This book is the first modern commentary on the second book of Seneca's Epistulae Morales. It contains a substantial introduction and a text and translation of the nine letters that constitute the second book of the Epistulae Morales.

Senecas Briefe an seinen Freund Lucilius sind eine Einführung in die stoische Philosophie. Dabei strebt der Autor keine systematische Darstellung an; ihm geht es darum, Wege zur philosophischen Bewältigung konkreter Probleme des menschlichen Lebens aufzuzeigen. Themen wie Einsamkeit, Krankheit, der Tod berühren uns in gleicher Weise wie die Menschen vor 2000 Jahren. "Du entsinnst Dich doch noch, welche Freude Du empfandest, als Du die Toga des Knaben ab- und die des Mannes anlegtest und man Dich aufs Forum führte. Erwarte eine (...) noch größere, wenn Du knabenhaften Sinn ablegst und die Philosophie Dich unter die Männer aufnimmt.". (shrink)

Seneca, als gescheiterter Erzieher des Kaisers Nero berühmt geworden, stammte aus Cordoba. Seine Briefe an Lucilius sind eine Einführung in die Philosophie der Stoiker, deren Ideal es war, durch Gelassenheit und Seelenruhe weise zu werden. Seneca bietet keine systematische Darstellung, sondern zeigt Wege zur philosophischen Bewältigung konkreter Probleme des menschlichen Lebens: Wege zum wahren Glück. Die Briefe sind unmittelbar ansprechend, lebendig dialogisch geschrieben und heute noch aktuell. Band I ist 2007 erschienen.

The engagement with Epicurus in the Epistulae morales is a multifaceted literary device essential to the fabric of that epistolary Bildungsroman. It characterizes a Letter Writer “Seneca” and contributes to the dramatic structure of the Epistulae morales as an introduction not just to Stoicism, but to philosophy itself. The Letter Writer develops into a serious philosopher and progresses from naïve endorsement to a more sophisticated account of Stoic thought. He draws increasingly sharper distinctions between his own (...) views and Epicurean tenets. There are two layers of reception: While the Letter Writer might be blissfully unaware of a theoretical problem, the author L. Annaeus understood Epicurus well enough to know exactly what he was doing when he cunningly manipulated Epicurean tenets and expressions in order to unfold an intellectual drama. (shrink)

Argues that Seneca distinguishes two modes of philosophical learning understood as concept formation: fortifying accretion and critical weeding. Progress is achieved by alternating between the two modes. A reading of Epistula moralis 102 illustrates the two types of philosophical discourse Seneca employs for each of the two modes: dialectical argumentation and high-minded “big talk,” very often in a style alluding to and evocative of Plato.

Der Artikel analysiert Seneca, Epistulae morales ad Lucilium 116 didaktisch und stellt eine Unterrichtseinheit für die gymnasiale Oberstufe im Lateinunterricht vor. Beigefügt sind ein Tafelbild sowie Kopiervorlagen mit für den Unterricht aufbereitetem lateinischen Text und Arbeitsaufträgen für die Schüler.

In his 21 st Letter to Lucilius, Seneca tries to convince his student to retreat from public life by granting him the renown which Lucilius strives to achieve through political engagement in the field of philosophy instead: Three examples - Epicurus, Cicero and Vergil - illustrate that literary expressions of friendship, too, lead to lasting fame. Through this device, Seneca not only fashions himself as an author who has the literary power to exempt himself and his friend from oblivion; in (...) citing Vergil’s famous fortunati ambo, he also uses the background of the Nisus-and-Euralyus-episode to provoke intertextual tensions and highlight the urgency of his call to retreat from politics. (shrink)

