DOCSLIB.ORG

Naturam Sequi.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Naturam Sequi.Pdf Mariana Montalvão Horta e Costa Matias NATURAM SEQUI: O MUNDO NATURAL E O ESPAÇO DO HUMANO NA POESIA DE SÉNECA Tese de Doutoramento em Estudos Clássicos, ramo Mundo Antigo, orientada pela Professora Doutora Nair de Nazaré Castro Soares e apresentada ao Departamento de Línguas, Literaturas e Culturas da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra Novembro 2017 FACULDADE DE LETRAS DA UNIVERSIDADE DE COIMBRA NATURAM SEQUI: O MUNDO NATURAL E O ESPAÇO DO HUMANO NA POESIA DE SÉNECA Mariana Montalvão Horta e Costa Matias Ficha Técnica: Título Naturam sequi: o mundo natural e o espaço do humano na poesia de Séneca Autora Mariana Montalvão Horta e Costa Matias Orientadora Nair de Nazaré Castro Soares Curso / Área Científica Doutoramento em Estudos Clássicos Ramo Mundo Antigo Data 2017 2 3 Tese realizada com o apoio da Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia – financiamento no âmbito do II Quadro Comunitário de Apoio, comparticipado pelo Fundo Social Europeu e por fundos sociais do MCES. 4 5 facilius natura intelligitur quam enarratur (Sen. Ep. 121.11) 6 7 A meus queridos Pais, Leonor e Luís Ao meu Rui 8 9 Resumo Diligente instrumento de pedagogia da uirtus, o estoicismo moldou o pensamento de Séneca. Uma das grandes máximas da doutrina do Pórtico, que ecoa por toda a obra do autor, é naturam sequi – ‘viver de acordo com a natureza’. Assim, para atingir a suprema virtude, defendem os estóicos que o homem deve submeter-se à lei da natureza que é lógos e expressão da vontade divina, na observância de uma ordem cósmica universal. Estabelecem, portanto, uma correlação directa entre razão e natureza, felicidade e moral: agir de forma moralmente aceitável implica adequar as decisões humanas à racionalidade da lex naturae. A este propósito, já as considerações das Naturales Quaestiones reflectem o amplo fascínio pelos fenómenos meteorológicos e mecanismos cósmicos, fundando a moral no conhecimento da phýsis. Com efeito, a sua dramaturgia também não foi estranha a esta influência: entre outras, plasmam ideologicamente o corpus tragicus noções como a do cosmos, organismo regulador das naturales et humanae res, ou a da estreiteza do vínculo simpatético entre homem e universo. Dilaceradas interiormente, as suas personagens encarnam o conflito ratio/ affectus, tomando decisões que resultam em comportamentos desviantes, que as afastam inevitavelmente da tranquillitas animi. Exemplum negativo, essa conduta irracional perturba e subverte as leis naturais – natura uersa est. Pretende-se, pois, com este estudo apresentar uma reflexão crítica sobre a conceptualização da natureza como elemento fundamental na construção dramática senequiana, partindo de um corpus de oito tragédias do autor. Conceito polissémico e multifacetado, a natura ganha inestimável valor ideológico, metafórico e plástico na produção teatral do poeta-filósofo, assumindo diferentes manifestações, como a cosmológica, fisiológica, toponímica ou ética. Na primeira parte do nosso estudo, recuperamos a teorização sobre a phýsis como fundamento do sistema filosófico estóico, destacando os mais significativos princípios cosmológicos e morais, imprescindíveis para a compreensão da natura trágica. Procuramos, depois, num segundo momento, centrar a análise na especificidade da estética dramática senequiana, designadamente na forte correlação entre palavra e imagem no desenho de espaços e ambientes naturais. Para esse efeito, invocamos valiosos contributos de áreas diversas como a Estética, Fenomenologia, Filosofia, Retórica e Literatura. Enfatiza-se a evolução da ideia de Belo, o sentimento de grandiosidade ‘sublime’ da natureza e a fusão do estado de alma 10 do sujeito-poético com a paisagem. Sublinhamos ainda a questão dos riscos pedagógicos inerentes ao emprego do ‘grotesco’ e do ‘excesso’ na fruição estética e moral da obra artística. À luz dos anteriores pressupostos, a terceira parte da pesquisa centra-se com pormenor na participação da natureza no drama senequiano. Apresentamos uma selecção crítica de excertos do corpus dramático, cuja análise estilístico-semântica se organiza em torno de cinco grandes temas: o fogo e a expressão do affectus; a