Katon Macieja Kazimierza Sarbiewskiego (Lyr. II 6) i exercitia Seneciana

Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski’s Cato (Lyr. II 6) and exercitia Seneciana The starting point for the research presented in this article was an attempt to trace the literary tradition which inspired the creation of the lyrical subject and the titular figure of Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski’s ode II 6 (Cato Politicus). The presence of this name implies that the intertextual dimension of the poem should be taken into account in its interpretation, hence, the author of this article assumed that the question of the literary tradition should be addressed before a hypothesis about the meaning of the poem is put forth. A review of Sarbiewski’s potential sources of inspiration – primarily works that were included in the basic and supplementary reading lists in Jesuit colleges – brings satisfactory results. It turns out that the ancient author who often mentions Cato the Younger is Seneca Philosophus, moreover, there are numerous similarities between some passages in his works and ode II 6. Sarbiewski seems to have been especially inspired by his Epistulae morales ad Lucilium, and also by the Senecan Consolationes. However, rather than refer to the views attributed by Seneca explicitly to Cato, the Polish poet explores the thoughts of the Philosopher himself, possibly assuming that the views of the politician and the philosopher were similar; this assumption could be justified by the fact that Seneca not only repeatedly expresses highest praise of the republican hero, but he also openly recommends to treat Cato Uticensis as a role model. These issues are discussed in the first part of this paper. In the second part, the author compares selected passages from Seneca’s works and two poems (II 5 and II 7) adjacent to the ode Cato Politicus. The comparison shows that the convergences discussed above are not incidental. On the contrary, there is a series of Sarbiewski’s odes inspired by Seneca, and therefore the Roman philosopher and tragedian can be considered the next, after Horace, master of the Jesuit poet. It is postulated that these inspirations deserve more recognition in further studies on Sarbiewski’s poetry, as they may be helpful in the interpretation of some problematic passages of his odes.

Pour une balnéothérapie stoïcienne ? Représentations de la baignade et poétique du discours philosophique dans les Lettres à Lucilius de Sénèque

The bathing representations throughout the correspondence with Lucilius seems to induct some crucial elements, both rhetorical and ethical, of the Seneca’s writing process. The description, and depiction, of bathing experiences in the Epistulae Morales enlightens the fact that Seneca’s shaping not only a stoic care of the self, but also a thinking and a writing method. Review of that writing pattern shows that the poetics of philosophical discourse may take different leads in the correspondence, from empirical experiences to ethical conceptualization, through literary aemulatio and satirical moral lessons. What appears, then, is a sociopoetical way of writing philosophy. The social representations are indeed orchestrated by Seneca in order to build a philosophical arrangement, which paves the way to a total transfiguration of the mind.

The Mouse, the Moneybox, and the Six-Footed Scurrying Solecism

This chapter argues that to properly understand Seneca’s project in the Epistulae morales, one needs to recognize and appreciate his sharp and often satirical wit. Any sensitive reader can observe that the work employs many standard humorous devices to lighten the tone and to hold the reader’s attention. Examples can be given of punning, incongruity, self-caricature, and more elaborate vignettes that recall the verse satires of Horace. But there are also instances in which Seneca’s humor is directed more specifically at certain modes of philosophical speech and writing: the redeployment of Epicurean sententiae in Letters 1-29; the cavillatio or riddle-syllogism of Letters 45, 48, and 49; and the riff on Stoic metaphysics in Letter 113. In these cases, one can best refer to the well-attested function of Roman invective humor as a means of policing boundaries. By them, Seneca communicates certain rules of generic decorum while also alerting readers to his own deliberate transgressions.

NATVRALES QVAESTIONES4APRAEF. 20 ANDEP. 34.2: APPROACHING THE CHRONOLOGY AND NON-FICTIONAL NATURE OF SENECA'SEPISTVLAE MORALES

It is undeniable that the form of Seneca'sEpistulae Moraleswe currently read is a work of literature, literature being here defined as a piece of work the author intended to publish. What Seneca claims inEp. 21.3–5 is clear evidence of this:exemplum Epicuri referam. cum Idomeneo scriberet et illum a uita speciosa ad fidelem stabilemque gloriam reuocaret, regiae tunc potentiae ministrum et magna tractantem, ‘si gloria’ inquit ‘tangeris, notiorem te epistulae meae facient quam omnia ista quae colis et propter quae coleris’. […] quod Epicurus amico suo potuit promittere, hoc tibi promitto, Lucili: habebo apud posteros gratiam, possum mecum duratura nomina educere.