De Vita Beata - Wikipedia De Vita Beata From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Essay by Seneca De Vita Beata From the 1543 edition, published by Antonio Constantino Author Lucius Annaeus Seneca Country Ancient Rome Language Latin Subject Ethics Genre Philosophy Publication date AD c. 58 De Vita Beata ("On the Happy Life") is a dialogue written by Seneca the Younger around the year 58 AD. It was intended for his older brother Gallio, to whom Seneca also dedicated his dialogue entitled De Ira ("On Anger"). It is divided into 28 chapters that present the moral thoughts of Seneca at their most mature. Seneca explains that the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of reason – reason meant not only using logic, but also understanding the processes of nature. Contents 1 Background 2 Contents 3 Topics 4 Notes 5 References 6 Further reading 6.1 Translations 7 External links Background[edit] The dialogue has the full title ad Gallionem de Vita Beata ("To Gallio on the happy life"). It was probably written in early 58 or a little earlier.[1] From incidental remarks made in the work, it is thought Seneca wrote it when he was in a position of power near the beginning of Nero's reign between 54 and 59.[2] Furthermore, Tacitus tells us that Publius Suillius Rufus had made a series of public attacks concerning Seneca's wealth in 58, and De Vita Beata contains a defense of wealth which may be a response to this or similar criticisms made around this time.[2] The work ends rather abruptly and is followed in the manuscripts by Seneca's De Otio which is missing its beginning.[2] The earliest surviving manuscript is from the Codex Ambrosianus, a Milan Codex, from the 11th century and other copies are derived from this archetype.[3] Contents[edit] The work can be clearly divided into two parts. In the first part (§1–17) Seneca defines the concept of the happy life and discusses how it can be achieved.[4] This part also disputes Epicurean doctrines.[4] In the second part (§17–28) Seneca discusses the relationship of philosophical teachings with one's personal life.[4] Part of this (§21–24) is specifically devoted to answering objections against the possession of wealth.[4] Topics[edit] Seneca, in agreement with Stoic doctrine, argues that Nature is Reason (logos) and that people must use their powers of reason to live in harmony with nature and thus achieve happiness. In his words, "rerum naturae adsentior; ab illa non deerrare et ad illius legem exemplumque formari sapientia est," which means "I follow nature; it is common sense not to stray from it but to be molded according to its law and example."[5] Seneca proposes to follow a logical sequence in this approach, starting with the definition of the objectives that the person wants to obtain. In decision-making he scorns the ways of the masses ("the most beaten and frequented paths are the most deceptive") since people are "more willing to trust another than to judge for themselves" and "a mistake that has been passed on from hand to hand finally involves us and works our destruction."[6] In a certain sense he identifies Nature with God, which he states several times requires our obedience ("We were born into this kingdom and to obey to God is freedom",[7] and he writes "when you rage against heaven I do not say, 'You are committing sacrilege,' but 'You are wasting your time.'"[8] Seneca presents a morality based on contempt for the pleasures ("pleasure is something lowly, servile, weak, and perishable")[9] and fortune ("do not be corrupted by external things, be unconquerable and admire only oneself, be courageous in spirit and ready for any fate, be the moulder of one's own life").[10] But he admits that there are acceptable pleasures "calm, moderate, almost listless and subdued, and scarcely noticeable" linked to the conduct of the wise person.[11] The attainment of happiness, therefore, is only really possible by following Virtue who "like a good soldier will submit to wounds, count her scars, and, pierced by darts as she dies, will yet adore the general for whom she falls",[7] because "no one can live cheerfully without living honourably."[9] Thus, Seneca distinguishes between virtues hard or difficult and virtues soft or easier to practice, because "there is no virtue without effort".