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Theory and practice of Adulatio in Seneca the Younger
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Russo, Martina (2020) Theory and practice of Adulatio in Seneca the Younger. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b3685532
Abstract
My thesis ‘Theory and Practice of Adulatio in Seneca the Younger’ aims to explore the discourse of flattery in Seneca’s philosophical texts and analyse the extent to which Seneca developed a theory of adulation. My research maps a phenomenology of flattery, tracing its external manifestations in Senecan philosophy. It is divided into five chapters. In chapter one, I suggest a new interpretation of the Consolatio ad Polybium, elucidating how Seneca coalesces the consolatory topoi with panegyrical purpose. In chapter two, I propose an innovative reading of the presence of Claudius in the consolation by analysing the speech attributed to the princeps by Seneca. Chapter three deals with some historical exempla of flattery in Seneca’s philosophical prose. At the core of chapter four, I discuss the figure of Iulius Canus, an exemplum of ‘missing’ flattery. Chapter five, finally, examines the theory of flattery as developed by Seneca himself. The personal practice of flattery displayed in the Ad Polybium, as discussed in chapters 1 and 2, along with the ‘distant’ exempla of flattery represented by Seneca, considered in chapters 3 and 4, and with the theorization of adulation, as examined in chapter 5, indicates the range and the complexity of flattering strategies during the Julio- Claudian dynasty. Furthermore, I argue, Seneca emerges not only as a practitioner of flattery but also as a theorist of flattery. While many writers tarnished their reputation by giving up to flattery, Seneca is among the few who not only accepts flattery but also advocates for it as an essential tool in his own times. Nevertheless, in Seneca’s philosophical prose, a constant tension emerges: whereas flattery is ‘politically’ accepted as an instrument to cope with the absolute power embraced by the princeps, the sapiens and the would-be-philosopher should be careful because adulatio can seriously compromise their path to wisdom. By analysing the practice and theory of flattery, I discuss how a new level of reading also emerges in passages permeated with the most blatant flattery and how Seneca’s philosophical prose can in many ways be viewed an extended exercise in symbolic projection and figured speech. Furthermore, my aim in this thesis is to disclose some traces of this criticism behind the façade of the most flagrant flattery.
| Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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| Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PA Classical philology | ||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, approximately 4 B.C.-65 A.D. -- Criticism and interpretation, Toadyism, Flattery | ||||
| Official Date: | April 2020 | ||||
| Dates: |
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| Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
| Theses Department: | Department of Classics and Ancient History | ||||
| Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
| Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
| Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Rimell, Victoria | ||||
| Sponsors: | Wolfson Foundation | ||||
| Format of File: | |||||
| Extent: | v, 291 leaves | ||||
| Language: | eng |
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