imagem marítima, e a tempestade como mecanismo ecfrástico; a metáfora animal no delineamento físico, comportamental e moral das figuras; a desordem cósmica como projecção do caos humano e social; o locus horrendus, espaço de tirania e horror, e a intrusão dos inferna no mundo dos vivos. O nosso estudo procura, portanto, demonstrar que o visualismo pictórico e a dimensão animata da natura trágica se revela uma peça-chave na tragédia do Cordubense, do ponto de vista estrutural, ideológico e dramatúrgico. De facto, o mundo natural participa activamente no desenvolvimento dos dramas: contribui para o delineamento de paisagens e espaços e para a composição dos caracteres humanos, em especial nos processos de metamorfose de homens em monstra. Sensível, reactiva e animizada, a natureza senequiana corrobora o inquebrável pacto entre macro e microcosmos, o ‘nó sagrado’ de que falava Marco Aurélio. A par da prosa, o drama senequiano apresenta-se como admirável instrumento pedagógico de parénese estóica. Por meio dos mythoi, Séneca procura advertir para a imprescindibilidade da rejeição dos uitia, a fim de conciliar as acções humanas com o pressuposto exclusivo do homem, a perfecta ratio. Na verdade, a moralidade imanente à natura serve de elo estético e ético entre os vários dramas: o summum bonum cumpre-se no naturam sequi. 11 Abstract Stoic philosophy shaped Seneca’s thought, as a diligent tool for teaching uirtus. One of the most important Stoa’s aphorisms echoing through Seneca’s entire work is naturam sequi – ‘living according to nature’. Thus, in order to accomplish the supreme virtue, the Stoics claim that man should conform to nature’s law – lógos and expression of divine will – complying with a cosmic and universal order. They establish therefore a plain correlation between reason and nature, happiness and morals: behaving in a morally acceptable way implies matching human decisions with lex naturae’s rationality. In this regard, Naturales Quaestiones’ explanations mirror Seneca’s profound fascination with Physics, meteorological phenomena and cosmic events, basing morals on the knowledge of phýsis. In fact, Seneca’s drama embraces likewise this relevant influence: among other aspects, the perception of cosmos as a regulatory body of naturales et humanae res or the narrowness of the sympatheia between man and universe shape Senecan corpus tragicus. Emotionally torn, his characters embody the ratio/ affectus conflict, making decisions causing deviant behaviors, which inevitably depart them from tranquillitas animi. This irrational pattern, understood as a negative exemplum, disturbs and subverts natural laws – natura uersa est. This thesis aims to offer a critical analysis on nature as a foundational element in Senecan dramatic work, based on a corpus of eight plays. Presenting it as a polysemic and versatile notion, the roman poet-philosopher brings natura to an ideological, metaphorical and plastic level, adopting different approaches such as cosmological, physiological, toponymic or ethical. In the opening chapter of our essay, we review the theorization on phýsis as a key concept for the Stoic philosophical system, stressing the most significant cosmological and moral principles, crucial for understanding tragic natura. The second part of our research focuses on the distinctiveness of Seneca’s dramatic aesthetics, mainly the strong correlation between word and visual depiction in the design of natural atmospheres and settings in his dramas. For this purpose, we rely on valuable contributions from different fields of knowledge such as Aesthetics, Phenomenology, Philosophy, Rhetoric and Literature. Among other aspects, we emphasize the evolution of the theory of Beauty, the grandeur of the “sublime” in nature and the merger of the poet’s state of mind with the landscape. In addition, we address the issue of the inherent risks in the use of ‘grotesque’ or ‘excess’ in the aesthetic and ethical enjoyment of the 12 artistic work. Considering the previous assumptions, the third part of the study focuses in detail on the participation of nature in Seneca’s plays. Based on a critical selection of excerpts, we present a semantic and stylistic analysis, which we organize around five key ideas: fire and the