This volume, first published in 1974, offers a selection of modern perspectives on Seneca, covering his prose treatises, his letters and his tragedies.
For centuries literary and philosophical circles had to take Seneca seriously, even if they could not always respect him, and although his reputation has fluctuated, there has been a revival of interest in his achievements. Accordingly, a large part of Seneca is devoted to this later influence at the deliberate expense of not covering all of Seneca’s less familiar works. The Moral Essays, the tragedies and the letters to Lucilius are examined by the contributors, who also discuss Seneca’s philosophical influence and the Senecan heritage in English and neo-Latin literature.
Each essay contains insightful and sometimes controversial material, which is of value to the specialist as well as to students of Latin, English or French literature.