Hardship and Happiness

349 Pages·2013·0.98 MB·English

Hardship and Happiness
the complete works of lucius annaeus seneca
Edited by Elizabeth Asmis, Shadi Bartsch, and Martha C. Nussbaum
Seneca
Hardship and Happiness
translations by
elaine fantham,
harry m. hine,
james ker, and
gareth d. williams
Th e University of Chicago Press chicago and london
elaine fantham was the Giger Professor of Latin at
Princeton University from 1986 to 1999. She has written
many books and commentaries on Latin literature, including
Seneca’s Troades. harry m. hine is honorary professor
in the School of Classics at the University of St Andrews in
Scotland and the translator of Seneca’s Natural Questions, also
in the series. james ker is associate professor of classical
studies at the University of Pennsylvania and the editor of A
Seneca Reader: Selections from Prose and Tragedy. gareth d.
williams is the Violin Family Professor of Classics
at Columbia University and the author of many books,
including Th e Cosmic Viewpoint: A Study of Seneca’s “Natural
Questions.”
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2014 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2014.
Printed in the United States of America
23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 1 2 3 4 5
isbn-13: 978-0-226-74832-0 (cloth)
isbn-13: 978-0-226-10835-3 (e-book)
doi: 10.7208/9780226108353.001.0001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, approximately 4 b.c.–65 a.d., author.
[Works. Selections. English. 2014]
Hardship and happiness / Seneca ; translations by
Elaine Fantham, Harry M. Hine, James Ker, and
Gareth D. Williams.
pages cm. — (Complete works of Lucius
Annaeus Seneca)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-226-74832-0 (hardcover : alkaline paper) —
isbn 978-0-226-10835-3 (e-book) 1. Conduct of life—
Early works to 1800. 2. Happiness—Early works to 1800.
I. Title. II. Series: Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, approximately
4 b.c.–65 a.d. Works. English. 2010.
b615.e5 2014
188—dc23
2013020404
This paper meets the requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–
1992 (Permanence of Paper).
Contents
Seneca and His World / ix
Note on Essays and Their Sequence / xxix
Consolation to Marcia
translated by harry m. hine
Translator’s Introduction / 3
Consolation to Marcia / 6
Notes / 37
Consolation to Helvia
translated by gareth d. williams
Translator’s Introduction / 45
Consolation to Helvia / 48
Notes / 73
Consolation to Polybius
translated by harry m. hine
Translator’s Introduction / 79
Consolation to Polybius / 81
Notes / 101
On the Shortness of Life
translated by gareth d. williams
Translator’s Introduction / 107
On the Shortness of Life / 110
Notes / 135
On the Constancy of the Wise Person
translated by james ker
vi
Translator’s Introduction / 143
On the Constancy of the Wise Person / 149
Notes / 169
References / 173
On Tranquility of Mind
translated by elaine fantham
Translator’s Introduction / 177
On Tranquility of Mind / 182
Notes / 209
Bibliography / 215
On Leisure
translated by gareth d. williams
Translator’s Introduction / 219
On Leisure / 222
Notes / 231
On the Happy Life
translated by james ker
Translator’s Introduction / 235
On the Happy Life / 240
Notes / 267
References / 272
On Providence
translated by james ker
vii
Translator’s Introduction / 277
On Providence / 282
Notes / 299
References / 303
Index / 305

Seneca and His World
elizabeth asmis, shadi bartsch, and martha c. nussbaum ix
Seneca once remarked of Socrates that it was his death by hem-
lock that made him great (Letter 13.14). With reason: Socrates’ death
demonstrated the steadfastness of his philosophical principles and
his belief that death off ered nothing to fear. When Seneca himself,
then, was ordered to commit suicide by Nero in 65 ce, we might well
believe Tacitus’s account in his Annals (15.63) that the Roman Stoic
modeled his death on that of Socrates, discoursing calmly about phi-
losophy with his friends as the blood drained out of his veins. In
Tacitus’s depiction we see, for once, a much-criticized fi gure living
up to the principles he preached.
Seneca’s life was mired in political advancement and disappoint-
ment, shaped by the eff ects of exile and return, and compromised
by his relationship with the emperor Nero—fi rst his pupil, then his
advisee, and fi nally his murderer. But his many writings say little
about his political career and almost nothing about his relationship
with Nero except for what can be gleaned from his essay On Clem-
ency, leaving us to turn to later sources for information—Tacitus,
Suetonius, and Dio Cassius in particular. We know that Seneca was
born to a prominent equestrian family in Corduba, Spain, some time
between 4 and 1 bce. He was the second of three sons of Helvia and
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (the youngest son, Annaeus Mela, was the
father of the poet Lucan). The elder Seneca had spent much of his
life in Rome, and Seneca himself was brought to Rome as a young
boy. There he was educated in rhetoric and later became a student of
the philosopher Sextius. But his entry into political life was delayed,
and when he did enter upon the cursus honorum late in Tiberius’s
reign, his ill health (he had asthma and possibly tuberculosis) was
a source of diffi culty. In any case his career was cut short. He sur-
vived Caligula’s hostility, which the sources tell us was thanks to his
talents in oratory, but was sent into exile on Corsica by Claudius
shortly after Caligula’s death in 41 ce. The charge, almost certainly
false, was adultery with Caligula’s younger sister, Julia Livilla. Seneca
spent his time in exile in philosophical and natural study and wrote