Chicago (2106) p/b 318pp £24.50 (ISBN 9780226748337)
If readers have ever wondered about the relevance of studying the works of ancient philosophers, the writing of Seneca should reassure them that their time in is not being wasted. Some of the issues with which he grapples raise questions that have engaged the greatest thinkers and still trouble all with any human sympathies today: how do we help our fellow human beings come to terms with premature loss of a loved one, or why do bad things happen to good people?
These questions and many more are discussed by Seneca in this collection of his works, which is published now in paperback as part of Chicago’s commendable project to provide all of his extant works in specially commissioned translations. We are offered nine pieces: three ‘consolations’—to Marcia, Helvia and Polybius—and six essays, ‘On the Shortness of Life’, ‘On the Constancy of the Wise Person’, ‘On the Tranquillity of Mind’, ‘On Leisure, ‘On the Happy Life’, and ‘On Providence’. The title given to this collection, Hardship and Happiness, is well chosen.
There is an introduction of some twenty pages by the general editors, outlining Seneca’s life and discussing stoicism and Seneca’s personal take on it and also, presumably for the sake of completeness as they are not included in this volume, on his tragedies.
The translations are shared, albeit unevenly, between four eminent academics. Each work is prefaced with an introduction setting it in context and concludes with a few pages of short notes mainly addressing historical or other allusions, and suggestions for further reading.
The blurb singles out philosophy students as part of the target readership, but your reviewer believes that those of other disciplines, including the therapeutic, will find much to engage with. One of the attractions of Seneca is that he is not a slave to an artificial system or consistency in the face of life’s great mysteries, but is struggling within himself while offering advice and warnings which repay careful thought.
And back to relevance: Seneca’s reflections on the movements of large numbers of people in his attempt to reassure his mother, Helvia, that his compulsory exile was not too dire an experience, provide an interesting starting point for reflecting on the mass migrations we observe today.
To give a flavour of the translation (in this case by Gareth Williams who translates three of the nine pieces), this is what Seneca writes beginning with a proposition which he challenges: ‘“To be deprived of your homeland is unbearable”. Come now. Look at this vast throng which the buildings of the enormous city can scarcely accommodate: most of that crowd are separated from their homeland. They’ve gathered together from their own towns and colonies, from the whole wide world in fact, some drawn by ambition, some because they are charged with diplomatic business, some by self-indulgence in quest of a place favourably rich in vice, some with a longing for higher learning, some because of public shows. Some are attracted by friendship, some by their appetite for work, seeing ample scope for displaying their special qualities, some have brought their good looks to sell, others their eloquence for sale.’(Consolation to Helvia 6.2). A fair description of those we would in many cases call economic, cultural or social migrants.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Chicago for this one-volume selection of essays from long ago, which still have the power to stimulate our minds today.
Ray Morris