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Document Details : Title: Humour in Seneca's Letters to Lucillius Author(s): GRANT, M. Journal: Ancient Society Volume: 30 Date: 2000 Pages: 319-329 DOI: 10.2143/AS.30.0.565566 Abstract : It might be thought that the serious moral purpose of Seneca’s letters to Lucilius would preclude much humour. Thus in A.L. Motto’s Seneca Sourcebook there are no entries under humour, comedy or laughter and E. de Saint-Denis held that, in general, «le philosophe-funambule garde son équilibre». Yet as M. Griffin succinctly argued, humour was by no means alien to Seneca’s personality and so does not require any ulterior explanations. Even Tacitus (Ann. XV 23) remarked on Seneca’s wit, whilst Seneca (ep. 29.6) himself recorded his admiration both for the virtue and for the wit of Julius Graecinus from Forum Iulii. It is not just the letters that are marked by humour, for the tragedies too play on that thin divide between that which is awful and that which is funny. What therefore emerges is a rounded portrait of Seneca, a man who could laugh at the quarrels of philosophers, mock peculiar pastimes and, at the same time, poke a teasing finger at himself. However, although this sense of humour has been acknowledged, its presence in the letters has not been discussed at any length. |
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