Lucius Annaeus Seneca, De Otio [On Leisure]

Robert Wagoner (University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh)

Ed. by Sophia Papaioannou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool), Jula Wildberger (American University of Paris)

Dates

First circulation or publication - c. 62

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Publication/ performance)

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Treatise

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Seneca’s

De Otio

is (c.62) is among the 10 works gathered under the label

Dialogi

. Our manuscripts for the

De Otio

are incomplete. We have lost the beginning of the text – which would have included an addressee – and the text ends abruptly. The likely date of the

De Otio

is 62 CE. This date is itself partly dependent on the conjecture that the

De Otio

was addressed to Annaeus Serenus (Williams 2003: 12-15; Griffin 1976: 316-7, 396).

Although the text of the De Otio is incomplete, the main argument of the work is clear. Seneca seeks to contrast the Stoic and Epicurean positions on the appropriateness of otium. ‘Otium’ refers to time away from public affairs or the business of public life. Thus, what one does in one’s public career is typically – and especially in Rome – seen

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1690 words

Citation: Wagoner, Robert. "De Otio". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 April 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35239, accessed 22 November 2024.]

Lucius Annaeus Seneca, De Otio [On Leisure]

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