development.

Introduction: 1. Seneca's life and works
2. The Epistulae Morales and their addressee
3. Letters as a genre
4. Stoic terms and concepts
5. Stoic background
6. Other philosophical influences
7. Ethical focus and techniques of the self
8. Seneca and earlier Latin poetic authors
9. Senecan style
10. Clauslae in Seneca
11. Reception of the letters
12. The selection
13. The text
Epistulae Morales: Letter 1
Letter 7
Letter 12
Letter 18
Letter 21
Letter 24
Letter 33
Letter 34
Letter 46
Letter 47
Letter 53
Letter 64
Letter 70
Letter 86
Letter 90
Letter 114
Commentary.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB], Diaries, letters & journals [BJ]