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86-496: Seneca 's main sources were Stoic. J. Fillion-Lahille has argued that the first book of the De Ira was inspired by the Stoic philosopher Chrysippus ' (3rd-century BC) treatise On Passions ( Peri Pathôn ), whereas the second and third drew mainly from a later Stoic philosopher, Posidonius (1st-century BC), who had also written a treatise On Passions and differed from Chrysippus in giving

172-594: A Latinized version (where "u" become "v", and "j" becomes "i") of his family surname , "Arouet, l[e] j[eune]" ("Arouet, the young"); it reversed the syllables of the name of the town his father came from, Airvault; and it has implications of speed and daring through similarity to French expressions such as voltige , volte-face and volatile . "Arouet" would not have served the purpose, given that name's associations with " roué " and with an expression that meant "for thrashing". The 19th-century French author Marie-Henri Beyle (1783–1842) used many pen names , most famously

258-514: A 13th-century hagiographical account of famous saints that was widely read, included an account of Seneca's death scene, and erroneously presented Nero as a witness to Seneca's suicide. Dante placed Seneca (alongside Cicero ) among the "great spirits" in the First Circle of Hell , or Limbo . Boccaccio , who in 1370 came across the works of Tacitus whilst browsing the library at Montecassino , wrote an account of Seneca's suicide hinting that it

344-401: A Stoic, Seneca believed the relationship of the passions to reason are that the passions arise in a rational mind as a result of a mis-perceiving or misunderstanding of reality. A passion is a defective belief ; they occur when the mind makes errors about the values of things. Seneca states that his therapy has two main aims: one is that we do not become angry (resisting anger), and the other

430-529: A basis for reform-minded education in Seneca's ideas she used to propose a mode of modern education that avoids both narrow traditionalism and total rejection of tradition. Elsewhere Seneca has been noted as the first great Western thinker on the complex nature and role of gratitude in human relationships. Seneca is a character in Monteverdi 's 1642 opera L'incoronazione di Poppea ( The Coronation of Poppea ), which

516-491: A bigger role to irrational aspects of the soul. However, more recent research has shown that this view of Posidonius' criticism of Chrysippus was mainly due to Galen 's (our main witness for Posidonius' and Chrysippus' now lost works) systematic distortion of their thinking, and that Posidonius' theory of emotions was actually substantially identical with that of Chrysippus. In consequence, although Seneca may have used both treatises by Chrysippus and Posidonius, his main inspiration

602-483: A codicil of his will, even when in the height of his wealth and power he was thinking of life's close." This may give the impression of a favorable portrait of Seneca, but Tacitus's treatment of him is at best ambivalent. Alongside Seneca's apparent fortitude in the face of death, for example, one can also view his actions as rather histrionic and performative; and when Tacitus tells us that he left his family an imago suae vitae ( Annales 15.62), "an image of his life", he

688-640: A combination of two personal names typically given by a Buddhist monk. There are no inherited family names; instead, Bhutanese differentiate themselves with nicknames or prefixes. In the Near East 's Arab world, the Syrian poet Ali Ahmad Said Esber (born 1930) at age 17 adopted the mononym pseudonym, Adunis , sometimes also spelled "Adonis". A perennial contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature, he has been described as

774-445: A fairly orthodox Stoic, albeit a free-minded one. His works discuss both ethical theory and practical advice, and Seneca stresses that both parts are distinct but interdependent. His Letters to Lucilius showcase Seneca's search for ethical perfection. Seneca regards philosophy as a balm for the wounds of life. The destructive passions, especially anger and grief, must be uprooted, or moderated according to reason. He discusses

860-411: A highly distorted, misconstrued view. Such is the view left to us of Seneca, if we were to rely upon Suillius alone." More recent work is changing the dominant perception of Seneca as a mere conduit for pre-existing ideas, showing originality in Seneca's contribution to the history of ideas . Examination of Seneca's life and thought in relation to contemporary education and to the psychology of emotions

