Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted Spring 4-1-2014 Simus inter Exempla: Exempla and Innovation in Valerius Maximus, Seneca and Juvenal Grace Kroner Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/undergrad_open Part of the Classical Literature and Philology Commons Recommended Citation Kroner, Grace, "Simus inter Exempla: Exempla and Innovation in Valerius Maximus, Seneca and Juvenal" (2014). Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted. 13. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/undergrad_open/13 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Simus inter Exempla: Exempla and Innovation in Valerius Maximus, Seneca and Juvenal Grace Mahony Kroner Senior Honors Committee Professor Cathy Keane, Thesis Adviser Professor Caroline Bishop Professor Tim Moore Thesis submitted to The Department of Classics Washington University in St. Louis In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors April 1, 2014 1 Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 1: Melius personis quam verbis: Theories of Vice and Exempla ...................................... 5 Overview ..................................................................................................................................... 5 How Vice (Metaphorically) “Spreads”: Disease, Contact, a Catchy Tune ................................. 6 Vice’s Slippery Slope in Juvenal and Seneca .............................................................................. 8 Vice as Inheritance in Juvenal and Seneca ................................................................................ 11 Geographic Distinctions of Vice: Rome and Elsewhere ........................................................... 12 Hoc facito et hoc fugito: Orders from Exempla ........................................................................ 18 Teaching by Example: How Exempla become Lessons ............................................................ 21 Following the Leader: Effects of Positive Exempla .................................................................. 24 To Jump over the Precipice or To Step Back: Effects of Negative Exempla ............................ 27 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 30 Chapter 2: Eadem cantabit versibus isdem: Characteristics of Exempla ..................................... 31 Exempla as a Rhetorical Tradition ............................................................................................ 31 The Inescapable Rhetorical Influence ....................................................................................... 32 Stoic Links to Seneca’s Use of Exempla ................................................................................... 34 General Characteristics of Exempla .......................................................................................... 34 Valerius Maximus: Maximus’ Luxury ................................................................................... 35 Seneca: Piso’s Anger .............................................................................................................. 37 Juvenal: Lateranus’ Unseemly Behavior ................................................................................ 38 Exempla from History and History from Exempla ................................................................... 39 Vice at a Pinnacle ...................................................................................................................... 41 Specific Characteristics of Negative Exempla: Satiric Speaker and Shocked Language .......... 42 Behind Closed Doors or Out in the Streets: Origins of Exemplary Figures .............................. 48 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 50 Chapter 3: Quid antiqua perscrutor?: Construction of New Exempla ......................................... 51 Overview ................................................................................................................................... 51 New Exempla: News Headlines ................................................................................................ 53 Seneca’s Exemplum in Process: Judging Claudius ................................................................... 55 Seneca’s Positive Exempla ........................................................................................................ 59 Aufidius Bassus: virum optimum ........................................................................................... 59 Tullius Marcellinus: Voluptas in Dying Well ........................................................................ 62 Seneca’s Negative Exempla ...................................................................................................... 64 Publius Vinicius, the Stammerer ............................................................................................ 64 Caligula: a Traditional Exemplary Character ......................................................................... 66 Juvenal’s Nod toward Stock Exempla ....................................................................................... 68 Vice on Stage: Audience in Juvenal .......................................................................................... 69 Juvenal’s New Exempla ............................................................................................................ 70 Valerius Maximus’ Sejanus: a Break in the Pattern .................................................................. 75 Seneca’s Sejanus: the Fickleness of Fortune ............................................................................. 77 Juvenal’s Sejanus: From Power to a Chamber Pot .................................................................... 78 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 82 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 83 2 Introduction Rhetorical devices pervade much of ancient literature and often add interest to the text. Exempla, vivid stories recounting laudable or shameful actions performed by known individuals, were one device used traditionally throughout the Greek and Roman worlds to promote proper behavior and discourage improper actions. The vibrancy and potential novelty of exemplary stories ensured them a place in the Roman rhetorical tradition; historians such as Livy and Tacitus note that the recording of exempla is one of the primary purposes of writing history. Here, I will address how three Roman Imperial authors writing in different genres employed and deviated from the exemplary tradition. During the reign of Tiberius (ca. 30 CE), Valerius Maximus published his compendium of Memorable Deeds and Words (Facta et Dicta Memorabilia), which includes a multitude of stories divided into nine books covering various virtues or vices. Little else is known of his life beside information gleaned from the text. In contrast, Lucius Annaeus Seneca is a well-known historical figure, both for his literary output and his position as Nero’s advisor (and subsequent suicide in 65 CE). He published a number of philosophical works, including On Anger (De Ira) and On Mercy (De Clementia), tragedies and a collection of 124 letters to Lucilius, a slightly younger member of the Roman elite (Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium). In many of these works, the influence of Seneca’s Stoic philosophy is prevalent. The verse satirist Juvenal is more obscure historically, though his fifteen complete satires and unfinished sixteenth have been mined for biographical details of questionable veracity. He published his poems (Satires 1-5 in Book 1, Satire 6 in Book 2, Satires 7-9 in Book 3, Satires 10-12 in Book 4, and Satires 13-16 in Book 5) between 115 and 130 CE. 3 Valerius Maximus presents exempla in the expected context of Roman literature: he imagines his stories appearing as evidence or analogies in rhetorical speeches. Thus, his work is almost inseparable from its rhetorical function, although remarkable for its size – 967 stories. In contrast, Seneca and Juvenal deliberately endeavor to innovate within the framework of exemplary discourse by not only including exempla in their works but also theorizing about their function to enlarge their purview. Seneca tends to consider more private, personal events, whereas Juvenal emphasizes the publicity, shock-value, and humor possible with detailed accounts of everyday vice parading through Rome. Valerius Maximus may allude to some of the theories of vice and exempla that Juvenal and Seneca expand upon, but his major focus is clearly on documenting the exempla themselves, most of which originate in other sources. He intends his organized collection for the orator and the student of rhetoric, while