Seneca: de Otio; de Brevitate Vitae
De Otio; de Brevitate Vitae
Author: Lucius Annaeus Seneca Series: Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics
Introduces students to the complex artistic method and provocative message of Senecan philosophy.
This edition of Seneca's De otio and De brevitate vitae introduces undergraduates and more advanced students to the complex artistic method and provocative message of Senecan philosophy. De otio and De brevitate vitae balance each other by representing different but complementary aspects of Senecan/Stoic thought: in De otio, one's duty to the active life for the social good, in De brevitate vitae, one's duty to oneself in reclaiming life from the impositions made upon it from outside. A central preoccupation of both texts is to promote the benefits of an inner existence of the personal, insulated against the pressures of everyday life. In this respect this edition emphasizes the relevance of the Senecan message to modern reflection on the claims of the 'balanced' life and on the complex relationship of the individual to society.
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Summary
Introduces students to the complex artistic method and provocative message of Senecan philosophy.
This edition of Seneca's De otio and De brevitate vitae introduces undergraduates and more advanced students to the complex artistic method and provocative message of Senecan philosophy. De otio and De brevitate vitae balance each other by representing different but complementary aspects of Senecan/Stoic thought: in De otio, one's duty to the active life for the social good, in De brevitate vitae, one's duty to oneself in reclaiming life from the impositions made upon it from outside. A central preoccupation of both texts is to promote the benefits of an inner existence of the personal, insulated against the pressures of everyday life. In this respect this edition emphasizes the relevance of the Senecan message to modern reflection on the claims of the 'balanced' life and on the complex relationship of the individual to society.
Description
This edition of Seneca's De otio and De brevitate vitae introduces undergraduates and more advanced students to Senecan philosophy. Both texts promote the benefits of living an inner existence insulated from everyday pressures. This edition emphasizes the relevance of the provocative Senecan message of a "balanced" life and his views on the complex relationship of the individual to society.
Critic Reviews
“"This excellent addition to the Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics fills a great void and is hence welcome indeed." -R. Scott Smith, University of New Hampshire, New England Classical Journal”
"...scholarly and comprehensive...will be useful (indeed, essential) for Senecan scholars and their graduate students." -Mark Morford, University of Virginia, The Classical Outlook "This excellent addition to the Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics fills a great void and is hence welcome indeed." -R. Scott Smith, University of New Hampshire, New England Classical Journal "The two works included in this volume are complementary and contain a great deal of interest to students of Roman culture and ancient philosophy." -Classical World "The volume would...make an attractive choice for study even at the undergraduate level, for the two dialogues offered here are among the most accessible of Seneca's shorter works." -Margaret Graver, Department of Classics, Dartmouth College, Ancient Philosophy
About the Author
G. D. Williams is Associate Professor of Classics at Columbia University and author of Banished Voices (1994; 0521 451361).
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