946-523: A less than "Stoic" lifestyle. While banished to Corsica, he wrote a plea for restoration rather incompatible with his advocacy of a simple life and the acceptance of fate. In his Apocolocyntosis he ridiculed the behaviors and policies of Claudius, and flattered Nero—such as proclaiming that Nero would live longer and be wiser than the legendary Nestor . The claims of Publius Suillius Rufus that Seneca acquired some "three hundred million sesterces " through Nero's favor are highly partisan, but they reflect

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1032-522: A letter justifying the murder to the Senate. In AD 58 the senator Publius Suillius Rufus made a series of public attacks on Seneca. These attacks, reported by Tacitus and Cassius Dio , included charges that, in a mere four years of service to Nero, Seneca had acquired a vast personal fortune of three hundred million sestertii by charging high interest on loans throughout Italy and the provinces. Suillius' attacks included claims of sexual corruption, with

1118-647: A lifetime. In European and American histories, prominent Native Americans are usually mononymous, using a name that was frequently garbled and simplified in translation. For example, the Aztec emperor whose name was preserved in Nahuatl documents as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin was called "Montezuma" in subsequent histories. In current histories he is often named Moctezuma II , using the European custom of assigning regnal numbers to hereditary heads of state. Some French authors have shown

1204-495: A mock encomium , inverting the portrayal of Nero and Seneca that appears in Tacitus. In this work Cardano portrayed Seneca as a crook of the worst kind, an empty rhetorician who was only thinking to grab money and power, after having poisoned the mind of the young emperor. Cardano stated that Seneca well deserved death. Among the historians who have sought to reappraise Seneca is the scholar Anna Lydia Motto , who in 1966 argued that

1290-417: A monster. Cassius Dio relates a story that Caligula was so offended by Seneca's oratorical success in the Senate that he ordered him to commit suicide. Seneca survived only because he was seriously ill and Caligula was told that he would soon die anyway. Seneca explains his own survival as due to his patience and his devotion to his friends: "I wanted to avoid the impression that all I could do for loyalty

1376-533: A period of ill health that lasted up to ten years. In 31 AD he returned to Rome with his aunt, his uncle dying en route in a shipwreck. His aunt's influence helped Seneca be elected quaestor (probably after AD 37 ), which also earned him the right to sit in the Roman Senate . Seneca's early career as a senator seems to have been successful and he was praised for his oratory. In his writings Seneca has nothing good to say about Caligula and frequently depicts him as

1462-463: A preference for mononyms. In the 17th century, the dramatist and actor Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622–73) took the mononym stage name Molière. In the 18th century, François-Marie Arouet (1694–1778) adopted the mononym Voltaire , for both literary and personal use, in 1718 after his imprisonment in Paris' Bastille , to mark a break with his past. The new name combined several features. It was an anagram for

1548-427: A quick death. He also took poison, which was not fatal. After dictating his last words to a scribe, and with a circle of friends attending him in his home, he immersed himself in a warm bath, which he expected would speed blood flow and ease his pain. Tacitus wrote, "He was then carried into a bath, with the steam of which he was suffocated, and he was burnt without any of the usual funeral rites. So he had directed in

1634-464: A single name. Alulim , first king of Sumer , is one of the earliest names known; Narmer , an ancient Egyptian pharaoh , is another. In addition, Biblical names like Adam , Eve , Moses , or Abraham , were typically mononymous, as were names in the surrounding cultures of the Fertile Crescent . Ancient Greek names like Heracles , Homer , Plato , Socrates , and Aristotle , also follow

1720-410: A suggestion that Seneca had slept with Agrippina. Tacitus, though, reports that Suillius was highly prejudiced: he had been a favorite of Claudius, and had been an embezzler and informant. In response, Seneca brought a series of prosecutions for corruption against Suillius: half of his estate was confiscated and he was sent into exile. However, the attacks reflect a criticism of Seneca that was made at

1806-738: A tradition of single names. In modern times, in countries that have long been part of the East Asian cultural sphere (Japan, the Koreas, Vietnam, and China), mononyms are rare. An exception pertains to the Emperor of Japan . Mononyms are common in Indonesia , especially in Javanese names . Single names still also occur in Tibet . Most Afghans also have no surname. In Bhutan , most people use either only one name or

