Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T17:18:45.125Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 11 - The Manhandling of Maecenas

Senecan Abstractions of Masculinity

from Part IV - The Self within the Text

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2023

Margaret Graver
Affiliation:
Dartmouth College, New Hampshire
Get access

Summary

Seneca’s discussions of prose style frequently apply language of masculinity or effeminacy not only to authors but also to their works. For him, the laxness that he finds in Maecenas’s writing is a direct reflection of character flaws that he as a cisgender Roman male attributes to defective masculinity. The figure of Maecenas thus emblematizes the proverb that style mirrors conduct (talis oratio qualis vita). But there is also a philosophical underpinning to Seneca’s position. Stoic ethics attaches great importance to integrity and coherence in one’s thought, and thought, as internal speech, is closely allied to what he calls the ingenium; that is, the linguistic ability of an individual that is manifested in speech and writing. Prose style is thus understood as a reflex of character: The “manly” style is a highly structured, hypotactic style that traces connections between all elements of the thought.

Type
Chapter
Information
Seneca
The Literary Philosopher
, pp. 239 - 261
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×