De vita beata

De vita beata is a scripture in the scope of an antique book from the dialogues of the Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca, which deals with wealth and the right handling it.

• 4.1 expenditure
• 4.2 Secondary Literature

Background and Summary

As de vita beata ad Gallionem ( German for "An Gallio about the happy life "), the seventh book of Seneca's Dialogi is known. This title, which was later mentioned by Quintilian, is in tension with the origin of the collection, as Seneca calls his brief briefcase -like fonts as sermones ( German " conversations "). In this document, which has been probably written early in the year 58 or a little earlier, Seneca puts his brother Gallio and the reader the Stoic view in terms of assets, wealth and the right deal so close. The end of writing is lost, what has been handed we owe a Milan Codex, the Codex Ambrosianus, from the 11th century and the transcripts, which this Codex serves as an archetype. The headline de vita beata was probably chosen by Seneca himself. It is essentially about the right use of wealth and the presentation of a virtuous life, with the aid of which only come to happiness in life. The virtue is the way to happiness.

Content

Structure

The font includes a total of 28 chapters preserved. The content can be roughly divided as follows:

Interpretation

The first 16 chapters are thus a look round on the subject, with Seneca clearly takes the side of the Stoa. Particularly the focus is as a counter point of Kepos Epicurus, where it is pointed out that many use this doctrine as an excuse to indulge in the abandon. The result is that true happiness can only be found in virtue: Ergo in virtute posita est vera felicitas.

For performers, especially the second section from Chapter 17 led to suspect Seneca have written this script as an apology because he was a long time as an educator Nero's arm and Mitbestimmer of the Roman Empire, and thus one of the richest men in the world. As such, he does not live according to the intentions which he had himself erected. Among other things, he made ​​the consul Publius Rufus Suillius this allegation, the Seneca was put on trial and wanted to use the trial against him to ask Seneca himself in the pillory. In these chapters, Seneca washes of all charges were conscious of not completely pure, but he refuted the arguments of his opponents in that it specifies not to live what he writes, but that what he writes, an ideal image is, which he approaching, but which he could never achieve. However, only the effort to fulfill this topos makes him a better man than his revilers are. Based on the fact that Seneca it insists that the mere effort to meet the dogmatic- unattainable goal of Stoicism, a vir bonus distinguishing, already shows that Seneca as a moralist and ethicist, the rigid conception of the philosophical school soften for practical reasons, because they are in real life virtually impossible to implement.

Criticism of the reasoning

Seneca's statements must, as can be observed from Chapter 17, be enjoyed with caution. Because, in principle, he replies to the allegations, which are in their nature primarily ad hominem tu quoque and, in the same way by itself uses the argument of the attacker. Previously, he has highlighted the weaknesses of the statements of his revilers. Thus he ultimately devalues ​​his own position and that used externally, the ideal measure of the Stoic school for dealing with wealth, but in the end he defends himself using the measure that use those to justify their uninhibited and thus untugendlichen to Seneca lifestyle. This measure is one that is governed by the fellows instead of virtue. Prior to Seneca himself had rejected this argument, in the course of their own justification but it is in a hidden double standard the strongest weapon. To restrict this view, he attacks more often attributed to clarify that he is at least trying to meet the demands of virtue.

With the aim to convince his readers, Seneca puts in his language to a highly targeted at the sentence language thus has a particularly catchy. This he achieved an effect that causes the reader to to move to a fixed Gedankenweg, the Seneca pretends without succumbing to be able to take an opposite position. The passages in which Seneca let others speak, convey no counter points, but are always starting position for the approval of their own thought.

Exemplary purpose is to provide a few sentences are taken from the Scriptures that emphasize the chopped, gnomic style of Seneca.

• Foris nitent, introrsus misera sunt. ( 2.4 )

• Eo enim pertendit ubi desinat, et dum incipit spectat ad finem. ( 7.4)

• Virtutes enim ibi esse debebunt ubi consensus atque unitas erit: vitia dissident. (8.6)

• Interrogas quid petam ex virtute? Ipsam. (9.4 )

• Unum me donavit omnibus, mihi omnis uni. ( 20.3 )

• Apud me divitiae aliquem locum habent, apud te summum; ad postremum divitiae meae sunt, do divitiarum it. ( 22.5 )