Yet this virtue of magnanimity occupies a wider room in prosperity, and shows to greater advantage on the judgment seat than on the floor of the court. It may be copyrighted outside the U.S. (see Help:Public domain). 2020-11-27 Proofreading a stoic: Seneca's On the Tranquility of the Mind On the Tranquility of the Mind by Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Seneca's Morals of a Happy Life, Benefits, Anger and Clemency Lucius Annaeus Seneca 515 downloads; L. Annaeus Seneca on Benefits Lucius Annaeus Seneca 255 downloads; Apocolocyntosis Lucius Annaeus Seneca 215 downloads; The Tragedies of Seneca Lucius Annaeus Seneca 146 downloads; Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca Lucius Annaeus Seneca ⦠But these matters will be treated of better in their own place. A bad man will not long be obedient, and will not do only as much evil as he is ordered. Cinna made the emperor his sole heir, and no one ever again formed any plot against him. Fundamentally, Calvin at this point in his career is acting as a humanist and not a Protestant reformer. [8] Although always regarded as a minor work of Seneca's, it received one significant appraisal in 1532 when John Calvin published his commentary on it. I am a figure set up for nobly-born youths to sharpen their swords on. See Merivale, ch, 33. How greatly he ought to be pitied: I mean, by himself, for it would be impious for others to pity a man who has made use of his power to murder and ravage, who has rendered himself mistrusted by everyone at home and abroad, who fears the very soldiers to whom he flees for safety, who dare not rely upon the loyalty of his friends or the affection of his children: who, whenever he considers what he has done, and what he is about to do, and calls to mind all the crimes and torturings with which his conscience is burdened, must often fear death, and yet must often wish for it, for he must be even more hateful to himself than he is to his subjects. To save men's lives is the privilege of the loftiest station, which never deserves admiration so much as when it is able to act like the gods, by whose kindness good and bad men alike are brought into the world. Would not he, who constantly punished his children by beating them for the most trifling faults, be thought the worst of fathers? A good king establishes a good standard of morals for his kingdom and drives away vices if he is long-suffering with them, not that he should seem to encourage them, but to be very unwilling and to suffer much when he is forced to chastise them. See Plutarch, Lives of Philopoemen and Aratus, Plato, Gorgias and Politicus; Arnold, "Appendix to Thucydides," vol. As well-bred and high-spirited horses are best managed with a loose rein, so mercy gives men's minds a spontaneous bias towards innocence, and the public think that it is worth observing. It is easier to find excuses for private men who obstinately claim their rights; possibly they may have been injured, and their rage may spring from their wrongs; besides this, they fear to be despised, and not to return the injuries which they have received looks like weakness rather than clemency; but one who can easily avenge himself, if he neglects to do so, is certain to gain praise for goodness of heart. Besides this, you will find that sins which are frequently punished are frequently committed. The motive for which Seneca wrote the essay was to instruct the young emperor Nero on how the consummate ruler ought to govern. Seneca $21.63. Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BCEâ65 CE) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, dramatist, statesman, and adviser to the emperor Nero, all during the Silver Age of Latin literature. "[16] We can already begin to see the anticipation of Calvin's full development in his writing method and can expect the transformation of Calvin's classical learning and the seriousness of the Stoic ethic into Christian faith. Such was Augustus when an old man, or when growing old: in his youth he was hasty and passionate, and did many things upon which he looked back with regret. What can be more glorious than a life which every one spontaneously and without official pressure hopes may last long? to excite men's fears, not their hopes, if one's health gives way a little? Seneca, Lucius Annaeus ca. No courage is so great as that which is born of utter desperation. If a state thinks itself innocent, it will be innocent: it will be all the more angry with those who corrupt the general simplicity of manners if it sees that they are few in number. Your position is quite different to that of those who lie hid in the crowd which they never leave, whose very virtues cannot be manifested without a long struggle, and whose vices are shrouded in obscurity; rumour catches up your acts and sayings, and therefore no persons ought to be more careful of their reputation than those who are certain to have a great one, whatsoever one they may have deserved. [2] From Seneca's remarks, it would appear that it was written after Nero had turned eighteen, which would place it after the murder of his rival Britannicus in 55 AD. 2. [2] It may therefore been written partly as an apology, perhaps as a means of assuring the Roman nobility that the murder would be the end, not the beginning of bloodshed. The greater his power, the more beautiful and admirable he will confess his clemency to be: for there is no reason why power should do any harm, if only it be wielded in accordance with the laws of nature. sister projects: Wikidata item. Indeed, the emperor long ago identified himself so thoroughly with the state, that neither of them could be separated without injury to both, because the one requires power, while the other requires a head. A prince generally inflicts punishment