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1892-618: A tragedian, he is best known for plays such as his Medea , Thyestes , and Phaedra . Seneca had an immense influence on later generations—during the Renaissance he was "a sage admired and venerated as an oracle of moral, even of Christian edification; a master of literary style and a model [for] dramatic art." Seneca was born in Córdoba in the Roman province of Baetica in Hispania . His branch of

1978-484: A year before his father urged him to desist because the practice was associated with "some foreign rites". Seneca often had breathing difficulties throughout his life, probably asthma , and at some point in his mid-twenties ( c.  AD 20 ) he appears to have been struck down with tuberculosis . He was sent to Egypt to live with his aunt (the same aunt who had brought him to Rome), whose husband Gaius Galerius had become Prefect of Egypt . She nursed him through

2064-521: Is a powerful, albeit rather oppressive, force. Many scholars have thought, following the ideas of the 19th-century German scholar Friedrich Leo , that Seneca's tragedies were written for recitation only. Other scholars think that they were written for performance and that it is possible that actual performance took place in Seneca's lifetime. Ultimately, this issue cannot be resolved on the basis of our existing knowledge. The tragedies of Seneca have been successfully staged in modern times. The dating of

2150-458: Is also highly regarded, and was praised along with Phaedra by T. S. Eliot . Works attributed to Seneca include 12 philosophical essays, 124 letters dealing with moral issues, nine tragedies , and a satire , the attribution of which is disputed. His authorship of Hercules on Oeta has also been questioned. Fabulae crepidatae (tragedies with Greek subjects): Fabula praetexta (tragedy in Roman setting): Traditionally given in

2236-472: Is based on the pseudo-Senecan play, Octavia . Mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person . A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains common in modern societies such as in Afghanistan , Bhutan , Indonesia (especially by

2322-487: Is effectively divided into two parts. The first part (I–II.17) deals with theoretical questions, whereas the second part (II.18–III end) offers therapeutic advice. The first part begins with a preamble on the horrors of anger, followed by definitions of anger. It continues with questions such as whether anger is natural, whether it can be moderate, whether it is involuntary, and whether it can be erased altogether. The second part (Book II.18 onwards) begins with advice on how

2408-526: Is mainly limited to using him as a source of ethical maxims. Likewise Seneca shows some interest in Platonist metaphysics, but never with any clear commitment. His moral essays are based on Stoic doctrines. Stoicism was a popular philosophy in this period, and many upper-class Romans found in it a guiding ethical framework for political involvement. It was once popular to regard Seneca as being very eclectic in his Stoicism, but modern scholarship views him as

2494-567: Is now thought to be chrysippean. Seneca may also have known works written by the Peripatetic philosopher Theophrastus , whom he takes as philosophical adversary in the first book. Parallels have also been suggested with the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus , who had also written a work On Anger . The exact date of the writing of the work is unknown, apart from an earliest date ( terminum post quem ), deduced from repeated references by Seneca to

2580-582: Is one of male Roman aristocrats for whom anger was largely a part of everyday routine. The work survives due to being a part of the Codex Ambrosianus (no. 90) manuscript which dates from the 11th century. Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger ( / ˈ s ɛ n ɪ k ə / SEN -ik-ə ; c.  4 BC – AD 65), usually known mononymously as Seneca ,

2666-473: Is possibly being ambiguous: in Roman culture, the imago was a kind of mask that commemorated the great ancestors of noble families, but at the same time, it may also suggest duplicity, superficiality, and pretense. As "a major philosophical figure of the Roman Imperial Period ", Seneca's lasting contribution to philosophy has been to the school of Stoicism . His writing is highly accessible and

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2752-697: Is revealing the relevance of his thought. For example, Martha Nussbaum in her discussion of desire and emotion includes Seneca among the Stoics who offered important insights and perspectives on emotions and their role in our lives. Specifically devoting a chapter to his treatment of anger and its management, she shows Seneca's appreciation of the damaging role of uncontrolled anger, and its pathological connections. Nussbaum later extended her examination to Seneca's contribution to political philosophy showing considerable subtlety and richness in his thoughts about politics, education, and notions of global citizenship—and finding