expression of affectus; the nautical imagery and the storm as an ecphrastic technique; the metaphor from the animal world and the development of character design – physical, behavioral and ethical; cosmic disorder as projection of human and social chaos; the locus horrendus, space of tyranny and horror, and the interference of the inferna in the world of the living. Our study aims therefore to demonstrate that the pictorial and animato visualism of the tragic natura is a key element in Senecan tragedy, from a structural, ideological and dramaturgical point of view. In fact, the natural world plays an active role in the development of plots: it cooperates in the sketching of spaces, landscapes and human ethe, namely in processes of metamorphosis from men into monstra. Sensitive, reactive and humanized, nature supports the unbreakable bond between macro and microcosm, the Marcus Aurelius’ “sacred knot”. Alongside his philosophical prose, Senecan drama emerges as a remarkable pedagogical tool for Stoic paraenesis. The mythoi urge the audience to discard uitia and to match human action with the exclusive human asset, the perfecta ratio. After all,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Herakleitos (121.6Kb)
    The Reign of the Whirlwind 122 Chapter 7 Herakleitos ----------- 1. Life and book We have very little reliable information about the life of Herakleitos son of Bloson, of Ephesos. It is clear from the biographical accounts that survive, that the Alexandrian scholars could find little, even though they were not fussy about reliability. They made up anecdotes to fit some of the more striking sayings of this paradox-loving writer; and as a result, “Herakleitos the Dark” became even more obscure. We have to guess, first, at his dates. He knows something about Pythagoras and Xenophanes; and Parmenides seems to know something about him. We can hazard the conjecture that his book was written by 500 BCE (when Xenophanes had still the last quarter of his long life to live, and Pythagoras was in his last years). This would make 545 BCE a reasonable guess for his birth date. He probably died before 480.i Herakleitos belonged to the ancient royal clan of Ephesos. He is said to have deposited his book in the great temple of Artemis for which his native city was famous (22 A 1).ii We can fairly suppose that it was in his eyes the worthy trophy of a greater victory than any triumph in arms. Whether he was actually melancholic (“the weeping philosopher” as he came to be called)iii we cannot say. He was certainly both an angry man, and an intellectual aristocrat. There are some The Reign of the Whirlwind 123 “sayings” of his that were not in the book. In one plausible story, he “upbraids the Ephesians .
    [Show full text]
  • Senecan Tragedy and Virgil's Aeneid: Repetition and Reversal
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 10-2014 Senecan Tragedy and Virgil's Aeneid: Repetition and Reversal Timothy Hanford Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/427 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] SENECAN TRAGEDY AND VIRGIL’S AENEID: REPETITION AND REVERSAL by TIMOTHY HANFORD A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Classics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2014 ©2014 TIMOTHY HANFORD All Rights Reserved ii This dissertation has been read and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in Classics in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Ronnie Ancona ________________ _______________________________ Date Chair of Examining Committee Dee L. Clayman ________________ _______________________________ Date Executive Officer James Ker Joel Lidov Craig Williams Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract SENECAN TRAGEDY AND VIRGIL’S AENEID: REPETITION AND REVERSAL by Timothy Hanford Advisor: Professor Ronnie Ancona This dissertation explores the relationship between Senecan tragedy and Virgil’s Aeneid, both on close linguistic as well as larger thematic levels. Senecan tragic characters and choruses often echo the language of Virgil’s epic in provocative ways; these constitute a contrastive reworking of the original Virgilian contents and context, one that has not to date been fully considered by scholars.
