Hardship and Happiness PDF
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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
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