2838-555: Is that we do no wrong when we are angry (restraining anger). Much of the advice is devoted to the first aim of preventing anger. Seneca does offer some practical advice on restraining anger (mostly in III.10–15) although after this he resumes his theme of preventing anger. For the Stoics anger was contrary to human nature, and vengeance considered an evil, which explains Seneca's emphasis on anger prevention. The fact that he offers advice on merely restraining anger shows an awareness that his audience

2924-440: Is there for a thing that's fundamentally wicked? –Seneca, De Ira , iii.42 De Ira is written within the context of Stoicism , which sought to guide people out of a life enslaved to the vices, to the freedom of a life characterised by virtue. This is achievable by the development of an understanding of how to control the passions (Greek: pathê ), anger being classified as a passion, and to make these subject to reason. As

3010-570: The Annaea gens consisted of Italic colonists, of Umbrian or Paelignian origins. His father was Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Elder , a Spanish-born Roman knight who had gained fame as a writer and teacher of rhetoric in Rome. Seneca's mother, Helvia, was from a prominent Baetician family. Seneca was the second of three brothers; the others were Lucius Annaeus Novatus (later known as Junius Gallio), and Annaeus Mela,

3096-712: The Javanese ), Myanmar , Mongolia , Tibet , and South India . In other cases, a person may select a single name from their polynym or adopt a mononym as a chosen name, pen name , stage name , or regnal name . A popular nickname may effectively become a mononym, in some cases adopted legally. For some historical figures, a mononym is the only name that is still known today. The word mononym comes from English mono- ("one", "single") and -onym ("name", "word"), ultimately from Greek mónos (μόνος, "single"), and ónoma (ὄνομα, "name"). The structure of persons' names has varied across time and geography. In some societies, individuals have been mononymous, receiving only

3182-503: The Pisonian conspiracy to assassinate Nero, of which he was probably innocent. His stoic and calm suicide has become the subject of numerous paintings. As a writer, Seneca is known for his philosophical works, and for his plays , which are all tragedies . His prose works include 12 essays and 124 letters dealing with moral issues. These writings constitute one of the most important bodies of primary material for ancient Stoicism . As

3268-572: The Renaissance , printed editions and translations of his works became common, including an edition by Erasmus and a commentary by John Calvin . John of Salisbury , Erasmus and others celebrated his works. French essayist Montaigne , who gave a spirited defense of Seneca and Plutarch in his Essays , was himself considered by Pasquier a "French Seneca". Similarly, Thomas Fuller praised Joseph Hall as "our English Seneca". Many who considered his ideas not particularly original still argued that he

3354-401: The 17th and 18th centuries, most Italian castrato singers used mononyms as stage names (e.g. Caffarelli , Farinelli ). The German writer, mining engineer, and philosopher Georg Friedrich Philipp Freiherr von Hardenberg (1772–1801) became famous as Novalis . The 18th-century Italian painter Bernardo Bellotto , who is now ranked as an important and original painter in his own right, traded on

3440-574: The 6th century Martin of Braga synthesized Seneca's thought into a couple of treatises that became popular in their own right. Otherwise, Seneca was mainly known through a large number of quotes and extracts in the florilegia , which were popular throughout the medieval period. When his writings were read in the later Middle Ages, it was mostly his Letters to Lucilius —the longer essays and plays being relatively unknown. Medieval writers and works continued to link him to Christianity because of his alleged association with Paul. The Golden Legend ,

3526-705: The Four Cardinal Virtues"). Early manuscripts preserve Martin's preface, where he makes it clear that this was his adaptation, but in later copies this was omitted, and the work was later thought fully Seneca's work. Seneca remains one of the few popular Roman philosophers from the period. He appears not only in Dante , but also in Chaucer and to a large degree in Petrarch , who adopted his style in his own essays and who quotes him more than any other authority except Virgil . In

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3612-451: The aftermath of the Pisonian conspiracy , a plot to kill Nero. Although it is unlikely that Seneca was part of the conspiracy, Nero ordered him to kill himself. Seneca followed tradition by severing several veins in order to bleed to death , and his wife Pompeia Paulina attempted to share his fate. Cassius Dio, who wished to emphasize the relentlessness of Nero, focused on how Seneca had attended to his last-minute letters, and how his death