    [Show full text]
  • Lucan's Natural Questions: Landscape and Geography in the Bellum Civile Laura Zientek a Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulf
    Lucan’s Natural Questions: Landscape and Geography in the Bellum Civile Laura Zientek A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2014 Reading Committee: Catherine Connors, Chair Alain Gowing Stephen Hinds Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Classics © Copyright 2014 Laura Zientek University of Washington Abstract Lucan’s Natural Questions: Landscape and Geography in the Bellum Civile Laura Zientek Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Catherine Connors Department of Classics This dissertation is an analysis of the role of landscape and the natural world in Lucan’s Bellum Civile. I investigate digressions and excurses on mountains, rivers, and certain myths associated aetiologically with the land, and demonstrate how Stoic physics and cosmology – in particular the concepts of cosmic (dis)order, collapse, and conflagration – play a role in the way Lucan writes about the landscape in the context of a civil war poem. Building on previous analyses of the Bellum Civile that provide background on its literary context (Ahl, 1976), on Lucan’s poetic technique (Masters, 1992), and on landscape in Roman literature (Spencer, 2010), I approach Lucan’s depiction of the natural world by focusing on the mutual effect of humanity and landscape on each other. Thus, hardships posed by the land against characters like Caesar and Cato, gloomy and threatening atmospheres, and dangerous or unusual weather phenomena all have places in my study. I also explore how Lucan’s landscapes engage with the tropes of the locus amoenus or horridus (Schiesaro, 2006) and elements of the sublime (Day, 2013).
    [Show full text]
  • Kaikkivaltias Jumala Ja Hyveellinen Maailmankaikkeus Kleemens Roomalaisen Ensimmäinen Kirje Stoalaisessa Kontekstissa
    Kaikkivaltias Jumala ja hyveellinen maailmankaikkeus Kleemens Roomalaisen ensimmäinen kirje stoalaisessa kontekstissa Tuomas J. Salo Dogmatiikan pro gradu -tutkielma Huhtikuu 2015 HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO HELSINGFORS UNIVERSITET Tiedekunta/Osasto Fakultet/Sektion Laitos Institution Teologinen tiedekunta Systemaattisen teologian laitos TekijäFörfattare Tuomas Juhani Salo Työn nimi Arbetets titel Kaikkivaltias Jumala ja hyveellinen maailmankaikkeus : Kleemens Roomalaisen ensimmäinen kirje stoalaisessa kontekstissa. Oppiaine Läroämne Dogmatiikka Työn laji Arbetets art Aika Datum Sivumäärä Sidoantal Pro gradu -tutkielma 1.4.2015 90 Tiivistelmä Referat Tämän tutkielman tavoite on kartoittaa ja analysoida Kleemens Roomalaisen ensimmäisen kirjeen (todennäköisesti 90-luvulla jKr.) ja samassa historiallisessa kontekstissa vallalla olleen stoalaisen ajattelun välisiä yhteneväisyyksiä ja eroavaisuuksia. Metodi on systemaattinen analyysi. Lähde on Kleemens Roomalaisen ensimmäinen kirje. Taustaluvussa tutustutaan stoalaisen filosofisen koulukunnan historiaan sen alkuvaiheista Ateenassa aina sen kultakauteen Rooman imperiumin populaarifilosofiana. Samoin tutustutaan Rooman ja Korintin seurakuntien historialliseen tilanteeseen kirjeen lähettämisen aikoihin. Etiikkaa käsittelevässä pääluvussa ”Kleemensin” eettistä ajattelua suhteessa stoalaisen filosofian eettiseen momenttiin. Hyveteorian kannalta huomataan, että kummassakin järjestelmässä ihmisen hyveellistä toimintaa ohjaa jokin sisäinen tiedollis-asenteellinen elementti. Kleemensillä se on vanhurskaus,
    [Show full text]
  • Apocalypses and the Sage. Different Endings of the World in Seneca
    ARTÍCULOS Gerión. Revista de Historia Antigua ISSN: 0213-0181 http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/GERI.63869 Apocalypses and the Sage. Different Endings of the World in Seneca Francesca Romana Berno1 Recibido: 9 de abril 2018 / Aceptado: 29 de octubre de 2018 Abstract. This paper deals with apocalypse, intended as a revelation or prediction related to the end of the world, in Seneca’s prose work. The descriptions and readings of this event appear to be quite different from each other. My analysis will follow two main directions. Firstly, I will show the human side of the question, focussing on the condition of the sage facing the universal ruin in the context of the macroscopic narrative structure of most passages, and on the differences between the Epicurean and the Stoic view on this point. Secondly, I will turn to the descriptions of the end of the world which we can find in the Naturales Quaestiones. I will argue that Seneca’s choice of flood or conflagration as representations for the apocalypse are not haphazard, but may be motivated by a subtle political narrative, and thus linked to the Stoic struggle for taking part in the governing of the state. In particular, the end of book three represents a flood which probably alludes toTiber’s floods. Keywords: Seneca; Final flood;ekpyrosis ; End of the world; Fire of Rome; Tiber’s flood. [esp] El sabio y los apocalipsis. Diferentes fines del mundo en Séneca Resumen. Este artículo trata del apocalipsis, entendido como una revelación o predicción relacionada con el fin del mundo, en las obras en prosa de Séneca.
