1830 Dei Benifizii

Description

Leather Binding

In Italian. Complete as two volumes bound as one. Illustrated with one plate. A nineteenth century translations of Seneca the Younger's first century collection of moral essays, 'De Beneficiis', or, 'On Benefits'. It's a collection of moral essays, in which Seneca discusses the habit of giving and receiving gifts in society, and the act and role of gratitude. The work is comprised of seven books, through which Seneca's aim was to regulate a practice through a discussion of benefits. The idea of 'beneficia' was important to Seneca, as he considered it as an act that morally bound humans in society. The nature of benefits is a social exchange, and Seneca discusses the role of the individual within this exchange. The work could be thought of as a work on social ethics, most especially Stoic ethics. In the work, Seneca also discusses ethics with regards to political leadership, an interesting subject considering the tyrannical Nero was the Emperor whilst Seneca was writing the work. As is usual with early works, it is debated when exactly the work was first written. It is generally argued that is was written between the years 56 and 62 AD. He also discusses the lives of Roman aristocrats, and their relationships. Seneca the Younger was a Roman stoic philosopher and satirist, and was the son of the Roman writer Seneca the Elder. He is best known for his philosophical works, as well as for his tragedy plays. He also wrote one hundred and twenty-four surviving letters, which all deal with moral issues. His work provides the most important resource for ancient Stoicism.