Sen. Epist. XLI Commentary revised by Jacques Bailly, from
a Commentary by John H. Wheaton
Contents: Text Introduction Commentary Style Notes Vocabulary
Text: XLI SENECA LUCILIO
SUO SALUTEM
[1] Facis rem optimam et tibi salutarem si,
ut scribis, perseveras ire ad bonam mentem, quam stultum est
optare cum possis a te impetrare. Non sunt ad caelum elevandae
manus nec exorandus aedituus ut nos ad aurem simulacri, quasi
magis exaudiri possimus, admittat: prope est a te deus, tecum
est, intus est. [2] Ita dico, Lucili: sacer intra nos spiritus
sedet, malorum bonorumque nostrorum observator et custos; hic
prout a nobis tractatus est, ita nos ipse tractat. Bonus vero
vir sine deo nemo est: an potest aliquis supra fortunam nisi ab
illo adiutus exsurgere? Ille dat consilia magnifica et erecta.
In unoquoque virorum bonorum
[quis deus incertum est] habitat deus.
[3] Si tibi occurrerit vetustis arboribus et
solitam altitudinem egressis frequens lucus et conspectum caeli
<densitate> ramorum aliorum alios protegentium summovens,
illa proceritas silvae et secretum loci et admiratio umbrae in
aperto tam densae atque continuae fidem tibi numinis faciet. Si
quis specus saxis penitus exesis montem suspenderit, non manu
factus, sed naturalibus causis in tantam laxitatem excavatus,
animum tuum quadam religionis suspicione percutiet. Magnorum
fluminum capita veneramur; subita ex abdito vasti amnis eruptio
aras habet; coluntur aquarum calentium fontes, et stagna quaedam
vel opacitas vel immensa altitudo sacravit. [4] Si hominem
videris interritum periculis, intactum cupiditatibus, inter
adversa felicem, in mediis tempestatibus placidum, ex superiore
loco homines videntem, ex aequo deos, non subibit te veneratio
eius? non dices, 'ista res maior est altiorque quam ut credi
similis huic in quo est corpusculo possit'? [5] Vis isto divina
descendit; animum excellentem, moderatum, omnia tamquam minora
transeuntem, quidquid timemus optamusque ridentem, caelestis
potentia agitat. Non potest res tanta sine adminiculo numinis
stare; itaque maiore sui parte illic est unde descendit.
Quemadmodum radii solis contingunt quidem terram sed ibi sunt
unde mittuntur, sic animus magnus ac sacer et in hoc demissus,
ut propius [quidem] divina nossemus, conversatur quidem nobiscum
sed haeret origini suae; illinc pendet, illuc spectat ac
nititur, nostris tamquam melior interest.
[6] Quis est ergo hic animus? qui nullo bono
nisi suo nitet. Quid enim est stultius quam in homine aliena
laudare? quid eo dementius qui ea miratur quae ad alium
transferri protinus possunt? Non faciunt meliorem equum aurei
freni. Aliter leo aurata iuba mittitur, dum contractatur et ad
patientiam recipiendi ornamenti cogitur fatigatus, aliter
incultus, integri spiritus: hic scilicet impetu acer, qualem
illum natura esse voluit, speciosus ex horrido, cuius hic decor
est, non sine timore aspici, praefertur illi languido et
bratteato.
[7] Nemo gloriari nisi suo debet. Vitem
laudamus si fructu palmites onerat, si ipsa pondere [ad terram]
eorum quae tulit adminicula deducit: num quis huic illam
praeferret vitem cui aureae uvae, aurea folia dependent? Propria
virtus est in vite fertilitas; in homine quoque id laudandum est
quod ipsius est. Familiam formonsam habet et domum pulchram,
multum serit, multum fenerat: nihil horum in ipso est sed circa
ipsum. [8] Lauda in illo quod nec eripi potest nec dari, quod
proprium hominis est. Quaeris quid sit? animus et ratio in animo
perfecta. Rationale enim animal est homo; consummatur itaque
bonum eius, si id implevit cui nascitur. Quid est autem quod ab
illo ratio haec exigat? rem facillimam, secundum naturam suam
vivere. Sed hanc difficilem facit communis insania: in vitia
alter alterum trudimus. Quomodo autem revocari ad salutem
possunt quos nemo retinet, populus impellit? Vale.
Text from www.thelatinlibrary.com, as submitted by Hansulrich Guhl
(Frauenfeld, Switzerland) from an unidentified edition and (the
later books) by Sally Winchester from the Reynolds edition. Introduction:
In this letter, having a sound mind, bona mens, is
synonymous with all of the following: having a superior tempered
soul that goes through all of life as if everything were of little
import (animus excellens, moderatus, omnia tamquam minora
transiens), being a good person (vir bonus),
seeing the gods as equals (ex aequo deos videns), being
unaffected by dangers and desires (periculis interritus et
cupiditatibus intactus), being happy in adversity (inter
adversa felix), smiling at what others fear or desire (quidquid
timemus optamusque ridens). Let's call that "being a good
person." It has echoes of stoic views of indifferents, religion,
invulnerability, and emotions, all complex topics treated in other
letters.
