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LETTERS FROM A STOIC
The Ancient Classic
SENECA
With an Introduction by
DONALD ROBERTSON
This Capstone edition first published 2021
Introduction copyright © Donald Robertson
Moral letters to Lucilius (Epistulae morales ad Lucilium) by Seneca
Translated by Richard Mott Gummere
A Loeb Classical Library edition; volume 1 published 1917; volume 2 published 1920; volume 3 published 1925
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AN INTRODUCTION
BY DONALD ROBERTSON
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, also known as Seneca the Younger, is one of the most compelling and yet paradoxical figures in Roman history.
Ancient historians, particularly Tacitus, Suetonius, and Cassius Dio, provide us with important details about his life. These mainly regard Seneca's relationship with Nero, with whose rule as emperor his own story is intertwined. Our information from these sources is very sparse and its reliability has often been questioned.
Seneca himself was a very prolific writer. Yet if we turn to his works for clues about his life and character, we encounter another notorious problem – he was carefully constructing his own public image.
THE SENECA ENIGMA
Seneca's writings employ rhetorical methods to paint a picture of his life that is, in many ways, quite at odds with the historical evidence. For instance, those who read only the Moral Letters, written to his friend Lucilius, are bound to form a very different impression of Seneca than those who consult other Roman sources about his life. Indeed, what Seneca tells us about himself often says more about how he wished to appear than about how he actually was in reality. For example, he was by profession a rhetoric tutor. However, he says very little in his writings about his passion for rhetoric, his position as an imperial speechwriter, or his relationship with Nero's court. He wants to present himself, first and foremost, as a Stoic philosopher.
A second example is the way Seneca describes his banishment to the island of