    [Show full text]
  • Dissertação Apresentada Por ANDERSON ALEXANDRE RODRIGUES Ao Programa
    UEM UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DE MARINGÁ CENTRO DE CIÊNCIAS HUMANAS, LETRAS E ARTES PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM EDUCAÇÃO ÁREA DE CONCENTRAÇÃO: EDUCAÇÃO ANDERSO N ALEXANDRE RODRIGUES RODRIGUES ALEXANDRE N O CARÁTER PEDAGÓGICO DA FILOSOFIA SENEQUIANA ANDERSON ALEXANDRE RODRIGUES MARINGÁ 2020 2020 UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DE MARINGÁ CENTRO DE CIÊNCIAS HUMANAS, LETRAS E ARTES PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM EDUCAÇÃO ÁREA DE CONCENTRAÇÃO: EDUCAÇÃO Dissertação apresentada por ANDERSON ALEXANDRE RODRIGUES ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação da Universidade Estadual de Maringá, como um dos requisitos para a obtenção do título de Mestre em Educação. Área de Concentração: EDUCAÇÃO. Orientador: Prof. Dr.: JOSÉ JOAQUIM PEREIRA MELO. MARINGÁ 2020 Dados Internacionais de Catalogação-na-Publicação (CIP) (Biblioteca Central - UEM, Maringá - PR, Brasil) Rodrigues, Anderson Alexandre R696c O caráter pedagógico da filosofia Senequiana / Anderson Alexandre Rodrigues. -- Maringá, PR, 2020. 93 f.: il. color., figs., tabs. Orientador: Prof. Dr. José Joaquim Pereira Melo. Dissertação (Mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Centro de Ciências Humanas, Letras e Artes, Departamento de Fundamentos da Educação, Programa de Pós- Graduação em Educação, 2020. 1. Educação - Filosofia. 2. Sêneca, Lúcio Aneu, ca. 4 a.C - 65 d.C - Proposta educativa. 3. Educação - História. 4. Sêneca, Lúcio Aneu, ca. 4 a.C - 65 d.C - Estudo da filosofia. I. Melo , José Joaquim Pereira , orient. II. Universidade Estadual de Maringá. Centro de Ciências Humanas, Letras e Artes. Departamento de FundamentosCDD da 23.ed. 370.9 Educação. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação. III. Título. Rosana de Souza Costa de Oliveira - 9/1366 ANDERSON ALEXANDRE RODRIGUES O CARÁTER PEDAGÓGICO DA FILOSOFIA SENEQUIANA BANCA EXAMINADORA Prof.