A sound mind is also synonymous with perfected reason in a
perfected soul animus et ratio in animo perfecta, where
"perfected" means made fully into what the soul is by its very
nature, a soul: the human soul is, by nature, a rational soul, and
so having a sound mind and being a good person just are the
perfection of one's soul, one's rationality.
So far, these are all 'analytical' claims: they simply explain and
expand on what having a sound mind, being a rational animal,
includes, according to Seneca.
No one is a good person without divine help (bonus vir sine deo
nemo est), however. That seems to say that we need external
help. Not so: contrary to ineffective popular religious beliefs
and rites, god is not out there outside of you: the relevant god
is within you (tecum est, intus est), and not just taking a
ride in you. God is in there as part of you, the divine part .
That is why it is foolish to wish to be a good person:
because being a good person is obtainable from one's own self, and
you don't wish for what you can get on your own power (at least
that seems a good way to explain the argument). The way that god
is within you is via your soul, which is clearly attached to you
but is also attached to or somehow has contact with or
communication with divinity. Seneca may be speaking more, or less,
metaphorically when he says animus haeret origini suae; illinc
pende, illuc spectat ac nititur (are we really to imagine
the soul has eyes (spectat)?).
Because the source of one's goodness as a human is within oneself,
one deserves the credit for it, says Seneca, unlike the situation
where one wears splendid clothes and gives a speech composed by
another and lives in a fancy house: whether or not those things
are good or bad, they do not arise from one's nature, and so one
ought not to brag about them (And yet, if one acquires them thru
use of one's rational powers, why not? one's rational powers are
one's self, aren't they? a non-stoic might say.).
What one's rational part, one's self, demands of one is to live
according to nature secundum naturam, where natura
means what one is, which is a rational animal. That is why Seneca
thinks it is an easy thing: what could be easier than being
oneself? "be true to yourself" is one way to put it. Seneca says
it becomes hard because society pulls one away into vice. What
vice is is another question.
Commentary:
§1 Goodness of soul is divine and to be sought
within us rather than externally via religious worship or temple
gods and priests.
We get a small window into typical actions of
religious worship: raising one's arms, imploring a priest,
conveying requests to the ear of an image of a deity. [1] Facis rem optimam et tibi salutarem
si, ut scribis, perseveras ire ad bonam mentem, quam stultum
est optare cum possis a te impetrare. Non sunt ad caelum
elevandae manus nec exorandus aedituus ut nos ad aurem
simulacri, quasi magis exaudiri possimus, admittat: prope est
a te deus, tecum est, intus est. facis ... si perseveras: simple conditional: indicatives in
protasis and apodosis. | ut scribis:ut
with the indicative, a relative adverb, ‘just as,’ 'as,'
equivalent to eo modo quo. From hints like this, we can
imagine letters written by Lucilius to Seneca. | optare: infinitives are nouns, but verbal nouns and
so they still can take objects (quam is its direct
object). | stultum: predicate nominative agreeing with optare
(which is the subject of est). | cum possis: causal and concessive cum both take
subjunctive. | impetrare: complementary infinitive with cum possis.| a te:
sometimes the personal pronoun must be translated as '-self'
even though it lacks an ipso. | sunt elevandae
manus and exorandus aedituus (sc. est):
'periphrastic' conjugation: gerundive + esse (amandus
est = 'he must be loved').aedituus is from aedes + tueor,
"temple-watcher," hence "priest." | ut…admittat:ut
with the subjunctive in a purpose clause. Triggered by
proceeding gerundives elevandae
and exorandus.
Alternatively, it could be an indirect command dependent on exorandus. | simulacri: possessive genitive dependent upon aurem. | quasi…possimus: conditional clause of comparison dependent
on purpose/indirect command ut admittat: see A&G 524A. | exaudiri: complementary infinitive with possimus. | prope est, tecum est, intus est: three clauses in asyndeton explaining the
claim Non… admittat.
§2
Sentiments such as "no one is good without god" made Seneca a
particularly attractive pagan for Christians, whose philosophers
took much from stoics. There is even an invented letter-exchange
between St. Paul and Seneca.
[2] Ita dico, Lucili: sacer intra nos
spiritus sedet, malorum bonorumque nostrorum observator et
custos; hic prout a nobis tractatus est, ita nos ipse tractat.
