As G. and L. state explicitly in their overview of modern contributions to the subject, ‘[t]he works of Seneca are today a very active area in classical scholarship’ (p. 22). At the same time, however, a contemporary translation of Seneca's Letters has been long overdue; the most recent full translation of this opus into English goes back to R.M. Gummere's 1917 Loeb. This welcome new translation goes beyond the mere scope of filling this gap for a number of reasons.
The book is divided into an introduction, translation, notes, bibliography and index. The density of the work notwithstanding, it is also clearly intended for a wider readership beyond Classical scholars.
The introduction includes information on Seneca's biographical details and œuvre against the background of the social and political context of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The authors manage to provide readers not yet familiar with the persona or his historical context with an insight sufficiently thorough for the understanding of both his work and life without losing themselves in overly speculative details that would only marginally contribute to the interpretation of the Letters. Various details not proven beyond doubt as well as subjective scholarly interpretations are clearly marked as such (‘Seneca's own essay On Clemency may contain some inkling of his strategy to keep the young emperor from running amok’, p. x). The introduction to Seneca's life, despite its brevity, depicts both the philosopher's rise and downfall, and his influence on contemporary society as well as later authors, for instance some early Christian writers.
The ‘Short Introduction to Stoicism’ as part of the general introduction is particularly praiseworthy. The authors manage to break down the history of Stoicism into a lucid outline of the main milestones and achievements of this philosophical school and highlight ‘Stoicism's influence on the development of the entire Western intellectual tradition’ (p. xvi). The language used is clear, stirring and varied, and does not fail to captivate the curious reader, without sacrificing the appropriate scholarly terminology (‘metaphysics and epistemology’, ‘Sextus Empiricus's skeptical writings’, p. xii). Key terms, such as apatheia (‘freedom from the passions’, p. xiv), are introduced and explained in a transparent manner. However, only occasionally are these explicitly linked to specific Stoic writings. Most references are general or vague (‘Seneca argues that’, ‘Plutarch reports that’, p. xv). By contrast, in the following section on ‘Seneca's Stoicism’ (pp. xvii–xxi) references are made to specific passages from various pieces of work. Overall, the introduction successfully covers wide fields of Senecan scholarship on both his philosophical prose writing and his drama.
Overall, the introduction makes the philologist's heart beat faster. G. and L. not only explain the function, purpose and wider readership of the Letters in contrast to their formal addressee, but also address matters of textual transmission and criticism, even if only marginally. Moreover, they touch upon the challenging, thus rather uncertain, dating of the opus as well as its epistolary format and, linked to the latter, report the communis opinio on the question of sincerity (so-called Kunstbriefe). Last but not least, they give the reader a foretaste of the intertextual observations based on Seneca's re-use of great Latin authors such as Virgil, Ovid and Horace, as well as otherwise lost bits of Ennius, Julius Montanus and Maecenas in the Letters. G. and L. manage to create a pleasant balance between introductory overview and interspersed details, as a means of whetting the readers’ appetite for the translation to follow. This ample introduction does the multi-faceted content of the Letters and its varied tone of presentation and not least its Stoic author justice.
The procedure of translating is clearly outlined in the section preceding the translation (‘About this Edition’, pp. 23–4). Unless marked by a superscript circle (°) and stated in the ‘Textual Notes’ section, the translation is based on the Latin text in the most recent critical Oxford edition by L.D. Reynolds (1965). G.’s and L.’s choice of prioritising the conveyance of ideas over the reproduction of style, mood and expressions (p. 24) appears sustainable, not least because, as the translators rightly quote, Seneca himself expressed his favour of this: id enim agendum est ut non verbis serviamus sed sensibus (Ep. 9.20).
The particular merit of G.’s and L.’s translation lies in its contemporary tone that achieves a dual effect: not only do they render Seneca's Letters, which have in many ways not lost any of their relevance today, more accessible and appealing to a wider, non-academic audience, but they also manage to capture the writer's unique, ‘ever-changing’ (p. 24) prose style well. While Gummere's translation at times appears overly heavy and the chosen expressions occasionally betray the accurate, concise Latin phrasing, G. and L. achieve a well-balanced position between faithful representation of the original wording and modern English. To give an example, see the first paragraph of Letter 21, Reynolds’ text:
Cum istis tibi esse negotium iudicas de quibus scripseras? Maximum negotium tecum habes, tu tibi molestus es. Quid velis nescis, melius probas honesta quam sequeris, vides ubi sit posita felicitas sed ad illam pervenire non audes. Quid sit autem quod te inpediat, quia parum ipse dispicis, dicam.
Gummere's Loeb translation:
Do you conclude that you are having difficulties with those men about whom you wrote to me? Your greatest difficulty is with yourself; for you are your own stumbling-block. You do not know what you want. You are better at approving the right course than at following it out. You see where the true happiness lies, but you have not the courage to attain it. Let me tell you what it is that hinders you, inasmuch as you do not of yourself discern it.
G.’s and L.’s translation:
Do you think your business is with those people you wrote about? Your business is most of all with yourself: it is you that are the problem. You don't know what you want. You admire honorable conduct more than you imitate it; you see where happiness lies, but you dare not go after it. So, since you have little insight into what it is that holds you back, I will tell you. (p. 75)
Gummere translates the Latin phrases in bold literally, the new translation on the other hand is free, while successfully conveying both the stylistic brevity and the core message. The result is satisfying for non-scholars diving into the Stoic life lessons taught in the Letters and Classicists alike.
The explanatory notes are not sufficiently exhaustive to replace a philological commentary, which cannot be expected from a translation such as this, yet they are thoughtful enough to facilitate a satisfactory grasp of the ideas conveyed through the text. For the most part, they supply background information, illuminating the provenance of quotations or providing biographical details on historical figures mentioned, only occasionally language. Regrettably, the comments on obscure or uncertain passages fall short of the reader's expectations.
G. and L. do perfect justice to ‘the author's most significant philosophical contribution and, at the same time, his most innovative venture in literary composition’ (p. 1). The translation and its brilliant introduction render the Letters in a modern tone and make Seneca's Stoic advice more accessible to a wider audience, highlighting the relevance of ancient thinking for the mastering of our everyday lives.