    [Show full text]
  • Lucan's Pharsalia: the Stoic Cosmos As a Mirror
    Lucan’s Pharsalia: The Stoic Cosmos as a Mirror At the center of Lucan’s Pharsalia is an extended allegory that binds a Rome hurtling toward Civil War to a cosmos careening toward the Stoic ekpyrosis (conflagration). Recently, scholars have worked to elucidate the oft-noticed contradiction in Lucan’s depiction of the Stoic cosmos, namely that his cosmos is both Stoic and not Stoic (Lapidge 1979, Sklenar 1999). Attempts to pigeon-hole the Pharsalia into one of these categories lead to myopic or incomplete readings of the text. In his article concerning this contradiction, Paul Roche (quoting D. Feeney) notes, ‘In literary criticism you can often go a long way by saying, if someone brings up a problem, “Yes, that’s the point’” (Roche 2005). This paper, drawing from recent studies of Stoic physical theory, will further elucidate the contradiction found in Lucan’s text and will offer ways of understanding this contradiction and its essential rhetorical role in the epic. The contradiction involves the relationship between Stoic physics and Stoic ethics, a topic much debated in recent years. The orthodox theory holds that knowledge of Stoic cosmology is necessary for living a virtuous life. Most scholars agree that on reason (among others) that knowledge of Stoic cosmology was desirable was because it provided the Stoic with a providential view of the cosmos (Inwood 2009). This argument for the benefit of the cosmic viewpoint was often employed by Stoic philosophers to account for “the apparent counterintuitive thesis that pain and death are not evils” (Boeri 2009). Seneca, Lucan’s uncle, writes as much in his Consolatio ad Marciam.
    [Show full text]
  • Stoic Unformed Substance and Old Academic Ontology
    Stoic Unformed Substance and Old Academic Ontology Martin Skipper University College London 2009 PhD. 1 Stoic Unformed Substance and Old Academic Ontology I, Martin Skipper, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. 2 Stoic Unformed Substance and Old Academic Ontology Abstract: This thesis examines the influences on the Stoics‟ development of their material principle. The thesis argues that the reasons for the Stoics‟ conceiving of a material principle as they did actually have their origins in metaphysical speculation rather than physics. While the natural philosophy of the Ionians, as interpreted by Aristotle and his followers, no doubt furnished the intellectual background for a persisting material substrate of all sensible change, it is in fact the concerns of Plato and his early followers with the non-sensible that exert the strongest influence on the Stoics. The thesis examines the concepts of space and matter in the Timaeus ultimately rejecting this work of physics as central to the development of Stoic thought on matter. Rather it is the metaphysical doctrines of Plato and his successors, and the use they make of an incorporeal matter, that exerted the greatest influence on the Stoics and their material principle. The interpretation of Platonic metaphysics argued for in the thesis, based on the Unwritten Doctrines and the Old Academy‟s teachings, challenges the majority opinion of the English speaking community; and as a result offers a novel understanding of the relationship of Stoicism to Platonic metaphysics.
    [Show full text]
  • Seneca on Platonic Apatheia
    © Museum Tusculanum Press :: University of Copenhagen :: www.mtp.dk :: [email protected] SENECA ON PLATONIC APATHEIA By Michael Fournier Summary: In his Ad Marciam, Seneca makes use of the technique of prosopopeia in order to address Marcia in the guise of the philosopher Areus, Nature, and her father Cordus, who is now deified and speaking from the perspective of providence. These addresses form a series of exhortations which are involved in the project of consolation and give a philosophical structure to a text oft maligned as incoherent. Scholars generally consider Seneca’s Ad Marciam to be a flawed example of Stoic consolation. My own view is that Seneca’s presentation of a variety of consolatory strategies is not evidence of his carelessness and inconsistency, but part of the progression which the work commends to Marcia and to the reader. The progression leads the bereaved from the human perspective, to the standpoint of Nature, and concludes with the divine perspective. This progression becomes clear when the three prosopopeiae, which are generally ignored or regarded by commentators such as Manning1 or Favez2 as mere rhetorical flourishes, are interpreted as representatives of the three levels of consolatory wisdom. The result is that the work concludes, not with a Stoic apatheia that is opposed to the moderation proffered at the outset, but with a distinction between worldly virtue and divine virtue. This distinction an- ticipates Plotinus’ delineation between the moderation appropriate to civic virtue and the apatheia of the purified virtues in Nous which are above the passions. Seneca’s Ad Marciam is also widely regarded as a work which subordinates or abandons philosophical coherence in favor of rhetorical and generic con- 1 C.E.