In the philosophical perspective of the Roman Stoic philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca virtus was a central theme, and historically he is an important conveyor of the Platonic-Stoic doctrine of virtue---which posits four primary virtues, namely, prudentia, fortitudo, temperantia, and iustitia. ;Despite recent research in Senecan scholarship and contemporary interest in the doctrine of virtue, there has been no study which unites these two philosophically important areas of investigation. The purpose of the study is to investigate and analyze, from the standpoint (...) of current philosophical scholarship, Seneca's doctrine of virtue---with particular reference to the four "cardinal" virtues. The philosopher's position concerning each of the four is examined with regard to how he perceived: the nature of each, their relationship, and their unity. The inquiry is limited to a discussion of Seneca's philosophical writings, viz.: the 124 Epistulae Morales , the ten Dialogi, the De Beneficiis, the De Clementia, and the Naturales Quaestiones. Specifically, this dissertation argues that Seneca's philosophical works illuminate the traditional Stoic doctrine of the unity of the four major virtues in which wisdom is the underlying connection which bonds all primary virtues into the rare unity of perfect virtue . The dissertation explains that there exists in Seneca's thought a logical progression of the four primary virtues from wisdom, to courage, to moderation, and ultimately to justice, and it systematically presents the connection and reciprocal relationships which exist between each of the four mutually entailing virtues. An identification and analysis of Seneca's philosophic contributions to the subject of virtue is conducted by setting his views against the Platonic-Aristotelian and the Hellenistic, particularly Stoic, traditions which he inherited. Occasional reference is made to ways in which Seneca's doctrine of virtue compares with, and, in some cases, influences later philosophers. ;The first chapter examines the metaphysical foundations of Senecan virtue. The subsequent chapters consider Seneca's views concerning the virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice, respectively. The sixth chapter inquires into the teleological dimensions of Seneca's doctrine of virtue. The dissertation closes with recapitulations, conclusions, and implications for further research. (shrink)

1. Bd. Dialoge. De proidentia. De constantia sapiensis. De ira. (Liber 1/3) Ad Marciam de consolatione. Über d. Standhaftigkeit d. Weisen. Über d. Zorn. (Buch 1/3) Trostschrift an Marcia. Lat. Text v. A Bougery u. R. Waltz. --2. Bd. De vita beata. De otio. De tranquillitate animi. De brevitate vitae. Ad Polybium de consolatione. Über das glückliche Leben. Über die Musse. Über die Seelenruhe. Über die Kürze des Lebens. Trostschrift an Polybius. Trotschrift an die Mutter Helvia. Lat. Text v. A. (...) Bourgery und R. Waltz. --3. Bd. Ad Lucilium epistulae morales I-LXIX. An Lucilius Briefe über Ethik 1-69. Lat. Text von F. Préchac. -- 4. Bd. Ad Lucilium epistulae morales LXX-CXXIV, [CXXV]. An Lucilius Briefe über Ethik 70-124, [125]. Lat. Text von F. Préchac.--5. Bd. Über die Milde. Über die Wohltaten. Lat. Text von F. Préchac. (shrink)

In his exitus letter on the death of Corellius Rufus, Pliny attempts to present his dead friend with Stoic characteristics. Not only does Corellius follow the Stoic view on suicide in the case of an incurable disease, but also he is implicitly compared to the Stoic sapiens. This is greatly facilitated by allusions to Seneca’s Epistulae Morales, and in particular to epistle 85, where the sapiens is described and dolor is presented as indifferent to the pursuit of virtus. (...) These allusions allow Pliny to both praise Corellius and at the same time express his objections to the prose consolationes of his predecessors. (shrink)

Considers the paradox of demonstrative retreat from public life, as illustrated by scenes like Sen. Ep. 78.20f. and Epict. 3.22.23 with ailing philosophers almost scurrilously eager to display their heroism. Why would a philosopher want to withdraw and, at the same time, make a show of his withdrawal? How can this kind of exemplarity fulfill its therapeutic function? And how is this kind of communication, with one’s back turned to the audience, as it were, supposed to work? Tacitus’ narrative of (...) Thrasea Paetus’ end in the Annales (16.22ff.) is analyzed as illustrating this form of communication and compared with a similar communication strategy of Seneca’s Epistulae morales as a document of exemplary withdrawal. Concentric circles of audiences and interactors are layered around the role model, and he reader is pulled into the center of the circle, into direct contact with the exemplum. The way in which this happens determines the reader’s role in the story and thus the import the role model. (shrink)

