OCR A-Level Classics Seneca on Love and Desire

4 BC - AD 65

Lucius Annaeus Seneca was born in Spain. He was active in Politics during 1st century AD untul he fell out of favour with Emperor Caligula who wanted him dead. The next emperor, Claudius, was also displeased with him, and exiled him for adultery with his Claudius’ niece. Eventually, Agrippina (Nero’s mother) requested Seneca’s recall to Rome in 48/49 AD to tutor Nero. He remained Nero’s loyal advisor, helping him to maintain a few stable years of leadership. As Nero grew, his leadership became more erratic, and after he murdered his mother, Seneca lost his position as his advisor, and in 62 AD he finally decided to retire into private life. However, a conspiracy to overthrow Nero seemed to implicate the retired Seneca. Nero ordered to commit suicide, which he did in 65 AD.

A philosophical school founded by Zeno is Greece in the 4th century BC; Stoicism maintained that reason and the soul were far more important than the body and it believed that virtus was the ultimate good

Originated from Cynicism (Diogenes in the 4th Century)

It is a way to find happiness even in times of unrest. It is all about the mindset (This could be due to the political upheaval in Rome at the time and also Seneca’s exile.)

Preferred indifference

One should be utterly indifferent to the material world.

Try to be ‘sapiens’ (wise)

Intellect is one of the most important virtues.

It is important to be in harmony with the universe. You need to engage with the world around you, such as involving yourself in politics.

Virtue was the only thing you needed.

Courage, temperance, justice, wisdom

‘immunity to pain’; this is the desired state of mind for a Stoic; to achieve this, a Stoic must place reason above the natural desires of the body. They must live a very simple life, avoiding everything but the most. basic of needs (food, water, clothing and shelter)

‘virtue’ or ‘goodness’; in Stoicism, it is the way of life attained by the complete subjugation of bodily desires. The aim of the Stoic wise man was to attain aretē

In Stoic philosophy, a ‘vice’’ was a moral defectiveness; this included indulging in any of the desires or emotions which are attributed to the body, such as gluttony, lust, anger and material desires such as ambition and grreed

“For Stoics, human happiness is wholly contingent on virtue, virtus.”

“Philosophy, serving as the framework through which to actualise virtue consistently, is essential if we are to live fulfilled lives.”

“We must understand that ultimately only virtue matters, only the pursuit of virtue is morally good, and everything else is a matter of indifference”

“For Stoics the mind is wholly corporeal. Yet the body itself is liable to be a distraction from the pursuit of virtue, if we place too much importance on its pains and pleasures.”

“one’s choice of marital partner, on virtue and the potential for virtue would have been odd in a world where the usual priorities for a spouse were about financial wealth, beauty, physical health (for child-bearing), or political alliance”

“they argued that people should exhibit virtue in the positions that they found themselves, meaning women should exercise virtue in their current social roles”

“the Stoic model is based on a position of equality. All people have equal potential for virtue; nobody has inherently more or less power in any relationship.”

“He and the later Stoics stressed the regulation of emotions rather than denial”

“Despite its wide acceptance in education circles, early Stoicism had a forbidding aspect which went far to explain its failure to influence the masses”

“[Seneca’s] letters and essays show a Stoicism more closely reconciled with the facts and frailty of human nature”

“Thus, regrading love, Seneca maintains that this emotion is honorable, that it should be indulged” - Anna Lydia Motto

“Seneca stresses that man is born for social union, which is engendered by love and kindness.” - Anna Lydia Motto

“One function of the letters as a sequence is to allow Seneca to chart the philosophical progress of his ‘pupil’.” - Catharine Edwards

“For Stoics, human happiness is wholly contingent on virtue, virtus. Philosophy, serving as the framework through which to actualise virtue consistently, is essential if we are to live fulfilled lives.” - Catharine Edwards

Love is “a natural and spiritual necessity, which should be founded on reason, not passion.” - Emily Wilson

“A good wife is better than no wife” - Emily Wilson

“The main reason for getting married is rather, for Seneca, to make one’s environment more conducive to living a virtuous life” - Emily Wilson