    [Show full text]
  • Horror in Seneca's Thyestes and Lovecraft's
    Buchanan 1 Marshall Buchanan Prof. Nelson-Hawkins Latin 5014 December 14, 2012 Horror in Seneca’s Thyestes and Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” There are no grounds for establishing a direct literary tradition between the twentieth-century American writer of horror—H.P. Lovecraft—and the Stoic philosopher of Julio-Claudian Rome—L. Annaeus Seneca. Lovecraft himself writes only passingly of Seneca in his survey of Roman writers to praise his eminence in Latin letters of the Silver Age (“Literature of Rome” 29), and, in his brief appraisal of classical writers of the ‘weird,’ notes only specific incidents in the works of Pliny the Younger, Petronius, Apuleius, and Phlegon of Tralles, making no mention of the sanguinary dramas of Seneca (“Supernatural” 85). Yet, as these instances manifest, Lovecraft was clearly aware of and broadly acquainted with classical literature and culture and acknowledged it as the basis of the contemporary Western culture with which he fervently identified. (It is worth noting, too, that the foremost scholar of Lovecraft’s life and works, S. T. Joshi, is a graduate from the Department of Classics at Brown University [Joshi, “S.T.Joshi”].) Moreover, as a professed conservative, Lovecraft’s conscious incorporation of traditional motifs and aesthetic values into his own work is a strong basis for a mutually illuminating comparison of Lovecraft and Seneca. What makes this mutual illumination more compelling than simply a too general commonality of tradition is that, despite the major differences in their ostensible world views, both men in practice appealed to a similar aesthetic of cosmic horror, and furthermore used similar devices in developing that aesthetic.
    [Show full text]
  • View Community College
    INFORMATION TO USERS This reproduction was made from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this document, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify markings or notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1. The sign or “target” for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is “Missing Page(s)”. If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting through an image and duplicating adjacent pages to assure complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a round black mark, it is an indication of either blurred copy because of movement during exposure, duplicate copy, or copyrighted materials that should not have been filmed. For blurred pages, a good image of the page can be found in the adjacent frame. If copyrighted materials were deleted, a target note will appear listing the pages in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., is part of the material being photographed, a definite method of “sectioning” the material has been followed. It is customary to begin filming at the upper left hand comer of a large sheet and to continue from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. If necessary, sectioning is continued again—beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete.
    [Show full text]
  • Pneuma in Early Stoicism Robert Heller Royal
    PNEUMA IN EARLY STOICISM ROBERT HELLER ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON PhD 1 Declaration of Authorship I ………………………………… hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: ______________________ Date: ___________ 2 Abstract: The thesis proceeds on the supposition that there is an underlying theoretical unity between the three parts of philosophy and that the principle of coherence presupposes an element of continuity from one Stoic head to another. As such, whilst a fully- fledged theory of pneuma can only be attributed to Chrysippus, the third head of the school, the character of the theory is seen to be determined from much earlier with Zeno, who is the cause for the emergence of a pneuma with such unique characteristics in Chrysippus. Although the thesis does not pretend to be a comprehensive study of the concept of pneuma in Stoic thought, in order to trace the key characteristics of the Chrysippean concept in the earliest stages of the school and to reconstruct an outline of the underlying theory, I chart the evidence describing the mechanical processes involved in the pneuma’s variations in tension, its contraction and expansion, its growth and nourishment and the relation between the hegemonikon and the soul. These themes are discussed in chapters which are related to specific theories of the Stoics like cosmogony and cognitive process. The nature of the methodological approach means that I often use evidence from seemingly disparate parts of the Stoic system in order to better understand the processes involved and I also consider evidence from the doxographical records and extant commentaries which is largely ignored in the modern literature or is absent from von Arnim’s collection.
    [Show full text]