Seneca, Ad Lucilium XLI: the awe of nature.

One of the many falsifications circulating during the Middle Ages was a collection of letters exchanged between Seneca and St. Paul. Still, but were under the influence of Stoic philosophy – Seneca of course more than St. Paul – and convergent thoughts are therefore not surprising: sacer spiritus – spiritus sanctus. This doesn’t mean that they have the same concept of god: for Seneca god reveals itself in nature. This is not Spinoza’s deus sive natura, but nature or better, mysterious places in nature, pointing towards god as a kind of theophany or revelation of the divine. His description of the awe nature can inspire is very much reminiscent of the way Romanticism considered nature:

Percy Shelley, ‘Mont Blanc’.

The everlasting universe of things

Flows through the mind, and rolls its rapid waves,

Now dark—now glittering—now reflecting gloom—

Now lending splendour, where from secret springs

The source of human thought its tribute brings

Of waters—with a sound but half its own,

Such as a feeble brook will oft assume,

In the wild woods, among the mountains lone,

Where waterfalls around it leap for ever,

Where woods and winds contend, and a vast river

Over its rocks ceaselessly bursts and raves …

I think Seneca would have liked this poem.

Ad Lucilium epistulae morales, 41, 1-3

SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM

[1] Facis rem optimam et tibi salutarem si, ut scribis, perseveras ire ad bonam mentem, quam stultum est optare cum possis a te impetrare. Non sunt ad caelum elevandae manus nec exorandus aedituus ut nos ad aurem simulacri, quasi magis exaudiri possimus, admittat: prope est a te deus, tecum est, intus est. [2] Ita dico, Lucili: sacer intra nos spiritus sedet, malorum bonorumque nostrorum observator et custos; hic prout a nobis tractatus est, ita nos ipse tractat. Bonus vero vir sine deo nemo est: an potest aliquis supra fortunam nisi ab illo adiutus exsurgere? Ille dat consilia magnifica et erecta. In unoquoque virorum bonorum

[quis deus incertum est] habitat deus.

[3] Si tibi occurrerit vetustis arboribus et solitam altitudinem egressis frequens lucus et conspectum caeli <densitate> ramorum aliorum alios protegentium summovens, illa proceritas silvae et secretum loci et admiratio umbrae in aperto tam densae atque continuae fidem tibi numinis faciet. Si quis specus, saxis penitus exesis, montem suspenderit, non manu factus, sed naturalibus causis in tantam laxitatem excavatus, animum tuum quadam religionis suspicione percutiet. Magnorum fluminum capita veneramur; subita ex abdito vasti amnis eruptio aras habet; coluntur aquarum calentium fontes, et stagna quaedam vel opacitas vel immensa altitudo sacravit.

rem optimam: `a very good job’

salutaris –is: wholesome, salutary

quam: refers to bonam mentem

optare…impetrare: i.e. don’t wish (opto) and wait, but work to obtain (impetro) it

exoro (-are): to prayer

aedituus: guardian of a temple

ut nos…admittat: (In order) to give us entrance

simulacrum: statue

exaudio: to hear clearly (note the sarcasm in the whole sentence)

prope…intus est: cf. 1 Corinthians 3,16 and 2 Corinthians 6,16

prope a te: near to you (litt. near seen from (a) your point)

intus: within, inside

prout: as far, in the same degree

tractatus …tractat: there is a reciprocal relation between god or sacred spirit and man

supra fortunam: above one’s destiny

adiuvo adiuvi adiutum (-are): to help, assist

erectus: noble

unusquisque: everyone

quis…deus: Aeneid 8.352 `which god is uncertain, but there lives a god’           

Si tibi occurrerit vetustis arboribus et solitam altitudinem egressis frequens lucus et conspectum caeli <densitate> ramorum aliorum alios protegentium summovens = si tibi occurerit (= appears) lucus frequens (= full with) vetutustis (= old) arboribus et egressis (= rising above) solitam (= usual, normal) altitudinem et summovens (= dispelling) conspectum caeli <densitate> ramorum (= branches) aliorum protegentium (= covering) alios (ramos). Some copyist has been nodding while writing this sentence and hence densitate (by the denseness) has been supplied by Erasmus in his 1515 edition, but there are various other emendations by other editors.

