Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger ( ; AD 65), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, a dramatist, and in one work, a satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca ...

's Letter 47 of his ''

Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium ' (Latin for "Moral Letters to Lucilius"), also known as the ''Moral Epistles'' and ''Letters from a Stoic'', is a letter collection of 124 letters that Seneca the Younger wrote at the end of his life, during his retirement, after he had worked ...

'', sometimes known as ''On Master and Slave'' or ''On Slavery'', is an

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

istic look at

dehumanization upright=1.2, link=Warsaw Ghetto boy, In his report on the suppression of the Nazi camps as "bandits". file:Abu Ghraib 68.jpg, Lynndie England pulling a leash attached to the neck of a prisoner in Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse, Abu Ghr ...

in the context of

slavery in ancient Rome Slavery in ancient Rome played an important role in society and the economy. Unskilled or low-skill slaves labored in the fields, mines, and mills with few opportunities for advancement and little chance of freedom. Skilled and educated slaves ...

. It was a criticism of aspects of Roman slavery, without outright opposition to it (Seneca was himself a slaveholder), and had a favorable later reception by

Enlightenment philosophers Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

and subsequently the 19th century abolitionist movement. Conversely, the text has also been seen as a

proslavery Proslavery is support for slavery. It is sometimes found in the thought of ancient philosophers, religious texts, and in American and British writings especially before the American Civil War but also later through the 20th century. Arguments in ...

apologia An apologia (Latin for ''apology'', from , ) is a formal defense of an opinion, position or action. The term's current use, often in the context of religion, theology and philosophy, derives from Justin Martyr's '' First Apology'' (AD 155–157) ...

, as well as in the light of the

Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed i ...

philosophical idea that "all men are slaves". Historical Stoicism believed in human equality by

natural law Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...

, but also recognized

positive law Positive laws () are human-made laws that oblige or specify an action. Positive law also describes the establishment of specific rights for an individual or group. Etymologically, the name derives from the verb ''to posit''. The concept of posit ...

. It was in disagreement with Aristotle's earlier concept of

natural slavery Natural slavery (or Aristotelian slavery) is the argument set forth in Aristotle's ''Politics'' that some people are slaves by nature, while others are slaves solely by law or convention.Wayne Ambler, "Aristotle on Nature and Politics: The Case of ...

. As such, Seneca made objection to behavior seen as particularly degrading such as

corporal punishment A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...

and

sexual exploitation Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership rights, right over one or more people with the intent of Coercion, coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activities. This includ ...

of enslaved people, but not to the overall social system.

Influence

As a Roman letter expressing ambivalence about slavery from the 1st century, it has been compared to the early Christian writing in Paul's

Epistle to Philemon The Epistle to Philemon is one of the books of the Christianity, Christian New Testament. It is a Prison literature, prison letter, authored by Paul the Apostle (the opening verse also mentions Saint Timothy, Timothy), to Saint Philemon, Philem ...

. And

Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Nyssa, also known as Gregory Nyssen ( or Γρηγόριος Νυσσηνός; c. 335 – c. 394), was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Nyssa from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 394. He is ve ...

in the 4th century condemns slavery outright, in rhetorical terms that may draw from Seneca, but that go beyond him. In support of his argument, Seneca references the proverb ''totidem hostes esse quot servos'' ("as many enemies as you have slaves"), cited by many Europeans in the early

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

as a caution against

slave rebellion A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by slaves, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of slaves have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedom and the dream o ...

. Hegel's

master–slave dialectic Master–slave or master/slave may refer to: * Master–slave (technology), relationship between devices in which one controls the other * Master–slave dialectic, a concept in Hegelian philosophy * Master–slave morality, a central theme of Fri ...

in ''

The Phenomenology of Spirit ''The Phenomenology of Spirit'' (or ''The Phenomenology of Mind''; ) is the most consequential philosophical work of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel described the 1807 work, a ladder to the greater philosophica ...

'' of 1807 picked up the philosophical theme, later commented on by

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

in the 20th century. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's sequel to the 1762 ''

Emile, or On Education ''Emile, or On Education'' () is a treatise on the nature of education and on the nature of man written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who considered it to be the "best and most important" of all his writings. Due to a section of the book entitled "Pr ...

'' sees the novel's protagonist sold into the

Barbary slave trade The Barbary slave trade involved the capture and selling of European slaves at slave markets in the largely independent Ottoman Barbary states. European slaves were captured by Barbary pirates in slave raids on ships and by raids on coastal ...

, and develops Seneca's ideas, while taking them further to show slavery as inherently unjust. The letter is quoted in the British abolitionist

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...

's 1807 ''A Letter on the Abolition of the Slave Trade'', and is mentioned in Pierre-Suzanne-Augustin Cochin's ''L'Abolition de l'esclavage'' in 1861 amid the American Civil War. Seneca's writings were popular with African American activists, and may have inspired the naming of the free settlement of Seneca Village in early 19th century New York City, a possible influence of the African Free School. At an 1855 raid in Washington, D.C., as police asked African American activists "whether they had anything to say", an activist simply placed three books on the desk: the Bible, ''

Life in Earnest Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, organisation, metabolism, growth, adaptation, response ...

'', and ''Seneca's Morals'', and requested their examination''.''

References

External links

* {{Wikisource-inline, Moral letters to Lucilius/Letter 47, Letter 47 (Seneca) Letters (message) Philosophical works by Seneca the Younger Slavery in ancient Rome Works about slavery