Seneca on Society: A Guide to De Beneficiis

416 Pages·2013·1.729 MB·English

by  Miriam T. Griffin

SENECA ON SOCIETY
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Seneca on Society
A Guide to De Benefi ciis

MIRIAM T. GRIFFIN
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First Edition published 2013
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In Memoriam
Leighton Reynolds
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Preface
Th is book has been many years in gestation. Over thirty years ago, when I was
completing Seneca: A Philosopher in Politics , a general book on the relation
of Seneca’s life to his work, I was already aware that the seven books of De
benefi ciis had been seriously neglected and needed explication. Th ere had been
virtually nothing to help the reader of this complex and fascinating work since
the comments in Latin of the learned scholar Justus Lipsius (1547–1606),
whose profound understanding of Senecan argument and whose exceptional
grasp of Roman law and history I had found, and have continued to fi nd,
invaluable, as have all students of Seneca. But the length and apparent
disorganization of the work had clearly deterred scholars aft er him from
analysing its arguments or its structure. Historians, of course, had made
considerable use of its many anecdotes and examples, but without paying
much attention to the arguments which they illustrate or elucidate, and
without exploiting to the full the many clues which the work provides to social
and political attitudes and norms.
Aft er studies on the reign of Nero and on the place of philosophy in Roman
intellectual and political life, I returned to D e benefi ciis and began considering
how to make it more accessible and usable to students and colleagues. At that
point I consulted Leighton Reynolds, who, having edited Seneca’s letters and
dialogues, was working on the text of D e benefi ciis and De clementia . I explained
my feeling that, even were I capable of producing a full commentary, it would
be so long as to deter even more the readers who already found the work daunt-
ing. I was also aware that quite a lot of continuous explanation was needed of
its philosophical and historical background and of its complex structure, to
make it more intelligible. What did he think of the idea of a series of essays,
followed by annotated synopses of the books, to give the shape of the argu-
ment, so that readers could see how the bit that interested them was intended
by Seneca to be understood? I asked in trepidation, for nothing could be
further from the philological interests of Leighton who, as he said himself,
liked ‘boiling things down’, not ‘building them up’. In fact, he was highly
encouraging about the project and read some of the sketches of the early chap-
ters. Moreover, he was always there to be consulted about the text, even in his
last illness. His death in December of 1999 was to me, as to so many others, a
great personal and professional loss.
How great a loss, I only fully appreciated when I agreed, fi ve years later, to
translate the work, in collaboration with Brad Inwood, for the University of
Chicago series of Seneca translations. Realizing that nothing could give me
more help with the synopses and notes than discussing translation with an
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viii Preface
expert on Seneca’s philosophy, I took time out from the book on D e benefi ciis ,
to wrestle with the language of the work itself in detail. By that time, largely
thanks to some months of research at the Institute for Advanced Study at
Princeton in 2000, I had draft s of all but Chapters 8 and 9 of the book and was
completing the notes to the Synopses. Some of this work fed into the
Introduction and the Notes in the joint translation volume, but the fl ow of
knowledge was mainly the other way, and the benefi cia I derived from
discussions with Brad Inwood, who was always willing to explain diffi cult
arguments to a non- philosopher, are immeasurable.
I owe also a great debt to Peter Brunt, once Camden Professor of Ancient
History, who was working on Stoicism at Rome until he died in 2005. His
knowledge of Stoicism, and his scepticism about its practical application by the
Roman elite—soon to be more generally accessible in a collection of his papers
to be called S tudies in Stoicism —inspired both my books on Seneca. Th is one
would have been much improved, had he and Leighton Reynolds still been
alive when it was fi nally fi nished.
Many others have helped me at diff erent times and in diff erent ways. In
1997, I was fortunate to encounter a visiting student from Bonn, Michael
Brinkmann, who was writing a thesis on the dialogue between Seneca and
Nero composed by Tacitus in Annals 14. 53–6. His later doctoral thesis,
published in 2002, is the best account of the two speeches as a pair. Jane F.
Gardner I pestered, never in vain, with queries about Roman law; likewise
Bruce Frier and my cousin Robert Natelson. At a late stage, I appealed to
Boudewijn Sirks for help with the notes on the complicated discussion of
|forms of ownership in Book 7. 4–13. I hope what I have written refl ects, how-
ever inadequately, his valiant eff orts to enlighten me on the relevant Roman
legal concepts. Jonathan Barnes helped with logic. Peter Garnsey made me
think more about patronage. Martin Degand alerted me to bibliography
I had missed. Margaret Atkins, Andrew Lintott, Dirk Obbink, and Michael
Winterbottom gave much needed help. Hilary O’Shea has been patient and
supportive throughout. Leofranc Holford-Strevens has not only contributed
his immense learning and publishing expertise, but also, through his sagacious
comments, made the whole process of preparing copy for the Press feel like an
enjoyable intellectual conversation. My husband Jasper, over the years, has
read through yards of uncongenial material without complaint and never lost
faith in the project.
M.T.G.
S omerville College, Oxford
February 2012
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Contents
Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
Part I: Th e Subject-Matter of D e benefi ciis 5
1. Cicero and Seneca 7
2. De benefi ciis and Philosophy 15
A. Th e Philosophical Tradition before Seneca 15
B. Characteristics of Seneca’s Philosophical Approach
to Benefi cence 25
3. De benefi ciis and Roman Society 30
A. Th e Social Phenomenon treated by Seneca 30
B. Th e Relevance of D e benefi ciis to Contemporary Roman Society 46
C. D e benefi ciis as a Reaction to Social Change 54
Th e Aristocratic Code and the Princeps 61
Th e Social Aspect of C ivilitas 65
D. Limitations of Seneca’s Perspective on Benefi cence 74
E. Th e Personal Perspective of the a micus principis on Benefi cence 81
Part II: Seneca’s Treatise 89
4. Th e Date and Addressee 91
5. Th e Title 99
6. Th e Structure of D e benefi ciis 111
7. Th e Pedagogic Strategy of D e benefi ciis 125
A. Teaching by P raecepta 125
B. Th e Evolution of Teaching Styles 132
C. Th e Progress of Aebutius Liberalis 142
8. De benefi ciis and Seneca’s Other Philosophical Works 149
9. Th e Aft erlife of D e benefi ciis up to the Renaissance 164
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x Contents
Part III: A Map of D e benefi ciis 169
Synopses with Accompanying Notes 171
Synopsis of Book 1 174
Notes to Synopsis of Book 1 176
Synopsis of Book 2 187
Notes to Synopsis of Book 2 190
Synopsis of Book 3 206
Notes to Synopsis of Book 3 209
Synopsis of Book 4 228
Notes to Synopsis of Book 4 231
Synopsis of Book 5 259
Notes to Synopsis of Book 5 262
Synopsis of Book 6 285
Notes to Synopsis of Book 6 288
Synopsis of Book 7 315
Notes to Synopsis of Book 7 319
Biographical Notes on Persons Mentioned in De benefi ciis 341
Bibliography 358
Index Locorum 371
General Index 389
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