Illa…et…et…fidem tibi numinis facit: …makes/causes for you belief in a divinity

proceritas –atis (f.): height, tallness

secretum: solitude

admiratio umbrae: astonishment about the shadow

in aperto: in the open air

specus –us (m.): cave

saxis penitus exesis: the stones being completely consumed, i.e. the stones or rock which once filled the cave

suspenderit montem: holds up the mountain

laxitas –atis (f.): width, spaciousness

quadam religionis suspicione: by some idea/sense of the divine (note that religio often doesn’t mean `religion’.

percutio percussi percussum (-ere): to strike, astound

capita: springs, sources

subitus: sudden (with eruptio)

abditus: hidden

aras habet: springs have always had some mysterious appeal and hence altars were placed in their neighbourhood or, as the Celts did , sacred objects were thrown into them.

aquarum calentium fonts: hot water springs were not only venerated, but also exploited for what we would now call tourism, including lodgings and shops.

stagnum: lake, pool

opacitas –atis (f.): shade, being hidden under a dense shade

altitudo- -tudinis (f.): depth

Translation by RICHARD M. GUMMERE, PH.D. (1917)

1. You are doing an excellent thing, one which will be wholesome for you, if, as you write me, you are persisting in your effort to attain sound understanding; it is foolish to pray for this when you can acquire it from yourself. We do not need to uplift our hands towards heaven, or to beg the keeper of a temple to let us approach his idol's ear, as if in this way our prayers were more likely to be heard. God is near you, he is with you, he is within you. 2. This is what I mean, Lucilius: a holy spirit indwells within us, one who marks our good and bad deeds, and is our guardian. As we treat this spirit, so are we treated by it. Indeed, no man can be good without the help of God. Can one rise superior to fortune unless God helps him to rise? He it is that gives noble and upright counsel. In each good man

    A god doth dwell, but what god know we not.[1]

3. If ever you have come upon a grove that is full of ancient trees which have grown to an unusual height, shutting out a view of the sky by a veil of pleached and intertwining branches, then the loftiness of the forest, the seclusion of the spot, and your marvel at the thick unbroken shade in the midst of the open spaces, will prove to you the presence of deity. Or if a cave, made by the deep crumbling of the rocks, holds up a mountain on its arch, a place not built with hands but hollowed out into such spaciousness by natural causes, your soul will be deeply moved by a certain intimation of the existence of God. We worship the sources of mighty rivers; we erect altars at places where great streams burst suddenly from hidden sources; we adore springs of hot water as divine, and consecrate certain pools because of their dark waters or their immeasurable depth.

The complete translation can be read here:

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_41

Seneca 61: accept fate willingly.

To comply with fate is a major premise of Stoic philosophy: not grudgingly, but willingly. In this letter Seneca tells us how to achieve that. It is of course not by reading this letter and nodding in agreement that one becomes a stoic; rather it is an exercise, a way of life. In times of distress stoicism has always had a certain appeal and let’s not forget that Antiquity was in many respects a time of distress with wars, hunger and diseases looming. Such a concept as a makeable society was completely foreign to Classical thinking. I won’t call Stoic philosophy a panacea for dealing with all our problems, but reading and rethinking a stoic text now and then can do no harm.

LXI. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM

[1] Desinamus, quod voluimus, velle. Ego certe id ago <ne> senex eadem velim quae puer volui. In hoc unum eunt dies, in hoc noctes, hoc opus meum est, haec cogitatio, imponere veteribus malis finem. Id ago ut mihi instar totius vitae dies sit; nec mehercules tamquam ultimum rapio, sed sic illum aspicio tamquam esse vel ultimus possit. [2] Hoc animo tibi hanc epistulam scribo, tamquam me cum maxime scribentem mors evocatura sit; paratus exire sum, et ideo fruar vita quia quam diu futurum hoc sit non nimis pendeo. Ante senectutem curavi ut bene viverem, in senectute ut bene moriar; bene autem mori est libenter mori. [3] Da operam ne quid umquam invitus facias: quidquid necesse futurum est repugnanti, id volenti necessitas non est. Ita dico: qui imperia libens excipit partem acerbissimam servitutis effugit, facere quod nolit; non qui iussus aliquid facit miser est, sed qui invitus facit. Itaque sic animum componamus ut quidquid res exiget, id velimus, et in primis ut finem nostri sine tristitia cogitemus. [4] Ante ad mortem quam ad vitam praeparandi sumus. Satis instructa vita est, sed nos in instrumenta eius avidi sumus; deesse aliquid nobis videtur et semper videbitur: ut satis vixerimus, nec anni nec dies faciunt sed animus. Vixi, Lucili carissime, quantum satis erat; mortem plenus exspecto. Vale.

