Seneca’s Letters to
Lucilius are the ripest work of this author, the most perfect mirror of
his rich mind, his experiences of life and his deep knowledge of men,
his resolute struggle for moral sincerity and inner freedom.
The collection of 124 „Letters to Lucilius“ starts in a
subtle didactic leadership from the ‚minor virtues’, for
example friendship, modesty, social togetherness and private humanity
– one letter became famous because of Seneca’s plea for
human treatment of the slaves, who are said by him to be humans,
not machines. Then follow more extensive
letters, about the art of dying and the merits of education and
demerits of philological pedantry; whatever has no relationship to the
conduct of life, is a harmful waste of time. At the end of the
collection stand the letters expanding to essays on questions of
hellenistic philosophy, e.g. the cardinal virtues, the true rhetoric
and poetry, and the Stoic definition of good.
Seneca is one of the greatest masters of Latin language. Continuous
self-observation enabled him to express the
slightest emotions of inner life by subtle distinctions. His style is
rich with figures and metaphors, brilliant, not seldom satirical,
sometimes even to the point of wounding sarcasm. His sense of humor
often appears in the lovely form of
self-mocking. His contemporaries admired him, above all, as a writer,
the Church Fathers and the medieval readers, as a moralist.
Seneca’s philosophical letters rank as one of the best works of
Roman literature in general, whoever appreciates excellent Latin
phrasing, here can find what he seeks. Again and again the reader
encounters phrases which can be taken out from the text as brilliant
and timeless aphorisms. No wonder, that there seems no end to
publishing Seneca anthologies which are recently very fashionable, e.g.
one can find titles like „Seneca for Manager“,
„Seneca’s ways to inner freedom“, „Seneca for
Distressed Persons“, „Seneca for Contemporaries“.
Rome, one says, has borne only two philosophers. Cicero brought
philosophy to the Romans, Seneca raised Roman philosophy to life. The
influence of both authors on the development of the western mind
is
immeasurable.
First book: SEN.epist.I
Letter
1: Seneca
begins his collection with a demand to Lucilius: Set yourself free for
your own sake! His friend and disciple should free himself
from
unimportant businesses in order to gain time for philosophy. The time,
says he, is the only one true possession of a human, and just that he
handles thoughtlessly. Every day brings one nearer to death, so Seneca
means the whole life is dieing. Therefore one should to be sparing with
time, every day without philosophy is a lost day. – Letter 2: If you are reading, Seneca means, you should
know: Not many, but much! Lucilius
shouldn’t read indiscriminately, but should restrict himself to
the best authors, and read them often. – Letter 3: How
should one choose friends, and what may one entrust to them? Seneca
advices: First test them , first be cautious and distrustful, then
trust them, not vice versa. Nobody can be a true friend, to whom you
cannot entrust everything. – Letter 4: How can I achieve
calmness, how can I live without fear? Seneca’s answer: by not
over-esteeming the importance of your life. – Letter 5: To philosophize is not to be unworldly. The
philosopher shouldn’t become alienated from his neighbours by his
appearance and his manners. He should win other people for philosophy,
not to deter from it. – Letter 6:
One can learn philosophy more by examples than by instructions. The
great philosophers all have had more effect by their personality, by
their exemplary life than by their teaching. Beside of that, Lucilius
should not only learn from Seneca, he should also help him to get
knowledges: they should one annother lead to philosophical
recognitions. – letter 7: „Flee the crowd!“
Seneca describes very insistently the mood of spectators during a
gladiator’s contest. The nerves of most modern spectators would
not stand the sight of such games. It is really shocking by which
cheers the public spurred the gladiators: "Kill him! Lash him! Burn
him! Why does he meet the sword so timidly? Why doesn't he kill boldly?
Why doesn't he die game?“ - The
discussions about the brutalization of modern sports and the dangers of
violence in the modern mass media show that Seneca’s thoughts in
this regard are timeless and of topical interest. He, anyway,
didn’t doubt that violent shows are harmful: „I have
experienced a gladiator’s contest...So I returned more cruel and
more inhuman“. – Letter 8:
The eigth letter explains that the secluded, all superfluous renouncing
life of the philosopher is the only true life. „Believe me, (the
philosopher) seems to do nothing, but he does higher things: he carries
on the matter of both the gods and the humans“, - and he cites
Epicurus – he had no philosophical arch enemies, provided that
they taught well: „You must be of service to philosophy in order
to get the true freedom“. – Letter 9: Does the wise
man need friends, asks Lucilius his teacher. The wise man, Seneca
answers, enjoys friendship, he seeks it, but he can abstain from it, if
he has lost it by fate. The true and only values cannot be taken from
him: his virtues. – Letter 10:
The unexperienced men should not be leaved alone with their thoughts.
But Lucilius is an advanced student, he may philosophize lonely.
– Letter 11: No human can
overcome the nature, even the wise man can’t do that. Seneca
demonstrates that by the example of blushing because of shyness and
embarrassment. The changing of face colour cannot be controlled by the
will, neither it can be effected nor prevented.- Letter 12: The
burden of old age. A humorous transition to the subject: Seneca visits
his country house, notices some damages on the building and the trees,
sees a very weak slave unable to work, first reproaches the manager of
his estate of being negligent, until he realizes that the cause of all
the observed damages is the age of his country house, of the trees and
of the slave. The country house got old with Seneca himself, he gets
conscious of his own age by considering the house. Seneca describes
humorously his own helplessness and lack of
understanding. Then he advises Lucilius to
win from the age some positive aspects, even, to like it, because it
can make the humans calmer. Every evening an old man should be happy
about the past day as about a gain, and to see coming the next day
intrepidly. –
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