3698-404: The avoidance of bad temper can be taught to both children and adults. This is followed by numerous snippets of advice on how anger can be forestalled or extinguished, and many anecdotes are given of examples to be imitated or avoided. The work concludes with a few tips on mollifying other people, followed by Seneca's summing-up. We shouldn't control anger, but destroy it entirely—for what "control"

3784-405: The cause of irresponsibility of the emperor. One by-product of his new position was that Seneca was appointed suffect consul in 56. Seneca's influence was said to have been especially strong in the first year. Seneca composed Nero's accession speeches in which he promised to restore proper legal procedure and authority to the Senate. He also composed the eulogy for Claudius that Nero delivered at

3870-609: The clan) – the nomen and cognomen were almost always hereditary. Mononyms in other ancient cultures include Hannibal , the Celtic queen Boudica , and the Numidian king Jugurtha . During the early Middle Ages , mononymity slowly declined, with northern and eastern Europe keeping the tradition longer than the south. The Dutch Renaissance scholar and theologian Erasmus is a late example of mononymity; though sometimes referred to as "Desiderius Erasmus" or "Erasmus of Rotterdam", he

3956-670: The emperor and his family have no surname, only a given name, such as Hirohito , which in practice in Japanese is rarely used: out of respect and as a measure of politeness, Japanese prefer to say "the Emperor" or "the Crown Prince". Roman Catholic popes have traditionally adopted a single, regnal name upon their election . John Paul I broke with this tradition – adopting a double name honoring his two predecessors – and his successor John Paul II followed suit, but Benedict XVI reverted to

4042-413: The episodic anger of Caligula , who died 24 January 41 AD. Seneca refers to his brother by his native name, Novatus , rather than his adoptive one, Gallio , which he bore by 52/53 AD, suggesting the work may date from the mid 40s AD. Book III begins with its own introduction on the horrors of anger, and can be read on its own, which has led to suggestions that it was devised either as a later appendix to

4128-410: The father of the poet Lucan . Miriam Griffin says in her biography of Seneca that "the evidence for Seneca's life before his exile in 41 is so slight, and the potential interest of these years, for social history, as well as for biography, is so great that few writers on Seneca have resisted the temptation to eke out knowledge with imagination." Griffin also infers from the ancient sources that Seneca

4214-420: The following order: Seneca's writings were well known in the later Roman period, and Quintilian , writing thirty years after Seneca's death, remarked on the popularity of his works amongst the youth. While he found much to admire, Quintillian criticized Seneca for what he regarded as a degenerate literary style—a criticism echoed by Aulus Gellius in the middle of the 2nd century. The early Christian Church

4300-401: The funeral. Seneca's satirical skit Apocolocyntosis , which lampoons the deification of Claudius and praises Nero, dates from the earliest period of Nero's reign. In AD 55, Seneca wrote On Clemency following Nero's murder of Britannicus , perhaps to assure the citizenry that the murder was the end, not the beginning of bloodshed. On Clemency is a work which, although it flatters Nero,

4386-510: The greatest living poet of the Arab world. In the West, mononymity, as well as its use by royals in conjunction with titles, has been primarily used or given to famous people such as prominent writers, artists , entertainers , musicians and athletes . The comedian and illusionist Teller , the silent half of the duo Penn & Teller , legally changed his original polynym, Raymond Joseph Teller, to

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4472-456: The imposition of Western-style names, one of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was for all provinces and territories to waive fees to allow Indigenous people to legally assume traditional names, including mononyms. In Ontario , for example, it is now legally possible to change to a single name or register one at birth, for members of Indigenous nations which have

4558-440: The infant son may have been from an earlier marriage, but the evidence is "tenuous". Seneca's other work of this period, his Consolation to Polybius , one of Claudius' freedmen, focused on consoling Polybius on the death of his brother. It is noted for its flattery of Claudius, and Seneca expresses his hope that the emperor will recall him from exile. In 49 AD Agrippina married her uncle Claudius, and through her influence Seneca

4644-535: The influence of Euripides on some of these works is considerable, so is the influence of Virgil and Ovid . Seneca's plays were widely read in medieval and Renaissance European universities and strongly influenced tragic drama in that time, such as Elizabethan England ( William Shakespeare and other playwrights), France ( Corneille and Racine ), and the Netherlands ( Joost van den Vondel ). English translations of Seneca's tragedies appeared in print in