desino desii (-ere): to abandon, stop

id ago: I give heed, attention to

<ne>: the text is corrupt

opus meum: my need, business

impono finem: to put an end to

instar (+ gen.): equal to

ultimum (diem)

rapio rapui raptum (-ere): to snatch, seize, lay hold on

aspicio aspexi aspectum (-ere): to consider

hoc animo: with this state of mind

cum maxime: just now, more than ever

scribentem: while writing

evocatura sit: is about to/will summon

frui fructus (+ abl.) to enjoy

quam diu: how long

non nimis: not very much

pendeo pependi (-ēre): (here) to be in suspense (i.e. I don’t care much)

libenter: willingly

operam do: to give attention to

invitus: unwillingly

quidquid necesse futurum est repugnanti, id volenti necessitas non est: what will appear to be a necessary for one resisting, is not a necessity for one willing

imperium: command, order

excipio excepi exceptum: to follow, receive

acerbus: harsh, bitter

iussus: ordered

compono composui compositum (-ere): to arrange

exigo exegi exactum (-ere): to demand, require

in primis: especially

finem nostri: our end, death

cogito (-are): reflect upon

ante…quam: rather…than

praeparo (-are): to prepare

satis: sufficiently

instruo instruxi instructum (-ere): to furnish

nos in instrumenta eius avidi sumus: we are avid regarding to means/provisions for it

nec anni nec dies faciunt ut satis vixerimus

quantum: as much as

plenus: satisfied

  

Translation by Richard M. Gummere (1917, 1920, 1925).

LXI. On Meeting Death Cheerfully

1. Let us cease to desire that which we have been desiring. I, at least, am doing this: in my old age I have ceased to desire what I desired when a boy. To this single end my days and my nights are passed; this is my task, this the object of my thoughts, – to put an end to my chronic ills. I am endeavouring to live every day as if it were a complete life. I do not indeed snatch it up as if it were my last; I do regard it, however, as if it might even be my last. 2. The present letter is written to you with this in mind, – as if death were about to call me away in the very act of writing. I am ready to depart, and I shall enjoy life just because I am not over-anxious as to the future date of my departure.

Before I became old I tried to live well; now that I am old, I shall try to die well; but dying well means dying gladly. See to it that you never do anything unwillingly. 3. That which is bound to be a necessity if you rebel, is not a necessity if you desire it. This is what I mean: he who takes his orders gladly, escapes the bitterest part of slavery, – doing what one does not want to do. The man who does something under orders is not unhappy; he is unhappy who does something against his will. Let us therefore so set our minds in order that we may desire whatever is demanded of us by circumstances, and above all that we may reflect upon our end without sadness. 4. We must make ready for death before we make ready for life. Life is well enough furnished, but we are too greedy with regard to its furnishings; something always seems to us lacking, and will always seem lacking. To have lived long enough depends neither upon our years nor upon our days, but upon our minds. I have lived, my dear friend Lucilius, long enough. I have had my fill; I await death. Farewell.

Seneca: a lively bathhouse.

Noise disturbance is an evil rapidly having spread since the invention of loudspeakers and ghetto blasters, but it is not something new: an overcrowded city like Rome must have been a disaster for people insisting on a quiet surrounding. In Letter 56 Seneca describes the noises from the bathhouse above which he has an apartment. What is told with some irony seems to be an accurate description of what was happening there.  Of course Seneca, a true stoic, doesn’t care about all that noise.