Bonus vero vir sine deo nemo est: an potest aliquis supra
fortunam nisi ab illo adiutus exsurgere? Ille dat consilia
magnifica et erecta. In unoquoque virorum bonorum [quis deus incertum est] habitat deus. Ita dico: first person singular subject refers to Seneca ipse. Ita, "thus" refers to
the previous claim from Non…est
and anticipates further support for that claim from sacer…custos. | Lucili: masculine vocative singular of Lucilius to whom the
letters of Seneca are addressed. | observator et custos: masculine nominative singular nouns in
apposition to sacer
spiritus. | malorum bonorumque: objective genitives dependent upon observator. | nostrorum: generic "our" refers to all humankind. | hic: refers to the sacer spiritus. | prout…ita: comparative correlative adverbs, "just as ...
so ...." | ipse: also refers to sacer spiritus. | Bonus vir: predicative nominatives dependent upon nemo. | an...exurgere: rhetorical question meant to strengthen
Seneca’s claim in the previous clause from bonus…est. | ab illo ... ille:illo
and ille refer to deo inthe
previous clause. |In unoquoque:unus
+ quisque, ‘each and
everyone,’ dependent upon habitat from succeeding quotation. | virorum bonorum: partitive genitives dependent upon unoquoque. | Quis…deus: Vergil, Aeneid, viii. 352. The
whole quotation, including the parenthesis, is from Vergil,
where it is used as part of a sentence that talks about how
rustic people say of an awe-inspiring forest on a hill that a
god dwells in it, though they don't know which god. The syntax
of the parenthesis is that quis deus (sc. sit)
is an indirect question that forms the subject of est,
and incertum is a predicate nominative that agrees with
the whole indirect question. As for habitat deus, the
direct object in Vergil is collem "hill," referring to
the thickly-forested awe-inspiring hill. §3 Awe-inspiring natural places make us believe
that divinity is manifest in the world around us. Akin to the
argument from design for the existence of god. [3] Si tibi occurrerit vetustis arboribus
et solitam altitudinem egressis frequens lucus et conspectum
caeli <densitate> ramorum aliorum alios protegentium
summovens, illa proceritas silvae et secretum loci et
admiratio umbrae in aperto tam densae atque continuae fidem
tibi numinis faciet. Si quis specus saxis penitus exesis
montem suspenderit, non manu factus, sed naturalibus causis in
tantam laxitatem excavatus, animum tuum quadam religionis
suspicione percutiet. Magnorum fluminum capita veneramur;
subita ex abdito vasti amnis eruptio aras habet; coluntur
aquarum calentium fontes, et stagna quaedam vel opacitas vel
immensa altitudo sacravit. Seneca constructs some complex phrases in the
first sentence here. The basic structure is Si tibi
occurrerit lucus, illa proceritas et secretum loci et
admiratio umbrae fidem tibi numinis faciet. The rest
consists of modifiers of elements of the basic sentence.
Si ... occurerit, …faciet: future more vivid condition. | tibi: compound verbs (occurrerit)
frequently take dative. | vetustis arboribus solitam altitudinem
egressis: ablative
of means dependent upon frequens.
solitam altitudinem is direct object of egressis. | ...
frequens lucus et ... summovens: lucus is modified
by two large-ish adjectival phrases (namely vetustis arboribus et solitam altitudinem
egressisfrequens and conspectum caeli <densitate> ramorum
aliorum alios protegentium summovens). | conspectum caeli:conspectum is direct object of summovens: caeli is objective
genitive dependent on conspectum.| <densitate>: ablative of means dependent upon summovens. The pointy
brackets indicate that densitate is an editor's
suggestion, an 'emendation,' because the text needs something
here for it to make sense. Another suggestion you might
like better (found in the Loeb edition, which lists it as
Hense's emendation) is obentu, from obtentus, -us, m.,
'spreading cover,' 'veil.' | ramorum aliorum alios (sc. ramos) protegentium: objective genitive phrase dependent upon
<densitate>: alios
is direct object of participle protegentium. When forms
of ali- occur in the same clause, they can be
translated as "some ... other" or "different ... different." | illa proceritas…secretum…admiratio: nominative singulars taken together as if
one phenomenon, the singular subject of faciet: see A&G
§317b. Usually, admiratio refers to an act of admiring
or wonder done by a subject of some object, but here, that is
not likely to be the case, because admiratio is parallel
to proceritas and secretum, which are not acts
done by a subject of some object. Perhaps this is more like the
'seven wonders,' whose 'wonder' is a quality of the place, the cause
of an act of an agent. In this respect, admiratio is
more like English "wonder" than English "admiration." L&S
do not have this meaning, however. | umbrae ... tam densae atque continuae: a genitive phrase, either object or subject
of admiratio, depending on the meaning of admiratio
(see previous note). | fidem numinis:fidem is direct object of faciet with objective
genitive numinis. | faciet: at long last at the end of the sentence, the
main verb, the apodosis of a future more vivid condition. | Si…percutiet: another future more vivid condition. | quis specus: ellipsis of ali- after si. | saxis exesis: ablative absolute. | suspenderit: indicative future-perfect main verb in the
protasis of a future more vivid condition. The thought is not
immediately intuitive: it is that the cave "suspends" or
"underhangs" the mountain because its roof supports the
mountain. | factus, ... excavatus: adjective
phrases modifying specus. | quadam religionis suspicione: ablative of means quadam suspicione
dependent upon percutiet
with an objective genitive religionis. | percutiet: indicative future main verb in the apodosis
of a future more vivid condition. | capita: ‘heads’ i.e. sources, starting points. | subita: it is no more literally
true of a spring that it is subita "sudden" than it is
true that it "comes out of nowhere," but the sentiment makes
sense and is the same in both cases. |vasti amnis: subjective genitives dependent upon subita eruptio. §4 Just as nature leads us to the divine, so do
outstanding human souls, because the soul, while mixed with the
body, stays attached to its divine point of origin.Each "person" has a better "person," as it
were, taking an interest in their affairs. That is their animus, their 'soul.'
