Dialogues and Essays (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Seneca (Author), Tobias Reinhardt (Author), John Davie (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0192807145 | ISBN-13: 978-0192807144

Alain de Botton's bestselling The Consolations of Philosophy--later made into a six-part TV series--has helped popularize ancient philosophy and especially the work of Seneca. This superb volume offers the finest translation of Seneca's dialogues and essays in print, capturing the full range of his philosophical interests. Here the Stoic philosopher outlines his thoughts on how to live in a troubled world. Tutor to the young emperor Nero, Seneca wrote exercises in practical philosophy that draw upon contemporary Roman life and illuminate the intellectual concerns of the day. They also have much to say to the modern reader, as Seneca ranges widely across subjects such as the shortness of life, tranquility of mind, anger, mercy, happiness, and grief at the loss of a loved one. Seneca's accessible, aphoristic style makes his writing especially attractive as an introduction to Stoic philosophy, and belies its reputation for austerity and dogmatism. This edition combines a clear and modern translation by John Davies with Tobias Reinhardt's fascinating introduction to Seneca's career, literary style, and influence, including a superb summary of Stoic philosophy and Seneca's interpretation of it. The book's notes are the fullest of any comparable edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Davie is Head of Classics at St. Paul's School, London.
Tobias Reinhardt is Fellow and Tutor in Classics at Somerville College, Oxford University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192807145
• ISBN-13: 978-0192807144
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,340,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lucius Annaeus Seneca, statesman, philosopher, advocate and man of letters, was born in Spain around 4BC. He rose to prominence at Rome, pursuing a double career in the courts and political life, until Claudius sent him into exile exile on the island of Corsica for eight years. Recalled in AD49, he was appointed tutor to the boy who was to become, in AD54, the emperor Nero. Seneca acted for eight years as Nero's unofficial chief minister until Nero too turned against him and he retired from public life to devote himself to philosophy and writing. In AD65, following the discovery of a plot against the emperor, he and many others were compelled by Nero to commit suicide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Wow, February 4, 2011

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L. Jordan Bickel "Technomonk" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dialogues and Essays (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

I was surprised by how much I got from this book. There is so much wisdom. I'm reading it again. I'm writing down favorite quotes and commentary. A great boost to my stoic studies. Very relevant to the kind of wisdom I'm looking for.

Introduction led me to think the Consolation of Marcia would be the stand-out but it was the weakest one for me, but happiness and tranquility... providence and shortness of life were all awesome! Read this until you wear it out.

9 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful advice, May 20, 2009

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Fortuna - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dialogues and Essays (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

This is an excellent and practical guide to both life and philosophy. Highly recommended.

26 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What an Old Windbag Seneca Was!, November 25, 2008

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Giordano Bruno (Wherever I am, I am.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dialogues and Essays (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

What a sycophant and poseur! I have no doubt, after reading about half of these dialogues and essays, that Seneca was the model for Polonius, and for every other mouther of platitudes in the European Renaissance. That was, you may know, the period of history when Seneca's reputation stood highest. I imagine all those Humanists, whose livelihood depended on cosiness with one egomaniacal condottiere or another, found a brotherhood in Seneca that blinded them to the man's essential shallowness. The silly syllogisms of a "stoic" who believed in "providence" couldn't have been convincing on their own terms to a mind like Machiavelli's or Pico della Mirandola's.

Nevertheless, it seems utterly arrogant to "rate" an ancient Roman philosopher - a link in the chain of intellectual history - so I'm awarding 5 stars to the translator John Davie and the editor Tobias Reinhardt for their excellent academic presentation.

I chose to read Seneca largely because of the problem of interpreting his role in the 17th C opera "L'Incoronazione di Poppea" by Claudio Monteverdi. In that opera, Seneca argues with his pupil/master Nero, and is ordered to commit suicide for his pains. The portrayal, like everything in Poppea, is ambiguous. The soldiers and servants deride Seneca as a greedy opportunist and hypocrite, while his followers cling to him like a messiah. Mercury brings him a message of appreciation from the Gods, and promises him a ringside seat at Olympus. If his stoicism is insincere, it doesn't show in the scene where the messenger from Nero tells him his fate, or in the lead-up to his off-stage suicide. The music at that point supports a heroic conception of the man, and requires utmost gravity in performance. Of course, suicide was a sin that no good Catholic of 1642 could condone, but who ever suspected that Monteverdi was a good Catholic?

It was his suicide , in the long run, that made Seneca's fame. "Nothing in his life became him like the leaving of it."