Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Letters from a Stoic 86 - On Scipio's Villa

On Scipio's Villa

There is not much to commentate for this letter.  It is a rather simple exercise which Seneca practices, contemplating the voluntary exile of Scipio and how some people grow accustomed to luxury.  Below are the few highlights from the letter.

he showed moderation and a sense of duty to a marvellous extent.

admire this magnanimity, which led him to withdraw into voluntary exile

For he was accustomed to keep himself busy and to cultivate the soil with his own hands, as the good old Romans were wont to do.

What a vast number of statues, of columns that support nothing, but are built for decoration, merely in order to spend money! And what masses of water that fall crashing from level to level! We have become so luxurious that we will have nothing but precious stones to walk upon.

he taught me that a tree can be transplanted, no matter how far gone in years.

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