It is not clear whether this talk is meant literally, but it is
unlikely. That each person has a person inside of themself is a
bit strange taken literally: surely that person doesn't have its
own body? does it have a person inside of itself? and why (not)?
Is it the same kind of person as the host person is? Such
questions lead one to think that this is figurative language:
the "person" inside of us is a truncated person, or better yet,
a part of our person, the part that makes us a person. But such
questions are not addressed here directly.
[4] Si hominem videris interritum
periculis, intactum cupiditatibus, inter adversa felicem, in
mediis tempestatibus placidum, ex superiore loco homines
videntem, ex aequo deos, non subibit te veneratio eius? non
dices, 'ista res maior est altiorque quam ut credi similis
huic in quo est corpusculo possit'? Si…eius: future more vivid condition: standard
protasis (videris) but
the apodosis is a question. |
interritum…intactum…felicem…placidum…videntem: accusative singular adjectives modifying hominem, all in
asyndeton, and all with ablatival or prepositional phrase
modifiers. | ex aequo deos: construe both ex superiore loco homines
and ex aequo deos with videntem, a typically Senecan
antithesis. | subibit: indicative future main verb in the apodosis
of a future more vivid condition. | veneratio eius:eius
is objective genitive. | dices: indicative future main verb introducing
another aposodis to the previous conditional: a rhetorical
question posed to Lucilius. | ista…possit: direct statement of someone agreeing with
Seneca’s previous claim from si…eius. Note that dices
here takes direct statement, not indirect. | ista res: ‘this phenomenon,’ 'this thing,' referring
tothe group of
qualities in the previous sentence taken as one thing. | ut credi…possit: result clause triggered by the comparatives
maior altiorque quam.
See A&G §571a. Subject of credi possit is
an understood ista res (from previous clause), and similis
is a predicate nominative in agreement with that ista res. | huic corpusculo: dative dependent on similis.| est: subject is another understood ista res.
§5 This better part both remains with god and is with us:
Seneca offers a ray of sunlight as an example of how that is
possible. He claims that sunlight both remains dependent on and
attached to the sun and is here on earth. The physics of a
system that really worked that way would be interesting and
different. But even if we find fault with Seneca's physics, that
needn't impugn his claim. It simply impugns his illustrative
parallel.
[5] Vis isto divina descendit; animum
excellentem, moderatum, omnia tamquam minora transeuntem,
quidquid timemus optamusque ridentem, caelestis potentia
agitat. Non potest res tanta sine adminiculo numinis stare;
itaque maiore sui parte illic est unde descendit. Quemadmodum
radii solis contingunt quidem terram sed ibi sunt unde
mittuntur, sic animus magnus ac sacer et in hoc demissus, ut
propius [quidem] divina nossemus, conversatur quidem nobiscum
sed haeret origini suae; illinc pendet, illuc spectat ac
nititur, nostris tamquam melior interest. isto: dative with descendit. | animum excellentem, moderatum, omnia
tamquam minora transeuntem…ridentem: direct object of agitat.| ridentem: present participle with the omitted
antecedent of quidquid
as direct object. | timemus optamusque: generic "we" referring to all humankind. | maiore sui parte: sui
partitive genitive of 3rd person personal pronoun.The ablative maiore parte is hard
to classify, perhaps locative (A&G 429.1) or an
ablative of specification? In any case, it is clear what it
means. | unde descendit: unde is a relative adverb whose
antecedent is the demonstrativeillic,
which refers to wherever the divine abides. How could you tell
whether descendit is present or perfect? would it
matter? | Quemadmodum…interest: this simile compares radii solis to animus magnus et sacer. | ibi ... unde: another demonstrative (ibi) and
its relative adverb (unde).| in hoc: sc. locum,
referring to our earthly abode. | ut…nossemus: purpose clause dependent upon in hoc demissus. | nossemus: subjunctive in purpose clause (it would work
just about as well as a result clause, which would not reflect
the thought that things are arranged for the best). Generic ‘we’
again. The subjunctive is primary sequence, and so would
normally be present or perfect subjunctive, but nosco
has one meaning in the present-stem tenses ('get to know') and
another in the perfect-stem tenses ('know'): hence the
pluperfect subjunctive in primary sequence. | origini suae: dative with haeret.
| nostris tamquam melior interest: interest takes dative (nostris):
although interest can be impersonal, here melior
is its subject. tamquam "as it were," "so to speak,"
modifying melior. Melior is substantival, 'a
better person.' §6
Things external to the soul do not make it good: only what comes
from the soul itself, from its nature, makes it a good soul.
Seneca compares this to two lions, one of which is forced to
endure being dressed up, the other is in its natural state. The
analogy is not specified enough to follow very far.
