Philosophy
Philosophy
Epicureanism at Rome. One of the major schools of Greek philosophy was that of Epicurus. His views were made more available to Roman readers by Titus Lucretius Carus, whose On the Nature of the Universe was said to have been published posthumously by Cicero. In this hexameter didactic poem, Lucretius outlines Epicurean physics. He tries to show that everything in the world is made of matter, made of atoms. There is no afterlife and death is therefore not to be feared. Expressing these doctrines in Latin hexameter was particularly difficult, not just because it meant versifying a branch of Hellenistic Greek philosophy that today would be called natural science. In addition to this challenge, Latin simply lacked a philosophical vocabulary; Lucretius says, I know / new terms must be invented, since our tongue / is poor, and this material is new (1.137-8 translation by Humphreys). The end result has to be considered something of a tour de force, since Lucretius combines plain, philosophical exposition with beautiful descriptions of nature that have a high poetic appeal. While asserting that there are no gods, he repeatedly invokes Epicurus, the master, in hymnic style as a quasi-deity: 0 glory of the Greeks, the first to raise / the shining light of tremendous dark /illuminating the blessing of our life, /you are the one I follow; in your steps /I tread, not as a rival, but for love / of your example (3.1-6 translation by Humphreys). On the one hand, his meter and language are reminiscent of Ennius; they have something of an archaic flair, which Cicero much appreciated even though he disagreed with Lucretius’s Epicureanism. On the other hand, Lucretius was undoubtedly also influenced by his more modern contemporaries, such as Catullus, and consequently paved the way for Vergil’s Georgics as well as the Aeneid. While embracing Greekphilosophy for his subject, Lucretius pushed the Latin language as far as he could, and expanded the potential of the Latin hexameter.
“The Most Eloquent Offspring of Romulus.”. The most important expansion of the Latin philosophical vocabulary was, however, accomplished by Marcus Tullius Cicero, the acknowledged master of Roman oratory and Latin prose style who found a golden mean between the two entrenched rhetorical camps of his time, namely “Asianism” (which advocated a flowery, dramatic, elaborate style) and “Atticism” (which delighted in plainness, austerity, and simplicity). Cicero also briefly reunited philosophy, rhetorical theory, and practical oratory in a manner reminiscent of the Greek Sophistic movement. To him, an orator (whether lawyer or politician) had to have a thorough grounding in the liberal arts, especially philosophy and rhetoric: this allows him to adapt his style and contents to his audience, thus becoming as effective as possible.
Stoicism in the Empire. One of the most important literary figures under the emperor Nero was the emperor’s own tutor, the younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca. As the son of a rhetorician who had written a collection of suasoriae and controversiae, Seneca cultivated a terse, sententious style, which he uses both in his philosophical writings and in his tragedies with plots similar to well-known Greek plays. His main love was Stoic philosophy, which he communicated in pragmatic ways to his countrymen (You are afraid to die? So what? Isn’t that kind of life death? [Epist. 77.18]). Without Seneca one would know substantially less about this Greek school of thinking. Besides a number of treatises traditionally mislabeled Dialogues, he wrote a collection of literary prose epistles, addressed to his friend Lucilius, but meant primarily for publication. In these he gives advice on such topics as friendship, the use of time, the fear of death, the avoidance of passions, and even the treatment of slaves whom he sees as unfortunate fellow humans who share in the same divine reason as a free man (‘They are slaves.’ Actually, they are humans. ‘They are slaves.’ Actually, they are our companions. ‘They are slaves.’ Actually, they are our humble friends. ‘They are slaves.’ Actually, our fellow slaves, if you consider that Lady Luck has as much power over each of us.[Epist. 47.1]). Passions such as fear, desire, or anger are to be avoided because they render a person insane. The rational man transcends them.
Sources
C. D. N. Costa, ed., Seneca (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974).
Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, eds., The Oxford Classical Dictionary, third edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996).