seneca secondary scholars

Question 1

homosexuality

Answer 1

gloyn- the early stoics were very comfortable with same sex love, provided it came from a mutual appreciation of each others virtue

Question 2

sex

Answer 2

kreitner- sexual intercourse is the very antithesis of reason and therefore should be avoided

Question 3

seneca himself

Answer 3

tacitus- even though he denounced tyrants, he became a tyrant tutor
campbell- a man who failed to live up to his own principles

Question 4

dangers of desire

Answer 4

wilson- desire is utterly destructive and utterly inescapable
kreitner- one must constantly guard against the danger of the natural feelings slipping into flights of reasonless passion

Question 5

nature of love

Answer 5

motto- love is ‘honourable and should be shared and practised as much as possible’
gloyn, not a direct quote- love is a desire for friendship therefore ‘not inherently heterosexual, or indeed sexual at all’

Answer 6

gloyn, not direct quote- amore is healthy and rational, affectus is irrational and passionate, which seneca hates because reason has been lost