[6] Quis est ergo hic animus? qui nullo
bono nisi suo nitet. Quid enim est stultius quam in homine
aliena laudare? quid eo dementius qui ea miratur quae ad alium
transferri protinus possunt? Non faciunt meliorem equum aurei
freni. Aliter leo aurata iuba mittitur, dum contractatur et ad
patientiam recipiendi ornamenti cogitur fatigatus, aliter
incultus, integri spiritus: hic scilicet impetu acer, qualem
illum natura esse voluit, speciosus ex horrido, cuius hic
decor est, non sine timore aspici, praefertur illi languido et
bratteato. qui nullo bono nisi suo (sc. bono) nitet: nullo bono and suo (sc.
bono) are ablatives of means. The more fully expressed
thought would be qui nullo bono nitet nisi suo bono nitet.
| laudare: a nominative infinitive introduced by the
comparative particle quam and agreeing with subject quid
and predicate nominative stultius. laudare itself
has a direct object aliena and is modified by in
homine. | quid eo dementius qui ... : eo is ablative of comparison. eo
is also the antecedent of qui, which is masculine. But quid,
the thing to which eo qui ... is compared, is neuter:
compare English 'humans are funny things.' | Non faciunt meliorem equum
aurei freni: grammatically, this sentence could be one
of two constructions: 1) either meliorem is
predicative, as in 'make a horse better,' or 2) meliorem
is attributive, as in 'make a better horse.' The meaning is
the same either way, and there is an understood quam idem
equus sine aureis frenis esset (or the like). | Aliter ... aliter: adverbs modifying mittitur. Two
forms with ali- in one sentence can mean "one ...
another" or "different ... different(ly)" or "some ...
others." Here, "in one way ... in another way... ." | aurata iuba: an ablative of quality
often expresses a physical quality, as it does here (A&G
415). | mittitur: sc. into the arena. | dumcontractatur
... et... cogitur: dum + indicative expressing
contemporaneous action with the main clause, "while." | recipiendi ornamenti: objective genitive gerundive + noun
dependent upon patientiam.
| fatigatus: nominative in apposition to leo. | aliter incultus (sc. leo mittitur): the second lion. | integri spiritus: genitive of description (A&G 345). | hic impetu acer: nominative phrase, subject of praefertur.
hic frequently refers to the closer of two items that
occurred in an earlier clause. impetu is ablative of
specification dependent on acer. | qualem illum natura esse voluit: although it is easy to understand, there
is a fine point one might wish to be aware of: volo +
inf. means the same thing but differs in construction from volo
me + inf., which differs again from volo + acc.
(other than subject of volo) + inf. Here, we have volo+ acc. (other than subject of volo)
+ inf., which has the same structure as indirect statement: illum
is subject of esse, while qualem is a
predicate accusative agreeing with illum.
| speciosus ex horrido: speciosus is nominative in
apposition to incultus (sc. leo). ex
= 'on account of' + abl. horrido, which is neuter
singular expressing an abstract quality (A&G 289a),
= 'fierceness,' 'shagginess,' 'wildness' or the like.
| cuius hic decor est: the antecedent of cuius is hic
acer (sc. leo), decor is subject of est,
and hic is predicate nominative agreeing with decor.
aspici is in apposition to hic (see next note).
| non sine timore aspici: a noun clause: the infinitive aspici is
in apposition to hic.
nonsine timore modifies aspici and is a 'litotes' (understatement using a
negation which implies a significant degree of the corresponding
positive: non sine timore = 'with great fear' or the
like). | praefertur: subject is hicacer (sc. leo). | illi languido et bratteato: datives of dependent on praefertur. These
datives redescribe leo
aurata iuba. | bratteato: an alternate spelling is bracteatus:
Classical Latin used aureus instead.
§7-8 Humans should be praised only for the quality
that makes them human, their rationality (the definition of
human for stoics and their predecessors Plato and Aristotle is
"rational animal"). If rationality is perfected then one has
attained one's highest good and the closest state to divinity
that is humanly possible. Humans are regularly dragged down to
vice by other humans. Vice may, on this line of argument, be
anything that pulls us away from perfecting our rationality. But
that is not explicitly addressed here.
[7] Nemo gloriari nisi suo debet. Vitem
laudamus si fructu palmites onerat, si ipsa pondere [ad
terram] eorum quae tulit adminicula deducit: num quis huic
illam praeferret vitem cui aureae uvae, aurea folia dependent?
Propria virtus est in vite fertilitas; in homine quoque id
laudandum est quod ipsius est. Familiam formonsam habet et
domum pulchram, multum serit, multum fenerat: nihil horum in
ipso est sed circa ipsum. [8] Lauda in illo quod nec eripi
potest nec dari, quod proprium hominis est. Quaeris quid sit?
animus et ratio in animo perfecta. Rationale enim animal est
homo; consummatur itaque bonum eius, si id implevit cui
nascitur. Quid est autem quod ab illo ratio haec exigat? rem
facillimam, secundum naturam suam vivere. Sed hanc difficilem
facit communis insania: in vitia alter alterum trudimus.