4730-459: The mid-16th century, with all ten published collectively in 1581. He is regarded as the source and inspiration for what is known as "Revenge Tragedy", starting with Thomas Kyd 's The Spanish Tragedy and continuing well into the Jacobean era . Thyestes is considered Seneca's masterpiece, and has been described by scholar Dana Gioia as "one of the most influential plays ever written". Medea

4816-451: The mononym "Teller" and possesses a United States passport issued in that single name. While some have chosen their own mononym, others have mononyms chosen for them by the public. Oprah Winfrey , American talk show host, is usually referred to by only her first name, Oprah. Elvis Presley , American singer, is usually referred to by only his first name, Elvis. Western computer systems do not always support monynyms, most still requiring

4902-466: The mononym Stendhal, adapted from the name of the little Prussian town of Stendal , birthplace of the German art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann , whom Stendhal admired. Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, 1820–1910) was an early French photographer. In the 20th century, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873–1954, author of Gigi , 1945), used her actual surname as her mononym pen name, Colette. In

4988-640: The mononymous pseudonym Witkacy, a conflation of his surname ( Witkiewicz ) and middle name ( Ignacy ). Monarchs and other royalty , for example Napoleon , have traditionally availed themselves of the privilege of using a mononym, modified when necessary by an ordinal or epithet (e.g., Queen Elizabeth II or Charles the Great ). This is not always the case: King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has two names. While many European royals have formally sported long chains of names, in practice they have tended to use only one or two and not to use surnames . In Japan,

5074-533: The mononymous pseudonym of his uncle and teacher, Antonio Canal ( Canaletto ), in those countries—Poland and Germany—where his famous uncle was not active, calling himself likewise "Canaletto". Bellotto remains commonly known as "Canaletto" in those countries to this day. The 19th-century Dutch writer Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820–87), better known by his mononymous pen name Multatuli (from the Latin multa tuli , "I have suffered [or borne ] many things"), became famous for

5160-550: The name. A departure from this custom occurred, for example, among the Romans , who by the Republican period and throughout the Imperial period used multiple names : a male citizen's name comprised three parts (this was mostly typical of the upper class, while others would usually have only two names): praenomen (given name), nomen (clan name) and cognomen (family line within

5246-491: The negative image has been based almost entirely on Suillius's account, while many others who might have lauded him have been lost. "We are therefore left with no contemporary record of Seneca's life, save for the desperate opinion of Publius Suillius. Think of the barren image we should have of Socrates , had the works of Plato and Xenophon not come down to us and were we wholly dependent upon Aristophanes ' description of this Athenian philosopher. To be sure, we should have

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5332-459: The next eight years on the island of Corsica . Two of Seneca's earliest surviving works date from the period of his exile—both consolations . In his Consolation to Helvia , his mother, Seneca comforts her as a bereaved mother for losing her son to exile. Seneca incidentally mentions the death of his only son, a few weeks before his exile. Later in life Seneca was married to a woman younger than himself, Pompeia Paulina . It has been thought that

5418-447: The pattern, with epithets (similar to second names) only used subsequently by historians to distinguish between individuals with the same name, as in the case of Zeno the Stoic and Zeno of Elea ; likewise, patronymics or other biographic details (such as city of origin, or another place name or occupation the individual was associated with) were used to specify whom one was talking about, but these details were not considered part of

5504-405: The plays seem to represent the antithesis of Seneca's Stoic beliefs. Up to the 16th century it was normal to distinguish between Seneca the moral philosopher and Seneca the dramatist as two separate people. Scholars have tried to spot certain Stoic themes: it is the uncontrolled passions that generate madness, ruination, and self-destruction. This has a cosmic as well as an ethical aspect, and fate

5590-499: The reality that Seneca was both powerful and wealthy. Robin Campbell, a translator of Seneca's letters, writes that the "stock criticism of Seneca right down the centuries [has been]...the apparent contrast between his philosophical teachings and his practice." In 1562 Gerolamo Cardano wrote an apology praising Nero in his Encomium Neronis , printed in Basel. This was likely intended as