for one of two reasons: he wishes either to assert his own rights or those of another. The human mind is naturally self-willed, kicks against the goad, and sets its face against authority; it will follow more readily than it can be led. But in the first place, although a physician is only useful to the sick, yet he is held in honour among the healthy also; and so clemency, though she be invoked by those who deserve punishment, is respected by innocent people as well. i., and "Dictionary of Antiquities," s.v. All Search Options [view abbreviations] Home Collections/Texts Perseus Catalog Research Grants Open Source About Help. Perhaps some of his popularity may have been due to his being supposed to be the author of th⦠I will first discuss the case in which he is personally concerned, for it is more difficult for him to act with moderation when he acts under the impulse of actual pain than when he merely does so for the sake of the example. You cannot even maintain the dignity of your own house: you have recently been defeated in a legal encounter by the superior influence of a freedman: and so you can find no easier task than to call your friends to rally round you against Ceesar. They do, but only when that measure is recommended by the public advantage: tyrants enjoy cruelty. You will more easily correct the men themselves by a slight punishment, for he who has some part of his fortune remaining untouched will behave less recklessly; on the other hand, no one cares about respectability after he has lost it: it is a species of impunity to have nothing left for punishment to take away. 40. Whose limbs will not be torn asunder and collected by the soothsayers? In The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca, representative selections from Seneca's writings offer the reader an excellent introduction to the range of his work. By the time [Seneca] came to write On Anger ⦠he had witnessed, from the close vantage point of the Roman Senate, the bloody four-year reign of Caligula.. Seneca, to judge by his self-presentation in his writings, was a self-reflective and inward-looking man. How few magistrates are there who ought not to be condemned by the very same laws which they administer? It is conducive, however, to good morals in a state, that punishment should seldom be inflicted: for where there is a multitude of sinners men become familiar with sin, shame is less felt when shared with a number of fellow-criminals, and severe sentences, if frequently pronounced, lose the influence which constitutes their chief power as remedial measures. On The Shortness of Life - Lucius Seneca The majority of mortals, Paulinus, complain bitterly of the spitefulness of Nature, because we are born for a brief span of life, because even this space that has been granted to us rushes by so speedily and so swiftly that all save a very few find life at an end just when they are getting ready to live. Nothing can be imagined which is more becoming to a sovereign than clemency, by whatever title and right he may be set over his fellow citizens. Clemency in a sovereign even makes men ashamed to do wrong: for punishment seems far more grievous when inflicted by a merciful man. This would have been difficult had your goodness of heart not been innate, but merely adopted for a time; for no one can wear a mask for long, and fictitious qualities soon give place to true ones. If a tribune or a centurion is harsh, he will make men deserters, and one cannot blame them for desertion. On Anger is one of Senecaâs most important essays. When at this word the man exclaimed that he was far from being so insane, Augustus replied, "You do not keep your promise, Cinna; it was agreed upon between us that you should not interrupt me. True happiness, on the other hand, consists in saving many men's lives, in calling them back from the very gates of death, and in being so merciful as to deserve a civic crown. It was this clemency which made him end his days in safety and security: this it was which rendered him popular and beloved, although he had laid his hands on the neck of the Romans when they were still unused to bearing the yoke: this gives him even at the present day a reputation such as hardly any prince has enjoyed during his own lifetime. Seneca ; edited with translation and commentary by Susanna Braund. [13] It is worth noting that Calvin's brief biographical sketch of Seneca at the outset is taken almost entirely from Tacitus, while ignoring the less noble picture from Dio Cassius. ON ANGER, ON LEISURE, ON CLEMENCY Essays Volume 2. This power which saves men's lives by crowds and by nations, is godlike: the power of extensive and indiscriminate massacre is the power of downfall and conflagration. Thus, clemency, not pity or unmotivated generosity, is the reasonable approach which guarantees the consent and devotion of the emperor's subjects and provides the state's security. Seneca, the favourite classic of the early fathers of the church and of the Middle Ages, whom Jerome, Tertullian, and Augustine speak of as "Seneca noster," who was believed to have corresponded with St. Paul, and upon whom [Footnote: On the "De Clementia," an odd subject for the man who burned Servetus alive for differing with him.] Cruelty is far from being a human vice, and is unworthy of man's gentle mind: it is mere bestial madness to take pleasure in blood and wounds, to cast off humanity and transform oneself into a wild beast of the forest. You, Caesar, can boldly say that everything which has come into your charge has been kept safe, and that the state has neither openly nor secretly suffered any loss at your hands. Yet the appearance of a peaceful and constitutional reign is the same as that of the calm and brilliant sky. to know that no one holds anything