It is undeniable that the form of Seneca'sEpistulae Moraleswe currently read is a work of literature, literature being here defined as a piece of work the author intended to publish. What Seneca claims inEp. 21.3–5 is clear evidence of this:exemplum Epicuri referam. cum Idomeneo scriberet et illum a uita speciosa ad fidelem stabilemque gloriam reuocaret, regiae tunc potentiae ministrum et magna tractantem, ‘si gloria’ inquit ‘tangeris, notiorem te epistulae meae facient quam omnia ista quae colis et propter quae coleris’. (...) […] quod Epicurus amico suo potuit promittere, hoc tibi promitto, Lucili: habebo apud posteros gratiam, possum mecum duratura nomina educere. (shrink)

The Weakness of Will in Anselm of Canterbury and his Sources. The article aims to retrace the sources for a theory of the weakness of will (incontinentia) in Anselm of Canterbury’s works. Paul of Tarsus, Augustine of Hippo and Lanfranc of Canterbury seem to be in the theological context the main Anselmian sources for what is defined as a modal theory of the weakness of will, founded on the crucial notion of rectitudo. This theory appears to be original compared to (...) both the theological traditions of the Latin West and the models of Greek philosophy (particularly with respect to the Aristotelian notion of akrasia in Nicomachean Ethics VII), while it is shown to be in debt to Seneca and his argument on the topic. The article demonstrates that the Epistulae morales ad Lucilium have several analogies with Anselmian ethics. (shrink)

All the extant letters of Seneca are addressed to a single correspondent, Lucilius. They are among the latest of his writings and are entirely taken up with the discussion of philosophical questions, principally to do with Ethics1—hence the title Epistulae Morales. The 115th letter could, one supposes, be taken to exemplify this particular kind of epistolary composition at its best. The objectof the following discussion is twofold: first by a detailed analysis of the letterit self to establish precisely (...) in what its distinctive literary excellence consists, and secondly by attending to its more representative qualities to form a clearer view of the genre to which it belongs. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:The Inner Citadel. The Meditations of Marcus AureliusJames KerPierre Hadot. The Inner Citadel. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Translated by Michael Chase. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998. Pp. xii + 351. Cloth, $45.00Marcus Aurelius has sometimes been viewed as a Stoic "half-way to Platonism," so overawed by the brevity of human life within the infinite procession of eternity that he "almost lost faith in his own existence" (J. (...) M. Rist). Hadot's book, however, in this excellent English translation (first published as La Citadelle Intérieure: Introduction aux "Pensées" de Marc Aurèle, Paris, 1992), argues not only that the Meditations are thoroughly Stoic in their doctrine, but that to call Marcus a Platonist (or a pessimist) is to misinterpret the techniques by which he seeks to live a Stoic life. For Hadot it is the teachings of the philosopher-slave Epictetus that explain the Meditations, and the bulk of the book is concerned with demonstrating that Marcus's writings are spiritual exercises by which the author seeks to instill in himself three basic Epictetan disciplines corresponding to the tripartite Stoic system of logic, physics, and ethics. Readers of Hadot's other works will already recognize his concern with the ancient conception of philosophy as a way of life [3]. This study aims to show how Marcus's self-therapy relates to specific elements of Stoic doctrine and to redefine our understanding of the Meditations as a literary work.The book begins by tracing Marcus's initiation into the philosophic life, with special emphasis on the role of statesman-philosopher Junius Rusticus, who introduced Marcus to the writings of his influential teacher, Epictetus. In Chapter Two Hadot approaches the text which we refer to as the Meditations and argues that they are better referred to as Marcus's "personal notes" (hypomnêmata): their characteristic features (discontinuity, repetition, self-address, and refined literary form) are due to their being the product of day-by-day exercises in which Marcus, focussed upon the definitiveness of the present moment, strove to keep the essential rules of life ever present in his mind. Marcus's constant repetition of familiar doctrine indicates that for him "the [End Page 116] essential thing was not to invent or to compose, but to influence himself and produce an effect upon himself" (244).Hadot is at pains in Chapter Three, however, to reveal that these exercises derive from the "highly rigorous conceptual system" which he calls "the true key to the Meditations," namely, a set of three dogmas that require (a) the regulation of judgment to assent only to what is objectively true; (b) the restriction of the desires to that which is in accordance with universal Nature and Destiny; and (c) the disciplining of one's impulse toward action to be just and altruistic, in agreement with one's human nature. According to Hadot, this systematic distinction between the disciplines of judgement, desire, and impulse, and the three dogmas on which they depend, is "a doctrine which is peculiar to Epictetus and which is not found in Stoicism prior to him" (70). Marcus, then, in organizing his spiritual exercises around these three disciplines, "was working with pre-existing materials" (52). Thus Chapter Five is dedicated entirely to explaining how the practical disciplines of judgment, desire, and impulse to action, which Hadot argues correspond respectively to logic, physics, and ethics, operate within "the Stoicism of Epictetus."There is a certain apparent tension generated by Hadot's argument concerning the Stoicism of Epictetus. Although he depicts him as a distinctive innovator, Hadot also states that Epictetus does not change the system of Zeno and Chrysippus but simply adds "color and tonality" (73)—a statement that allows him to classify both Epictetus and Marcus as authentic Stoics but thereby risks undermining his argument about Epictetus's distinctiveness. This real ambiguity could be explained by reference to the emphasis on originality in Stoicism, in which the embodiment of philosophy in each new Stoic establishes him as an independent authority. (As Seneca says to Lucilius, "Zeno said this. But what do you say?" Epistulae Morales 33.7.) Indeed Hadot illustrates how didactic procedures in particular were... (shrink)