LVI. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM

[1] Peream si est tam necessarium quam videtur silentium in studia seposito. Ecce undique me varius clamor circumsonat: supra ipsum balneum habito. Propone nunc tibi omnia genera vocum quae in odium possunt aures adducere: cum fortiores exercentur et manus plumbo graves iactant, cum aut laborant aut laborantem imitantur, gemitus audio, quotiens retentum spiritum remiserunt, sibilos et acerbissimas respirationes; cum in aliquem inertem et hac plebeia unctione contentum incidi, audio crepitum illisae manus umeris, quae prout plana pervenit aut concava, ita sonum mutat. Si vero pilicrepus supervenit et numerare coepit pilas, actum est. [2] Adice nunc scordalum et furem deprensum et illum cui vox sua in balineo placet, adice nunc eos qui in piscinam cum ingenti impulsae aquae sono saliunt. Praeter istos quorum, si nihil aliud, rectae voces sunt, alipilum cogita tenuem et stridulam vocem quo sit notabilior subinde exprimentem nec umquam tacentem nisi dum vellit alas et alium pro se clamare cogit; iam biberari varias exclamationes et botularium et crustularium et omnes popinarum institores mercem sua quadam et insignita modulatione vendentis.

in studio seposito: for one engaged in study

undique: from all sides

balneum (balineum): bath

propone tibi: imagine

in odium possent aures adducere: which can lead to hating one’s own ears

fortiores: rather strong men

manus plumbo graves:  the Romans used a kind of muffles with lead

iacto: to thrust, swing

gemitus gemitus (m.): groan (think of tennis games…)

retentum spiritum: breath hold in

sibilus: hissing

acerbus: harsh

hac plebeia unctione contentum: satisfied with that cheap oil (Seneca is referring to someone getting a cheap oil massage)

incidi incidi: to fall upon

crepitus crepitus (m.): clashing

illisae manus umeris: of a hand having been struck on the shoulders (i.e. the hand of the masseur)

prout: according as

pilicrepus: ballplayer (but score-shouter seems a better translation here)

pila: ball

actum est: it is done with the quietness

scordalus: a quarrelsome fellow

fur furis (m.): thief

deprehendo deprehendi deprehensum: to catch

piscina: swimming pool

salio salui saltum: to jump

rectae voces: normal voices

alipilus: one who epilates armpits

cogita: think of

tenuem et stridulam vocem (acc. resp.): with his thin and shrieking voice

quo sit notabilior: in order that he may be more distinctive

subinde: continually

vello (-ere): to pluck

ala: armpit

alium pro se clamare cogit: it must have been a rather painful experience

iam (cogita)

biberarius: seller of drinks

botularius: sausage-maker

crustularius: pastry-maker

popina: food sold at a cookshop

institor institoris (m.): peddler, broker

mercem sua quadam et insignita modulatione vendentis (= es): selling their ware with some own and specific melody

Translation by Richard Mott Gummere (1917)

1. Beshrew me if I think anything more requisite than silence for a man who secludes himself in order to study! Imagine what a variety of noises reverberates about my ears! I have lodgings right over a bathing establishment. So picture to yourself the assortment of sounds, which are strong enough to make me hate my very powers of hearing! When your strenuous gentleman, for example, is exercising himself by flourishing leaden weights; when he is working hard, or else pretends to be working hard, I can hear him grunt; and whenever he releases his imprisoned breath, I can hear him panting in wheezy and high-pitched tones. Or perhaps I notice some lazy fellow, content with a cheap rubdown, and hear the crack of the pummelling hand on his shoulder, varying in sound according as the hand is laid on flat or hollow. Then, perhaps, a professional comes along, shouting out the score; that is the finishing touch. 2. Add to this the arresting of an occasional roisterer or pickpocket, the racket of the man who always likes to hear his own voice in the bathroom, or the enthusiast who plunges into the swimming-tank with unconscionable noise and splashing. Besides all those whose voices, if nothing else, are good, imagine the hair-plucker with his penetrating, shrill voice, – for purposes of advertisement, – continually giving it vent and never holding his tongue except when he is plucking the armpits and making his victim yell instead. Then the cakeseller with his varied cries, the sausageman, the confectioner, and all the vendors of food hawking their wares, each with his own distinctive intonation.

Seneca, de ira, fish fodder.