so dear that he would not be glad to give it in exchange for the health of his sovereign? It is not without good reason that nations and cities thus agree in sacrificing their lives and property for the defence and the love of their king whenever their leader's safety demands it; men do not hold themselves cheap, nor are they insane when so many thousands are put to the sword for the sake of one man, and when by so many deaths they save the life of one man alone, who not unfrequently is old and feeble. Add to this that private men endure wrongs more tamely, because they have already endured others; the safety of kings on the other hand is more surely founded on kindness, because frequent punishment may crush the hatred of a few, but excites that of all. She has offered him as a pattern to great sovereigns, for she is wont to practice herself in small matters, and to scatter abroad tiny models of the hugest structures. Even in the case of a human chattel one ought to consider, not how much one can torture him with impunity, but how far such treatment is permitted by natural goodness and justice, which prompts us to act kindly towards even prisoners of war and slaves bought for a price (how much more towards free-born, respectable gentlemen? Sometimes their own guards have risen in revolt, and have used against their master all the deceit, disloyalty, and ferocity which they have learned from him. If man, as they argue, seeks for quiet and repose, what virtue is there which is more agreeable to his nature than clemency, which loves peace and restrains him from violence? â Or Consolation, To Marcia â Of a Happy Life â Of Leisure â Of Peace of Mind â Of the Shortness of Life â Consolation. I read this dialogue in a modern translation, and I ⦠Neither ought we to show an indiscriminate and general, nor yet an exclusive clemency; for to pardon everyone is as great cruelty as to pardon none; we must take a middle course; but as it is difficult to find the true mean, let us be careful, if we depart from it, to do so upon the side of humanity. This which is the duty of a parent, is also that of the prince whom with no unmeaning flattery we call "The Father of our Country.â Other names are given as titles of honour: we have styled some men "The Great," "The Fortunate," or "The August" and have thus satisfied their passion for grandeur by bestowing upon them all the dignity that we could: but when we style a man "The Father of his Country" we give him to understand that we have entrusted him with a father's power over us, which is of the mildest character for a father takes thought for his children and subordinates his own interests to theirs. is punished less than what he deserves. This is the sort of clemency which befits a prince; wherever he goes, let him make every one more charitable. Cinna, when I found you in the enemy's camp, you who had not become but were actually born my enemy, I saved your life, and restored to you the whole of your father's estate. [11] If, however, his kingdom also may be safely left in his hands and he himself replaced upon the throne from which he has fallen, such a measure confers an immense increase of luster on him who scorned to take anything from a conquered king beyond the glory of having conquered him. Seneca's Morals: Of a Happy Life, Benefits, Anger and Clemency. Let us now pass on to the consideration of wrongs done to others, in avenging which the law has aimed at three ends, which the prince will do well to aim at also: they are, either that it may correct him whom it punishes, or that his punishment may render other men better, or that, by bad men being put out of the way, the rest may live without fear. A cruel reign is disordered and hidden in darkness, and while all shake with terror at the sudden explosions, not even he who caused all this disturbance escapes unharmed. Ut de clementia scriberem, Nero Caesar, una me vox tua maxime compulit, quam ego non sine admiratione et, cum diceretur, audisse memini et deinde aliis narrasse, vocem generosam, magni animi, magnae lenitatis, quae non composita nec alienis auribus data subito erupit et bonitatem tuam cum fortuna tua litigantem in medium adduxit. Of an original three books, only the first and the beginning of the second survive.[4]. What can be more remarkable than that he whose anger might be indulged without fear of the consequences, whose decision, even though a harsh one, would be approved even by those who were to suffer by it, whom no one can interrupt, and of whom indeed, should he become violently enraged, no one would dare to beg for mercy, should apply a check to himself and use his power in a better and calmer spirit, reflecting: "Anyone may break the law to kill a man, no one but I can break it to save him"? I mean, when he is attacked and injured by his inferiors, for if he sees those who once were his equals in a position of inferiority to himself he is sufficiently avenged. 1. We believe him to be a god, and not merely because we are bidden to do so. The selections are drawn from the essays, or dialogues, and the "Consolations;" from the treatises, of which "On Clemency," addressed to the young Nero, is included here; and from the Letters to Lucilius, which have to do Why have legitimate sovereigns grown old on the throne, and bequeathed their power to their children and grandchildren, while the sway of despotic usurpers is both hateful and shortlived? is it that you yourself may be emperor? Who does not hate Vedius Pollio[10] more even than his own slaves did, because he used to fatten his lampreys with human blood, and ordered those who had offended him in any way to be cast into his fish-pond, or rather snake-pond? How few prosecutors are themselves faultless? 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