Este trabajo se ocupa de algunas ideas éticas del filósofo latinoamericano Andrés Bello (1781-1865), en especial de su “teoría de los sentimientos morales”. En la polémica del siglo XIX entre el llamado racionalismo ético (representado por Théodore Jouffroy) y el utilitarismo (Bentham), Bello adopta una postura intermedia, que pudiera calificarse de “hedonismo moderado” o de “eudemonismo”. Sus puntos de vista sobre la motivación moral o la manera en que la razón y el sentimiento se entrelazan para formar nuestras creencias (...) morales, se revelan como muy próximos a las doctrinas de Aristóteles y de algunos autores contemporáneos. (shrink)

Challenges to Legal Theory offers the reader a fascinating journey though a variety of multi-disciplinary topics, ranging from law and literature, and law and religion, to legal philosophy and constitutional law. The collection reflects some of the challenges that the field of legal theory currently faces. It is compiled by a selection of international and Spanish scholars, whose essays are made available in English translation for the first time. The volume is based on a collection of essays, published in Spanish, (...) in honour of Professor José Iturmendi Morales, of Complutense University, Madrid, and brings the rich scholarship of pre-eminent Spanish scholars of law and legal theory to an international audience. (shrink)

Current frameworks on ethical decision-making process have some limitations. This paper argues that the consideration of moral competencies, understood as moral virtues in the workplace, can enhance our understanding of why moral character contributes to ethical decision-making. After discussing the universal nature of four moral competencies (prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance), we analyse their influence on the various stages of the ethical decision-making process. We conclude by considering the managerial implications of our findings and proposing further research.

La hipótesis del presente estudio es que las meditaciones morales de Descartes incluyen una doctrina de las pasiones del alma y una concepción de la vida, ambas intrínsecamente vinculadas. Nuestro propósito será entonces: Primero, mostrar que tras el análisis del corpus cartesiano es posible reconstruir aspectos centrales de su meditación moral: que su meditación moral incluye una doctrina innovadora de las pasiones. Segundo, mostraremos que para Descartes ethos y pathos están vinculados; que este vínculo se hace explícito en sus (...) ideas del conocimiento práctico, esto es, de una praxis que se identifica con el «ejercicio de la virtud» y del «vivre heureusement». Tercero, concluimos respondiendo a la pregunta ¿Dónde descansa la moralidad en Descartes? ¿Es para él un asunto de la pura razón? ¿Un asunto más allá de la pura razón? ¿Uno de conceptos, de juicios, de carácter, de educación, de acción y conocimiento práctico o uno de propiedades intrínsecas de las cosas o propiedades de los agentes humanos, o bien de una cierta conexión entre varios de estos? (shrink)

An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation Benthamas.