One of the concerns of Stoic philosophy is the control of passions. In this respect stoicism is not just a philosophy, but also a way of life. One of the most dangerous passions is anger (ira). Seneca dedicated a treatise to this subject and gave various examples of anger can bring about. Augustus visited once Vedius Pollio, a man known for his cruelty. When a slave broke a crystalline vase, Pollio ordered that this slave should be thrown in his fish-pond, in which he kept murenes. Murenes are big fishes and can be dangerous for men. Their meat was highly valued by the Romans and that is why they were kept in ponds. Pollio however seemed to have kept them as some African dictators in the past are said to have kept crocodiles: as punishment for their enemies. Augustus was appalled by this punishment for breaking a glass, but the slave could get away and fled to Augustus, who by his actions made very clear what he thought of such a treatment.

Seneca, De ira, XL 2-4

2. Castigare uero irascentem et ultro obirasci incitare est: uarie adgredieris blandeque, nisi forte tanta persona eris ut possis iram comminuere, quemadmodum fecit diuus Augustus, cum cenaret apud Vedium Pollionem. Fregerat unus ex seruis eius crustallinum; rapi eum Vedius iussit ne uulgari quidem more periturum: murenis obici iubebatur, quas ingentis in piscina continebat. Quis non hoc illum putaret luxuriae causa facere? saeuitia erat. 3. Euasit e manibus puer et confugit ad Caesaris pedes, nihil aliud petiturus quam ut aliter periret, ne esca fieret. Motus est nouitate crudelitatis Caesar et illum quidem mitti, crustallina autem omnia coram se frangi iussit conplerique piscinam. 4. Fuit Caesari sic castigandus amicus; bene usus est uiribus suis: 'e conuiuio rapi homines imperas et noui generis poenis lancinari? Si calix tuus fractus est, uiscera hominis distrahentur? Tantum tibi placebis ut ibi aliquem duci iubeas ubi Caesar est?'

Castigare uero irascentem et ultro obirasci incitare est: truly to reproach someone who is angry and to become angry (with him) from your part (ultro: from the other side) is to stir up (the situation).

varie: in various ways

adgredior adgressus: to approach, handle (the irascentem)

blande: charmingly, seductively

forte: by chance

tanta persona: such a person

comminuo: to lessen

ceno: to dine

crustallinum: a crystalline vase

rapio rapui: to seize

vulgari more: in the usual way

per-eo: to die

obicio obieci obiectum: to throw before

ingentis (= ingentes: enormous) murenas

continebat: he (Vedius Pollio) used to keep

luxuria causa: out of pleasure

saevitia: cruelty

evado evasi: to get away, escape

puer = servus

Caesaris = Augusti

peto petivi petitum: to ask

aliter: in another way

esca: food

mitti (to be released)iussit

coram (+ abl.) in the presence of, in front of

compleo complevi completum (-ēre): to fill up

lancino: to destroy

viscera, -um (n.pl.) inner parts of the body

distraho distraxi distractum: to tear in pieces

tantum tibi placebis: you will be very pleased with yourself, i.e. think highly of yourself

duci: to be led away (for capital punishment)

Translation by Aubrey Stewart, M.A (1900)

To reprove a man when he is angry is to add to his anger by being angry oneself. You should approach him in different ways and in a compliant fashion, unless perchance you be so great a personage that you can quash his anger, as the Emperor Augustus did when he was dining with Vedius Pollio.[15] One of the slaves had broken a crystal goblet of his: Vedius ordered him to be led away to die, and that too in no common fashion: he ordered him to be thrown to feed the muraenae, some of which fish, of great size, he kept in a tank. Who would not think that he did this out of luxury? but it was out of cruelty. The boy slipped through the hands of those who tried to seize him, and flung himself at Caesar's feet in order to beg for nothing more than that he might die in some different way, and not be eaten. Caesar was shocked at this novel form of cruelty, and ordered him to be let go, and, in his place, all the crystal ware which he saw before him to be broken, and the tank to be filled up. This was the proper way for Caesar to reprove his friend: he made a good use of his power. What are you, that when at dinner you order men to be put to death, and mangled by an unheard-of form of torture? Are a man's bowels to be torn asunder because your cup is broken? You must think a great deal of yourself, if even when the emperor is present you order men to be executed.

Seneca: turn away from the masses (and from soccer)!