Quomodo autem revocari ad salutem possunt quos nemo retinet,
populus impellit? Vale. nisi: nisi applies to suo, not
the rest of the clause. Another way to say this is that clause
is short for Nemo gloriari aliquo debet nisi suo gloriatur. | suo: abl., because glorior takes ablative,
suo refers to the soul's own properties, qualities
inherent in the soul’s nature. | onerat... deducit: subject is understood to be vitis, from a preceding
clause. | ipsa: modifies adminicula. | num quis…dependent: rhetorical question expecting a negative
answer. | cui aureae uvae, aurea
folia dependent: double subject in asyndeton. | Propria: in the philosophical sense, a proprium
refers to a quality that arises in a thing because that thing is
what it is: for example, birds have to have wings, because they
are birds: something without wings is not a bird: it's 'proper'
to a bird to have wings (nevermind birth defects or birds which
have had their wings removed: you get the idea, one hopes). BTW,
'proprium' means much the same thing in English. | fertilitas: predicate nominative. | laudandum: neuter nominative gerundive agreeing with id. | quod ipsius est: ipsius is a predicate genitive. | habet…serit…fenerat: understand a generalized homo as subject, or the
indefinite 'one' that one uses sometimes in English. | horum: partitive genitive referring to familiam formonsam, domum pulchram, and multum taken as a
whole. | Lauda: imperative. | quod…dari, quod…est: relative clauses with understood antecedent
id(the
object of lauda). | Quaeris…sit: rhetorical question with an indirect
question within it. | Rationale…homo: a definition. homo is subject, rationale
animal is predicate nominative. | bonum: subject of consummatur. | eius: possessive genitive referring to homo. | id: antecedent of cui. | quod…exigat: relative clause of characteristic with
antecedent quid. | ab illo: refers to homo. | rem facillimam, secundum naturam vivere: the direct object, and its appositive
infinitive phrase, of an understood ratio haec ab illo exigit,
answering the previous question. | hanc: accusative object of facit, feminine
singular because it refers to rem facillimam,secundam naturam suam
vivere. | alter alterum trudimus: first person
plural verb with singular apparently 3rd person subject, a constructio
ad sensum, aka 'synesis.' | Quomodo…impellit: Seneca closes by asking how an individual
can fulfill his or her true nature in light of the pull of the
masses. Style:
Philosophical Argumentation Itaque, Enim, Ergo
Future More Vivid Conditions -Si tibi occurrerit…frequens lucus… fidem
tibi numinis faciet. -Si quis specus… suspenderit…animum tuum
quadam religionis suspicione percutiet. -Si hominem videris… non subibit te
veneratio eius?
Similes & Illustrations – Philosophical Themes Treated in More
Familiar Terms -Quemadmodum radii
solis… sic animus magnus ac sacer… -Non faciunt meliorem equum aurei freni. -Aliter leo aurata iuba mittitur… aliter incultus,
integri spiritus… -Vitem laudamus si fructu palmites onerat…
Lauda in illo quod nec eripi potest nec dari
Rhetorical Questions – Conclusions Seem More Obvious -…an potest aliquis supra fortunam nisi ab illo adiutus
exsurgere? -…non subibit te veneratio eius? -non dices… -Quid enim est stultius quam in homine
aliena laudare? -quid eo dementius qui ea miratur quae ad
alium transferri protinus possunt? - num quis huic illam praeferret vitem cui
aureae uvae, aurea folia dependent?
Parallelisms – Repeated Structures and Rephrasing of the
same idea -prope est a te
deus, tecum est, intus est -hic prout a nobis tractatus est, ita nos ipse tractat - ex superiore loco homines videntem, ex aequo deos - interritum
periculis, intactum
cupiditatibus, inter adversa felicem, in mediis
tempestatibus placidum,
ex superiore loco homines videntem - animum
excellentem, moderatum,
omnia tamquam minora transeuntem,
quidquid timemus optamusque ridentem
Vocabulary: a(d)spicio, a(d)spicere, a(d)spexi,
a(d)spectus, to look at, observe abditus, -a, um, hidden; [as substantival,
n.] hidden place acer, acris, acre, sharp, acute, brave,
violent adiuvo, adiuvare, adiuvi, adiutus, to help,
support adminiculum, -i n., stake, prop admiratio, -nis f., admiration, wonder admitto, admittere, admisi, admissus, to send
to, let go, admit adversum, -i n., misfortune, calamity,
disaster aedituus, -i m., a custodian of a temple aequus, -a, -um, even, level, equal agito, agitare, agitavi, agitatus, to urge,
drive onward, chase alienus, -a, -um, belonging to someone else aliquis, aliquid, someone, anyone, one or
another aliter, differently alius, -a, -um, another, other different alter, -a, -um, one, another, the other (of
