Lucius Annaeus Seneca, De Ira [On Anger]

Jula Wildberger

Ed. by Jula Wildberger, The American University of Paris
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Jula Wildberger (The American University of Paris)

Domains

Philosophy (any)

Dates

First circulation or publication 41 - 51

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Treatise

Resources

De ira (“On Anger”) by Lucius Annaeus Seneca is both a political and a therapeutic work. Insofar as it is concerned with retribution and right conduct in social relations, especially also hierarchical relations such as that between master and slave or ruler and subject, De ira must be read together with Seneca’s works On Mercy (De clementia) and On Benefits (De beneficiis). Insofar as it analyzes and treats a passion that is regarded as unhealthy and detrimental to human wellbeing, it stands in a tradition of “anger control” and psychotherapy beginning with the Iliad and the wrath of Achilles (Harris 2001; Braund and Most 2003).

The dedicatee of De ira is Seneca’s…

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1646 words

Citation: Wildberger, Jula. "De Ira". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 February 2012 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34378, accessed 28 November 2024.]

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