5676-655: The relative merits of the contemplative life and the active life, and he considers it important to confront one's own mortality and be able to face death. One must be willing to practice poverty and use wealth properly, and he writes about favours, clemency, the importance of friendship, and the need to benefit others. The universe is governed for the best by a rational providence, and this must be reconciled with acceptance of adversity. Ten plays are attributed to Seneca, of which most likely eight were written by him. The plays stand in stark contrast to his philosophical works. With their intense emotions, and grim overall tone,

5762-485: The satirical novel, Max Havelaar (1860), in which he denounced the abuses of colonialism in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia ). The 20th-century British author Hector Hugh Munro (1870–1916) became known by his pen name , Saki. In 20th-century Poland, the theater-of-the-absurd playwright , novelist, painter , photographer, and philosopher Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (1885–1939) after 1925 often used

5848-505: The standard education of high-born Romans. While still young he received philosophical training from Attalus the Stoic , and from Sotion and Papirius Fabianus , both of whom belonged to the short-lived School of the Sextii , which combined Stoicism with Pythagoreanism . Sotion persuaded Seneca when he was a young man (in his early twenties) to become a vegetarian , which he practiced for around

5934-529: The time and continued through later ages. Seneca was undoubtedly extremely rich: he had properties at Baiae and Nomentum , an Alban villa, and Egyptian estates. Cassius Dio even reports that the Boudica uprising in Britannia was caused by Seneca forcing large loans on the indigenous British aristocracy in the aftermath of Claudius's conquest of Britain , and then calling them in suddenly and aggressively. Seneca

6020-517: The tragedies is highly problematic in the absence of any ancient references. A parody of a lament from Hercules Furens appears in the Apocolocyntosis , which implies a date before AD 54 for that play. A relative chronology has been proposed on metrical grounds. The plays are not all based on the Greek pattern; they have a five-act form and differ in many respects from extant Attic drama , and while

6106-447: The use of a single name. Surnames were introduced in Turkey only after World War I , by the country's first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , as part of his Westernization and modernization programs. Some North American Indigenous people continue their nations' traditional naming practices, which may include the use of single names. In Canada , where government policy often included

6192-468: The work, or that it was a separate treatise in its own right. Ira is defined as anger, wrath, rage, ire, passion, indignation – primarily, to be angry. De Ira consists of three books. It is part of Seneca's series of Dialogi ( dialogues ). The essay is addressed to Seneca's elder brother, Lucius Annaeus Novatus . The work's first sentence reads: You have asked me Novatus to write on how anger can be mitigated Although split into three books, De Ira

6278-527: Was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome , a statesman, dramatist , and in one work, satirist , from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature . Seneca was born in Colonia Patricia Corduba in Hispania , and was trained in rhetoric and philosophy in Rome . His father was Seneca the Elder , his elder brother was Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus , and his nephew was the poet Lucan . In AD 41, Seneca

6364-643: Was a kind of disguised baptism, or a de facto baptism in spirit. Some, such as Albertino Mussato and Giovanni Colonna , went even further and concluded that Seneca must have been a Christian convert. Various other antique and medieval texts purport to be by Seneca, e.g. , De remediis fortuitorum , but with unconfirmed authorship, they have sometimes been referred-to as "Pseudo-Seneca". At least some of these seem to preserve and adapt genuine Senecan content, for example, Saint Martin of Braga 's (d. c. 580) Formula vitae honestae , or De differentiis quatuor virtutum vitae honestae ("Rules for an Honest Life", or "On

6450-408: Was born in either 8, 4, or 1 BC. She thinks he was born between 4 and 1 BC and was resident in Rome by AD 5. Seneca is said to have been taken to Rome in the "arms" of his aunt (his mother's stepsister) at a young age, probably when he was about five years old. His father resided for much of his life in the city. Seneca was taught the usual subjects of literature, grammar, and rhetoric, as part of

6536-513: Was christened only as "Erasmus", after the martyr Erasmus of Formiae . Composers in the ars nova and ars subtilior styles of late medieval music were often known mononymously—potentially because their names were sobriquets —such as Borlet , Egardus , Egidius , Grimace , Solage , and Trebor . Naming practices of indigenous peoples of the Americas are highly variable, with one individual often bearing more than one name over

