Quote:
Originally Posted by FlorenceArt
Quick update on Seneca: I am still reading the Letters to Lucilius. I started with them because the foreword suggested to do so, and I agree with the commentator's opinion. I also have On the Shortness of Life on my Opus and read a few pages on the train tonight. The letters are far more interesting.
On the Shortness of Life is a succession of maxims and statements about how a wise man should live. The letters are a testimony and advice on actually attempting to do so. They talk about the goal, but also describe the road to get there, with its difficulties and triumphs. They give us a glimpse of Seneca as a man trying to live up to his own ideas. I actually enjoy reading them, when On the Shortness of Life strikes me as a bit pompous and condescending, although I agree with many of the ideas.
|
I'm still reading
On Benefits, and am constantly being struck by the similarities and dissimilarities with New Testament writings on the subject, although this may be a personal bias. As you know, scholars don't consider it inconceivable that Seneca may have been in correspondence with Paul, although all known epistles to that effect are nearly unanimously denounced as forgeries. It does seem that stoic philosophy had a certain degree of influence on early Christian thinking.