Writing and self-exemplarity in Seneca’s Epistula 30
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/emerita.2017.05.1611Keywords:
Seneca, Epistulae, self-exemplarityAbstract
Seneca’s self-exemplarity in the Epistulae deserves further attention. This article assumes that in this text Seneca actively appropriates one Roman cultural device which plays a central role in memory building, the discourse of exemplarity. Taking into account that the topic of dying well is one of the backbones of the collection as a whole, we will examine Ep. 30, where the epistolary ego describes how an old friend faces death in an exemplary way. Considering that a deed proposed as exemplar requires not only a record, but also an agent that makes it visible (Roller 2004), we will try to show that in this letter the epistolary ego, aided by the written word, directs the reader’s attention to his own exemplarity, in order to build a positive and memorable portrait of himself.
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