[12] Among the difficult are patience, fortitude and perseverance, and among the easy are liberality, temperance and meekness. As far as wealth is concerned, Seneca does not consider it good or bad in itself, but acknowledges that it is "useful and brings great comfort to life",[13] so the wise person prefers them but is not subordinate to them. In this sense, wealth must be an instrument of virtue, using it to give to others, because "I shall proffer my bounty to some, and shall forcibly thrust it upon others".[13] Notes[edit] ^ Manfred Fuhrmann: Geschichte der römischen Literatur (= Reclams Universal-Bibliothek. Band 17.658). Page 392. Reclam, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-15-017658-1. ^ a b c Mutschler 2013, p. 141 ^ Leighton Durham Reynolds (Rec.): Dialogorum libri duodecim L. Annaei Senecae (= Oxford classical texts). Pages v-xx. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1977, ISBN 0-19-814659-0. ^ a b c d Mutschler 2013, pp. 142-3 ^ Seneca, De Vita Beata, cap. iii. ^ Seneca, De Vita Beata, cap. i. ^ a b Seneca, De Vita Beata, cap. xv. ^ Seneca, De Vita Beata, cap. xxvii. ^ a b Seneca, De Vita Beata, cap. vii. ^ Seneca, De Vita Beata, cap. viii. ^ Seneca, De Vita Beata, cap. xii. ^ Seneca, De Vita Beata, cap. xxv. ^ a b Seneca, De Vita Beata, cap. xxiv. References[edit] Mutschler, Fritz-Heiner (2013), "De Beata Vitae", in Heil, Andreas; Damschen, Gregor (eds.), Brill's Companion to Seneca: Philosopher and Dramatist, BRILL, ISBN 9004154612 Further reading[edit] Translations[edit] Elaine Fantham, Harry M. Hine, James Ker, Gareth D. Williams (2014). Seneca: Hardship and Happiness. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226748332 External links[edit] Aubrey Stewart (1900): Works related to Of a Happy Life at Wikisource Seneca's Dialogues, translated by Aubrey Stewart at Standard Ebooks De Vita Beata – Latin text at The Latin Library v t e Seneca the Younger Philosophy Dialogues De Beneficiis De Brevitate Vitae De Clementia De Constantia Sapientis De Ira De Otio De Providentia De Tranquillitate Animi De Vita Beata Letters Letters to Lucilius Consolations Seneca's Consolations (ad Helviam Matrem, ad Marciam, ad Polybium) Natural philosophy Naturales quaestiones Literature Extant plays Agamemnon Hercules Furens Medea Oedipus Phaedra Phoenissae Thyestes Troades Plays of questionable authorship Hercules Oetaeus Octavia Satire Apocolocyntosis Other Letters of Paul and Seneca (spurious) Related Senecan tragedy Stoicism Portraits Socrates and Seneca Double Herm Pseudo-Seneca The Death of Seneca (1773 painting) Family Seneca the Elder (father) Gallio (brother) Pompeia Paulina (wife) Lucan (nephew) v t e Stoicism Philosophers Early Zeno of Citium Persaeus Aristo Sphaerus Herillus Cleanthes Chrysippus Zeno of Tarsus Crates of Mallus Diogenes of Babylon Dioscorides Zenodotus Dionysius of Cyrene Apollodorus Antipater of Tarsus Middle Panaetius Dardanus Mnesarchus Hecato Posidonius Diodotus Diotimus Geminus Antipater of Tyre Athenodorus Cananites Late Seneca Cornutus Musonius Rufus Euphrates Cleomedes Epictetus Hierocles Junius Rusticus Marcus Aurelius Chaeremon Mara bar Serapion Philosophy Stoicism categories logic passions physics Neostoicism Modern Stoicism Concepts Adiaphora Apatheia Ataraxia Ekpyrosis Eudaimonia Katalepsis Kathekon Logos Oikeiôsis Pneuma Prohairesis Sophos Works Epictetus Discourses Enchiridion Marcus Aurelius Meditations Seneca Letters to Lucilius Essays: Anger Benefits Clemency Constancy Happiness Leisure Providence Shortness of Life Tranquillity Consolations Other Lectures (Musonius Rufus) On Passions (Chrysippus) Republic (Zeno) Related articles Paradoxa Stoicorum Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta Stoic Opposition Moral intellectualism Authority control VIAF 1 WorldCat (via VIAF) Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=De_Vita_Beata&oldid=1027358761" Categories: Philosophy essays Philosophical works by Seneca the Younger Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version Languages العربية Català Deutsch Español Français Galego 한국어 Italiano Latina Nederlands Português Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Edit links This page was last edited on 7 June 2021, at 13:19 (UTC). 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