two) altitudo, -inis f., height, altitude, depth altus, -a, -um, high, tall, lofty amnis, amnis m., river an, or (introducing alternative question) animal, -is n., living being, animal animus, -i m., rational soul, intellect,
mind, reason apertus, -a, -um, uncovered, open, clear aqua, -ae f., water ara, -ae f., altar arbor, -oris f., tree auratus, -a, -um, adorned with gold, gilded,
golden aureus, -a, -um, of gold, golden auris, auris f., ear autem, however bonus, -a, -um, good
bracteatus, -s, -um, see bratteatus brattea, -tis f., metallic foil, gold-leaf
bratteatus, -a, -um, gilded caelestis, caeleste, of heaven, heavenly,
divine caelum, -i, n., sky, heaven caleo, calere, calui, - , to be warm, be hot caput, capitis n., head causa, -ae f., cause, reason cogo, cogere, coegi, coactus, to compel,
urge, constrain colo, colere, colui, cultus, to till, care
for, cultivate communis, commune, common, general, public consilium, -i n., counsel, deliberation conspectus, -us, m., look, sight, appearance consummo, (1), to complete, finish contingo, contingere, contigi, contactus, to
touch, seize, adjoin continuus, -a, -um, joining, continuous
contracto, see contrecto contrecto, (1) (also contracto),
handle, meddle with converso, (1), to turn around corpusculum, -i n., a puny body, atom credo, credere, credidi, creditus, to
believe, trust cupiditas, -tis f., a longing, desire, lust custos, custodis, m., guard, keeper debeo, debere, debui, debitus, to owe, be
under obligation, to be due decor, -is m., ornament, decoration deduco, deducere, deduxi, deductus, to lead
away, draw down demens, -tis, wild, foolish, reckless demitto, demittere, demisi, demissus, to send
down densitas, -tis f., thickness densus, -a, -um, thick, close, compact dependeo, dependere, - , - , to hang from descendo, descendere, descendi, descensus, to
climb down, come down, descend, fall deus, -i m., god, divinity dico, dicere, dixi, dictus, to say, speak,
tell difficilis, difficile, hard, difficult divinus, -a, -um, of a god, divine do, (1), to give, hand over domus, -us f., house dum, while egredior, egredi, egressus sum, to ascend elevo, (1), to lift up, raise eo, ire, ivi, - , to go equus, -i m., horse erigo, erigere, erexi, erectus, to raise up,
lift, set up, erect eripio, eripere, eripui, ereptus, to tear
out, pluck, deliver, free eruptio, -onis, f., a breaking out, bursting
forth exaudio, exaudire, exaudivi, exauditus, to
hear clearly excavo, (1), to hollow out excellens, -ntis, prominent, distinguished,
superior exedo, exedere, exedi, exesus, to destroy,
corrode exigo, exigere, exegi, exactus, to drive one,
thrust out, require, collect exoro, (1), to persuade by entreaty, induce,
appease exsurgo, exsurgere, exsurrexi, - , to rise
up, recover strength f(a)eneror, f(a)enerari, f(a)eneratus sum, to
lend with interest, charge interest on a loan facilis, facile, easy, quick facio, facere, feci, factus, to make, do familia, -ae, f., the slaves of a household,
family fatigo, (1), to weary, tire, fret felix, -icis, fruitful, happy, lucky,
fortunate fero, ferre, tuli, latus, to bear, carry fertilitas, -tis, f., fruitfulness, abundance fides, -ei, f., trust, faith, belief flumen, -inis, n., river, stream, running
water folium, -i, n., leaf fons, -tis, m., a spring, fountain, well,
source formo(n)sus, -a, -um, finely formed,
beautiful fortuna, -ae, f., chance, fate, fortune fr(a)enum, -i, n., bridle, bit frequens, -tis, crowded fructus, -us, m., enjoyment, delight,
product, fruit glorior, gloriari, gloriatus sum, to boast,
vaunt, glory, pride oneself habeo, habere, habui, habitus, to have, hold,
support, carry habito, (1), to dwell, reside, live, abide haereo, haerere, haesi, - , to hang, cleave,
cling hic, haec, hoc, this homo, hominis, human being horridus, -a, -um, rough, shaggy, rough,
crude, wild ibi, there, in that place ille, illa, illud, that, he she, it illic, in that place, there illinc, from that place, thence illuc, to that place, thither immensus, -a, -um, immeasurable, endless,
vast impello, impellere, impuli, impulsus, to
strike against, drive, smite, break impetro, (1), to achieve, obtain, procure impetus, -us, m., attack, assult impleo, implere, implevi, impletus, to fill
up, make full incertus, -a, -um, undetermined, unsettled,
doubtful incultus, -a, -um, wild, un-domesticated,
untrained insania, -ae, f., madness, frenzy intactus, -a, -um, untouched, intact integer, -a, -um, untouched, unhurt, entire,
whole interritus, -a, -um, undaunted, unterrified intersum, interesse, interfui, interfuturus,
to be between, differ; [3rd person impersonal] it
concerns ipse, -a, -um, himself, herself, itself is, ea, id, this, that, he, she, it iste, -a, -um, this, that, he, she, it ita, in this manner, thus itaque, therefore iuba, -ae, f., mane languidus, -a, -um, faint, languid, dull laudo, (1), to praise laxitas, -tis, f., width, spaciousness leo, -nis, m., lion locus, -i, m., place, spot lucus, -i, m., sacred grove, wood magis, more magnificus, -a, -um, great, noble,
