''De Constantia Sapientis'' () is a moral
essay
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
written by
Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature.
Seneca was born in ...
, a
Roman
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*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Stoic
Stoic may refer to:
* An adherent of Stoicism; one whose moral quality is associated with that school of philosophy
* STOIC, a programming language
* ''Stoic'' (film), a 2009 film by Uwe Boll
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* ...
philosopher, sometime around 55 AD. The work celebrates the imperturbility of the ideal Stoic sage, who with an inner firmness, is strengthened by injury and adversity.
Date and addressee
The work is addressed to Seneca's friend Annaeus Serenus and written sometime between 47 and 62.
''De Constantia Sapientis'' is one of a trio of dialogues addressed to Serenus, which also includes ''
De Tranquillitate Animi
''De Tranquillitate Animi'' (''On the tranquility of the mind / on peace of mind'') is a Latin work by the Stoic philosopher Seneca (4 BC–65 AD). The dialogue concerns the state of mind of Seneca's friend Annaeus Serenus, and how to cure Sere ...
'' and ''
De Otio
''De Otio'' (''On Leisure'') is a 1st-century Latin work by Seneca (4 BC–65 AD). It survives in a fragmentary state. The work concerns the rational use of spare time, whereby one can still actively aid humankind by engaging in wider questions a ...
''.
The superior position
the sage
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inhabits, of detachment from earthly future events of a detrimental nature, is the unifying theme of the dialogues.
Since Serenus is portrayed as not yet a Stoic in ''De Constantia Sapientis'', it is usually considered the earliest of the three dialogues.
Content
In ''De Constantia Sapientis'' Seneca argues that
Stoicism is not as harsh as it first appears. Recalling the figure of
Cato the Younger
Marcus Porcius Cato "Uticensis" ("of Utica"; ; 95 BC – April 46 BC), also known as Cato the Younger ( la, Cato Minor), was an influential conservative Roman senator during the late Republic. His conservative principles were focused on the ...
Seneca argues that Cato as a wise person suffered neither injury nor insult. Although Serenus objects to this paradox, Seneca provides further analogies to emphasize the impervious nature of the wise person. In chapter 5 Seneca distinguishes between ''contumelia'' (insults) and ''iniuria'' (injuries). The rest of the treatise through to chapter 19 consists of discussions on the nature of both themes, showing that the wise person is immune from both insults and injuries. Seneca concludes the treatise praising the idea of the wise person while offering practical advice for all of us who are imperfect.
References
Further reading
Translations
* Elaine Fantham, Harry M. Hine, James Ker, Gareth D. Williams (2014). ''Seneca: Hardship and Happiness''. University of Chicago Press.
* Peter J. Anderson (2015), ''Seneca: Selected Dialogues and Consolations''. Hackett Publishing.
External links
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{{Authority control
Philosophical works by Seneca the Younger