Seneca · c. 4 BCE – 65 CE
On Benefits 4.31 ¶2 — Seneca
Translation by Aubrey Stewart (1887)
Seneca, On Benefits 4.31 ¶2
Did you admit a man who was so openly filthy to the fasces and the tribunal? Yes, it was because you were thinking of the great old Scaurus, the chief of the Senate, and were unwilling that his descendant should be despised.
Cite this passage
Seneca, On Benefits 4.31 ¶2, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-benefits/4.31.2
Seneca, Dialogues, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887–1889). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesA brief continuation: a notoriously filthy man was promoted to high office out of respect for his distinguished ancestor, illustrating that we sometimes favour people for their family's sake rather than their own.
Older wording
- “fasces”
- — the bundle of rods carried before Roman magistrates as a sign of power
- “tribunal”
- — a raised seat for a magistrate
Themes and situations
- Reputation and others' opinions
- Justice and fairness
- Leadership and power
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