6622-422: Was die." In AD 41, Claudius became emperor, and Seneca was accused by the new empress Messalina of adultery with Julia Livilla , sister to Caligula and Agrippina . The affair has been doubted by some historians, since Messalina had clear political motives for getting rid of Julia Livilla and her supporters. The Senate pronounced a death sentence on Seneca, which Claudius commuted to exile, and Seneca spent

6708-449: Was exiled to the island of Corsica under emperor Claudius , but was allowed to return in 49 to become a tutor to Nero . When Nero became emperor in 54, Seneca became his advisor and, together with the praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus , provided competent government for the first five years of Nero's reign. Seneca's influence over Nero declined with time, and in 65 Seneca was forced to take his own life for alleged complicity in

6794-495: Was hastened by soldiers. A generation after the Julio-Claudian emperors, Tacitus wrote an account of the suicide, which, in view of his republican sympathies, is perhaps somewhat romanticized. According to this account, Nero ordered Seneca's wife saved. Her wounds were bound up and she made no further attempt to kill herself. As for Seneca himself, his age and diet were blamed for slow loss of blood and extended pain rather than

6880-407: Was important in making the Greek philosophers presentable and intelligible. His suicide has also been a popular subject in art, from Jacques-Louis David 's 1773 painting The Death of Seneca to the 1951 film Quo Vadis . Even with the admiration of an earlier group of intellectual stalwarts, Seneca has never been without his detractors. In his own time, he was accused of hypocrisy or, at least,

6966-404: Was increasingly absent from the court. He adopted a quiet lifestyle on his country estates, concentrating on his studies and seldom visiting Rome. It was during these final few years that he composed two of his greatest works: Naturales quaestiones —an encyclopedia of the natural world; and his Letters to Lucilius —which document his philosophical thoughts. In AD 65, Seneca was caught up in

7052-410: Was intended to show the correct (Stoic) path of virtue for a ruler. Tacitus and Dio suggest that Nero's early rule, during which he listened to Seneca and Burrus, was quite competent. However, the ancient sources suggest that, over time, Seneca and Burrus lost their influence over the emperor. In 59 they had reluctantly agreed to Agrippina's murder, and afterward Tacitus reports that Seneca had to write

7138-456: Was recalled to Rome. Agrippina gained the praetorship for Seneca and appointed him tutor to her son, the future emperor Nero . From AD 54 to 62, Seneca acted as Nero's advisor, together with the praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus . Early in Nero's reign, his mother Agrippina exercised his authority to make decisions. Seneca and Burrus opposed this authoritarian matriarchy which had become

7224-624: Was sensitive to such accusations: his De Vita Beata ("On the Happy Life") dates from around this time and includes a defense of wealth along Stoic lines, arguing that properly gaining and spending wealth is appropriate behavior for a philosopher. After Burrus's death in 62, Seneca's influence declined rapidly; as Tacitus puts it (Ann. 14.52.1), mors Burri infregit Senecae potentiam ("the death of Burrus broke Seneca's power"). Tacitus reports that Seneca tried to retire twice, in 62 and AD 64, but Nero refused him on both occasions. Nevertheless, Seneca

7310-586: Was the subject of attention from the Renaissance onwards by writers such as Michel de Montaigne . Seneca wrote a number of books on Stoicism, mostly on ethics, with one work ( Naturales Quaestiones ) on the physical world. Seneca built on the writings of many of the earlier Stoics: he often mentions Zeno , Cleanthes , and Chrysippus ; and frequently cites Posidonius , with whom Seneca shared an interest in natural phenomena. He frequently quotes Epicurus , especially in his Letters . His interest in Epicurus

7396-534: Was very favourably disposed towards Seneca and his writings, and the church leader Tertullian possessively referred to him as "our Seneca". By the 4th century an apocryphal correspondence with Paul the Apostle had been created linking Seneca into the Christian tradition. The letters are mentioned by Jerome who also included Seneca among a list of Christian writers, and Seneca is similarly mentioned by Augustine . In

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