The Trail Of The Seneca Classic Reprint

Author : Allan P. Ball
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781331920021
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (2 download)

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Download or read book Selected Essays of Seneca written by Allan P. Ball and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Selected Essays of Seneca: And the Satire on the Deification of Claudius Seneca became an authority upon superstitions - at least to the extent of writing a book about them - and he had no disposition to be thought a prey to one. The act was characteristic in its reconciliation of a philosophic breadth of mind with the regard for appearances and other practical considerations that are essential to getting on in the world. In another letter he remarks, apropos of his own manner of life, tamquam in conspectu vivamus, - let us live without any necessity for concealment, - which is an honorable sentiment, but not based upon a perfectly ideal independence of the opinions of surrounding humanity, to which indeed even more consistent Stoics than Seneca rarely attained. Later in this same letter he describes among his frugal habits his simple luncheon, consisting of such kinds of food, as he oddly relates, that he does not have to wash his hands after it; he takes but little exercise, he says, for after a slight exertion he finds himself tired; he sleeps very little, as little as possible, in fact; and presently he goes on to say, fremitum patientissime fero. He seems to have conscientiously cultivated the practice of mental concentration, so that he could apply his mind to his work, as he tells Lucilius, undisturbed by distracting sounds around him. In Epistle 56 we find him explaining how he managed to study composedly while staying in very noisy lodgings over a public bath at a watering place. These are the remarks of Seneca's old age, but they undoubtedly indicate an interest in mental and moral experiment that went with him through life, along with the external incidents and allurements of an active career. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.