Seneca on Leap Day — a little throat-cutting during intermission

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Valerie Block

Statue of Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger in Cordoba, Spain, by Amadeo Ruiz Olmos

Lord Macaulay once said that Seneca the Younger was easily quotable, but reading him straight through would be like “dining on nothing but anchovy sauce.”

I agree! Thus I present some of the condensed wit and wisdom of Seneca, usually on Saturdays, but today — special! — on a Monday, Leap Day, in honor of changing the schedule in order to get back on track.

EPISTLE VII. On Crowds

But nothing is so damaging to good character as the habit of lounging at the games; for then it is that vice steals subtly upon one though the avenue of pleasure. What do you think I mean? I mean that I come home more greedy, more ambitious, more voluptuous, and even more cruel and inhuman, – because I have been among human beings. By chance I attended a mid-day exhibition, expecting some fun, wit, and relaxation, – an exhibition at which men’s eyes have respite from the slaughter of their fellow-men.

But it was quite the reverse. The previous combats were the essence of compassion; but now all the trifling is put aside and it is pure murder. (*) The men have no defensive armour. They are exposed to blows at all points, and no one ever strikes in vain.

Many persons prefer this programme to the usual pairs… Of course they do; there is no helmet or shield to deflect the weapon. What is the need of defensive armour or of skill? All these mean delaying death. In the morning they throw men to the lions and the bears; at noon, they throw them to the spectators. …

You may retort: “But he was a highway robber; he killed a man!” And what of it? granted that, as a murderer, he deserved his punishment, what crime have you committed, poor fellow, that you should deserve to sit and see this show? …And when the games stop for the intermission, they announce: “A little throat-cutting in the meantime, so that there may still be something going on.

* Translator’s note: During the luncheon interval condemned criminals were often driven into the arena and compelled to fight, for the amusement of those spectators who remained throughout the day.

Seneca Epistles 1-65, Translation by Richard M. Gummere. Loeb Classical Library.

Photo credit: Gunnar Bach Pedersen, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Seneca on Saturday — on rising to the occasion

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Valerie Block

Statue of Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger in Cordoba, Spain, by Amadeo Ruiz Olmos

Lord Macaulay once said that Seneca the Younger was easily quotable, but reading him straight through would be like “dining on nothing but anchovy sauce.”

I agree! Thus I present some of the condensed wit and wisdom of Seneca, every Saturday.

EPISTLE LXVII — On ill health and endurance of suffering

You say: “If it is a good to be brave under torture, to go to the stake with a stout heart, to endure illness with resignation, it follows that these things are desirable. But I do not see that any of them is worth praying for…”

My dear Lucilius, you must distinguish between these case; you will comprehend that there is something within them to be desired. I should prefer to be free from torture; but if the time comes when it must be endured, I shall desire that I may conduct myself therein with bravery, honor, and courage. Of course I prefer that war should not occur; but if war does occur, I shall desire that I may nobly endure the wounds, the starvation, and all that the exigency of war brings. Nor am I so mad as to crave illness; but if I must suffer illness, I shall desire that I may do nothing which shows lack of restraint, and nothing that is unmanly. The conclusion is, not that hardships are desirable, but that virtue is desirable, which enables us patiently to endure hardships.

Seneca Epistles 66-92, Translation by Richard M. Gummere. Loeb Classical Library.

Photo credit: Gunnar Bach Pedersen, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Seneca on Saturday — on what is enough

Posted on February 13, 2016 by Valerie Block

Statue of Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger in Cordoba, Spain, by Amadeo Ruiz Olmos

EPISTLE IV: On the terrors of death

…It is the superfluous things for which men sweat,–the superfluous things that wear our togas threadbare, that force us to grow old in camp, that dash us upon foreign shores. That which is enough is ready to our hands. He who has made a fair compact with poverty is rich. Farewell.

Seneca Epistles 1-65, Translation by Richard Gummere. Loeb Classical Library.

Photo credit: Gunnar Bach Pedersen, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

February Word of Mouth

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Valerie Block

Graphic Novel: Dragons Beware — Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado

Fiction: Capital: a Novel — John Lanchester

Memoir: I See You Made an Effort — Annabelle Gurwitch

Non-Fiction: The 48 Laws of Power — Robert Greene

Music: Bossa Nova Soul Samba — Ike Quebec

TV: Annika Bengtzon, Crime Reporter — Amazon video.

Ancient Inspiration: “If you’re irritable, man, train yourself to put up with abuse, and not get upset when you’re insulted.” Epictetus, Discourses.

Seneca on Saturday: ancient Roman caution

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Valerie Block

Statue of Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger in Cordoba, Spain, by Amadeo Ruiz Olmos

Lord Macaulay once said that Seneca the Younger was easily quotable, but reading him straight through would be like “dining on nothing but anchovy sauce.”

I agree! Thus I present some of the condensed wit and wisdom of Seneca, every Saturday.

On Anger

When you are about to rejoice most, you will have most to fear. When everything seems to you to be peaceful, the forces that will harm are not nonexistent, but inactive. Always believe that there will come some blow to strike you.

Moral Essays, Volume I, by Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger, translated by John W. Basore. Loeb Library.

Photo credit: Gunnar Bach Pedersen, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Deity of the Month: Fornax

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Valerie Block

The goddess Fornax was in charge of preventing grain from burning in ovens. The festival of Fornacalia was held in her honor in early February, sometime around February 17. The grain was first dried in ovens before being ground in mills for flour. During the Fornacalia, a sacrifice was made in front of the oven, before families shared a communal meal with their neighbors in front of a communal hearth.

The mosaic above is part of a floor of 40 panels with scenes depicting the agricultural calendar. It was found in the archaeological site at Saint-Romain-en-Gal, France, and dates from the early 3rd century CE; it is now located in the Musée d’Archéologie Nationale in Saint-Gemain-en-Laye, just outside of Paris.

Image credit: Site à vocation pédagogique Histoire-Géographie (J-F BRADU)