Due to a bad performance, the Dutch soccer team will not go to the European championships next year. They had to win the last two games, but lost from Iceland and Turkey. For me it is enough: I will to turn to stoicism. Soccer is a game for the masses and the masses are always wrong. Apart from that, the players are striving after vain glory and useless money instead of striving after better knowledge of their souls. For too long I didn’t want to see this, but Seneca has opened my eyes. In his De Vita Beata he advises us to turn away from the masses (turba, vulgus) and to pursuit a life according to the ideals of stoicism.  This means in effect that I have to withdraw from watching games coming year and train myself in living according to nature. But when by chance I happen to see a game, I will shake my head about that much folly – and secretly support the Germans, Belgians or Icelanders.

              

Seneca, De Vita Beata, c. 2

Cum de beata uita agetur, non est quod mihi illud discessionum more respondeas: 'haec pars maior esse uidetur.' Ideo enim peior est. Non tam bene cum rebus humanis agitur ut meliora pluribus placeant: argumentum pessimi turba est. 2. Quaeramus ergo quid optimum factu sit, non quid usitatissimum, et quid nos in possessione felicitatis aeternae constituat, non quid uulgo, ueritatis pessimo interpreti, probatum sit. Vulgum autem tam chlamydatos quam coronatos uoco; non enim colorem uestium quibus praetexta sunt corpora, aspicio. Oculis de homine non credo, habeo melius et certius lumen quo a falsis uera diiudicem: animi bonum animus inueniat. Hic, si umquam respirare illi et recedere in se uacauerit, o quam sibi ipse uerum tortus a se fatebitur ac dicet: 3. 'quidquid feci adhuc infectum esse mallem, quidquid dixi cum recogito, mutis inuideo, quidquid optaui inimicorum execrationem puto, quidquid timui, di boni, quanto leuius fuit quam quod concupii! Cum multis inimicitias gessi et in gratiam ex odio, si modo ulla inter malos gratia est, redii: mihi ipsi nondum amicus sum. Omnem operam dedi ut me multitudini educerem et aliqua dote notabilem facerem: quid aliud quam telis me opposui et maleuolentiae quod morderet ostendi? 4. Vides istos qui eloquentiam laudant, qui opes sequuntur, qui gratiae adulantur, qui potentiam extollunt? omnes aut sunt hostes aut, quod in aequo est, esse possunt; quam magnus mirantium tam magnus inuidentium populus est. Quin potius quaero aliquod usu bonum, quod sentiam, non quod ostendam? ista quae spectantur, ad quae consistitur, quae alter alteri stupens monstrat, foris nitent, introrsus misera sunt

discessionum more: according to the way of voting in the Senate (litt.: in the way of departing. When there was a vote in the senate, senators walked to the party they agreed with.)

argumentum pessimi turba est: proof of the worse is the crowd

constituat: can bring

interpres –etis (m.): interpreter

chlamydatus: dressed in a chlamys, a kind of cloak worn by military, but there were also expensive versions with purple and gold, worn by high officials

praetextus: adorned

de homine: shorthand for `when I judge about a human’

diiudico: to judge

animi bonum animus inueniat: a soul will find the good of (another) soul

hic = animus

illi = animo

si umquam respirare illi et recedere in se uacauerit: if there is ever time for the soul to take a breath and recede in itself

tortus a se: tormented by itself (i.e. by questioning and soul-searching)

fateor fassus sum: to confess

infectus: undone

recogito: to rethink

mutis: the mute (animals)

invideo (+ dat.): to be jealous of

quidquid…execrationem puto: whatever…I consider as a curse

concupio concupi(v)i: to desire

inimicitias gessi: I have been in enmity

in gratiam redeo: to reconcile (gratia: reconciliation)

inter malos: no true friendship can exist between bad people

mihi ipsi nondum amicus sum: i.e. because the animus is distracted

operam do: to strive

dos dotis (f.): gift, talent

(me) notabilem facerem: I could make myself renown

telis: dative with opposui

mordeo momordi morsum: to bite

ops opis (f.): power, wealth

adulor (+ dat.): to flatter

in equo est: what is the same

quam magnus (populus) mirantium: as great as the crowd of admirers

aliquod usu bonum: something (proven) good through practice

quod sentiam, non quod ostendam: i.e inner experience versus outward display

ad quae consistitur: impersonal construction `at which people stand still’

stupeo: to be astonished

foris: from the outside

niteo: to shine

introrsus: inside

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Of_a_Happy_Life/Book_II