In terms of influence, Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (c. 1 BCE – 65 CE) had no equal among the writers of his times. His prose became the paragon of a new style in contrast to the classical Latin of Cicero or the even older archaic diction that began to be favoured by men of letters in the second century (Aulus Gellius 12.2; Fronto. “Letter to Marcus Aurelius about Speeches” 2, p. 153-4 van den Hout). Quintilian, a star advocate and rhetorician some forty years younger than Seneca, presents a reading list for the Roman orator – our earliest history of Greek and Latin literature – in which Seneca is reserved for an unusually long discussion and given a special place of pride, as well as blame, at the very end of the recommendations. The rhetorician professes that he had…
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Citation: Wildberger, Jula. "Seneca". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 February 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4012, accessed 31 March 2025.]
