Seneca · c. 4 BCE – 65 CE
On Clemency 1.4 ¶3 — Seneca
Translation by Aubrey Stewart (1889)
Seneca, On Clemency 1.4 ¶3
Such a misfortune will be the end of the peace of Rome, it will wreck the prosperity of this great people; the nation will be free from this danger as long as it knows how to endure the reins: should it ever break them, or refuse to have them replaced if they were to fall off by accident, then this mighty whole, this complex fabric of government will fly asunder into many fragments, and the last day of Rome’s empire will be that upon which it forgets how to obey. For this reason we need not wonder that princes, kings, and all other protectors of a state, whatever their titles may be, should be loved beyond the circle of their immediate relatives; for since right-thinking men prefer the interests of the State to their own, it follows that he who bears the burden of state affairs must be dearer to them than their own friends. Indeed, the emperor long ago identified himself so thoroughly with the State, that neither of them could be separated without injury to both, because the one requires power, while the other requires a head.
Cite this passage
Seneca, On Clemency 1.4 ¶3, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1889)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-clemency/1.4.3
Seneca, Dialogues, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887–1889). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesRome would break into pieces if it forgot how to accept a single ruling head, so the ruler is rightly loved even above a person's own friends, since he carries the burden of public affairs. Emperor and state are so tied together that each needs the other.
Themes and situations
- Leadership and power
- Community and our duty to others
- Duty and roles
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