Seneca’s sick body between evidentia and parenesis

Santoro, Rosa (2025) Seneca’s sick body between evidentia and parenesis. In: Quaderni della Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti II Classe - Scienze Medico-Biologiche. Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti, Messina, pp. 35-45. ISBN 978-88-85864-12-2

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Abstract

The article examines the last three years of Seneca’s life, who after his political failure, chooses a secluded life, dedicating himself entirely to philosophy. In this introspection the author focuses on the suffering of his own body, sick and vulnerable, to demonstrate that illness
can be endured if not defeated by the strength of the soul if constantly trained in philosophical reflection. Some of the Moral Letters to Lucilius are examined (8, 26, 27, 53, 54, 78), in which Seneca brings into play the habitual practice of self-examination and dialogue to deal
with his sick body in a narrative way, to the point that more than autobiography one can speak of an ‘autopathography’. To recount his physical pain and share it with others with the effective clarity that ethical parenesis demands, Seneca delves into medical texts (De medicina by Celsus; Compositiones medicamentorum by Scribonius Largo, outreach activities of illustrious
exponents of the various medical schools present in Rome).

Item Type:	Book Section
Subjects:	M.U.S. - Miscellanea > Atti Accademia Peloritana > Classe di Scienze Medico-Biologiche > 2024
Depositing User:	Mr Nunzio Femminò
Date Deposited:	23 Jul 2025 09:31
Last Modified:	23 Jul 2025 09:31
URI:	http://cab.unime.it/mus/id/eprint/5738

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