distinguished magnus, -a, -um, great, large maior, maius, bigger, larger, better malus, -a, -um, bad, wicked manus, -us, f., hand medius, -a, -um, in the middle, neutral,
middle melior, melius, better mens, -tis, f., mind, soul minor, minus, smaller, lesser miror, mirari, miratus sum, to wonder,
marvel, be astonished mitto, mittere, misi, missus, to send moderor, moderari, moderatus sum, to manage,
regulate mons, -tis, m., mountain multus, -a, -um, many nascor, nasci, natus sum, to be born, begin;
(+dat.) to be born for ____ natura, -ae, f., nature, character naturalis, naturale, natural, by birth nemo, -inis, no one, nobody nihil, nihil, n., nothing
niteo, nitere, shine nitor, niti, nixus sum, to strive nosco, noscere, novi, notus, to learn,
discern, come to know noster, -a, -um, our, of us nullus, -a, -um, not any, none num, particle introducing a question which
expects a negative answer numen, -inis, n., god-head, divinity, deity observo, (1), to watch, observe occurro, occurrere, occurri, occursus, to run
up, go against, meet omnis, omne, all, every onero, (1), to load, burden opacitas, -tis, f., shade optimus, -a, -um, best opto, (1), to choose, select origo, -inis, f., beginning, start, origin ornamentum, -i, n., equipment, decoration palmes, -itis, m., vine-sprig, branch pars, -tis, f., piece, part patientia, -ae f., endurance, enduring,
putting up with pendeo, pendere, pependi, - , to hang penitus, from the depths, deeply percutio, percutere, percussi, percussus, to
strike through perficio, perficere, perfeci, perfectus, to
complete, perfect periculum, -i, n., danger persevero, (1), to persevere, persist, abide placidus, -a, -um, calm pondus, -eris, n., weight populus, -i m., people possum, potest, potui, - , to be able, can potentia, -ae, f., power praefero, praeferre, praetuli, praelatus, to
prefer proceritas, -atis, f., high growth prope, near propius, -a, -um, patricular protego, protegere, protexi, protectus, to
cover protinus, immediately prout, just as pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum, beautiful quaero, quaerere, quaesivi, quaesitus, to
seek qualem, just as quam, than quasi, as if quemadmodum, in what manner qui, quae, quod, who, which quidam, quaedam, quodam, a certain one quis, quid, who, what quisque, quaeque, quodque, each, every one quisquid, quidquid, whoever, whatever quomodo, in what manner quoque, also radius, -i, m., ray, rod ramus, -i, m., branch ratio, -nis, f., reason rationalis, rationale, rational recipio, recipere, recepi, receptus, to
recover religio, -nis, f., religious feeling res, rei, f., matter, condition, soul retineo, retinere, retinui, retentus, to hold
back revoco, (1), to recall rideo, ridere, risi, risus, to laugh sacer, sacra, sacrum, sacred sacro, (1), to consecrate salus, -tis f., health salutaris, salutare, beneficial saxum, -i, n., rock scilicet, of course scribo, scribere, scripsi, scriptus, to write secretum, -i, n., mystery; solitude secundum, (+ acc.) following, according to sedeo, sedere, sedi, sessus, to sit sero, serere, sevi, satus, to produce sic, thus silva, -ae, f., forest similis, simile, similar, resembling simulacrum, -i, n., image, statue sol, -is, m., sun solitus, -a, -um, accustomed speciosus, -a, -um, brilliant specto, (1), to look at specus, -us, m., cave spiritus, -us, m., spirit stagnum, -i, n., lake, pond sto, (1), to stand stultus, -a, -um, stupid subeo, subire, subii, subitus, to enter subitus, -a, -um, sudden sum, esse, fui, futurus, to be summoveo, summovere, summovi, summotus, to
drive off, banish superior, superius, higher suspendo, suspendere, suspendi, suspensus,
suspend suspicio, -nis, f., suspicion suus, -a, -um, of oneself tam, so much tamquam in so far as, as much as tantus, -a, -um, so great tempestas, -tis, f., storm, calamity terra, -ae, f., earth timeo, timere, timui, - , to fear timor, -ris, m., fear tracto, (1), to treat transeo, transire, transivi, transitum, to
pass over transfero, transferre, transtuli, translatus,
to transfer trudo, trudere, trusi, trusus, to push tuus, -a, -um, your umbra, -ae, f., shade, shadows unde, from which place unus, -a, -um, one uva, -ae, f., grape valeo, valere, valui, valitus, to be well vastus, -a, -um, immense vel, either…or veneratio, -nis f., reverence, veneration veneror, venerari, veneratus sum, to worship,
revere verotruly vetustus, -a, -um, old, ancient video, videre, vidi, visus, to see vir, -i, m., man virtus, virtutis, f., virtue vis, vis, f., force, strength, power vitis, vitis, f., vine vitium, -i, n., vice vivo, vivere, vixi, - , to live volo, velle, volui, - , to wish