Fabio Tutrone - Healing Grief: A Commentary on Seneca’s Consolatio ad Marciam

CICERO

Studies on Roman Thought and Its Reception

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ISBN 9783111007427

e-ISBN (PDF) 9783111014845

e-ISBN (EPUB) 9783111014890

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.

2023 the author(s), published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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For my father and my colorful family

Studia, hereditarium et paternum bonum

(Sen. Marc. 1.6)

When in November 2018 I began to work on the present project, I was firmly persuaded that Senecas Consolatio ad Marciam deserved renewed attention, and that this attention should take the form of a new commentary ad loca. The three years that followed were tough enough to show that there was a deeper, more existential reason to delve into Senecas text. In a sense, I myself and most of the people around me quickly became Senecas consolandi as the Covid-19 pandemic and the developing international crisis mixed with (and partly gave rise to) several personal and collective difficulties. When my father who instilled in me a stubborn passion for literature had the onset of a progressive neurological disorder, I inevitably felt deeper sympathy for Marcia, but I was also led to investigate more thoughtfully the cognitive and psychological foundations of Senecas moral therapy. Although I must confess that I do not agree with all the conclusions that follow from Stoic natural philosophy, I am immensely grateful to Seneca for reminding me over and over again that human relationships and genuine love offer both the speediest way out of personal sorrow and the most satisfying reward for the everyday drudgery of life. This book is literally made up of the love bonds the oikeisis bonds, as Seneca would have called them that have made it possible and is dedicated to them.

As an unconventional teacher, my father has never ceased to show me that good literature can give form even to formlessness and to formless pain. Without knowing a word of Greek and Latin, my mother has taught me that philology is not an academic discipline, but a way of life which spans both the kitchen and the office. My sister Laura has accompanied me at every step, making sure I was not in lack of a word of insight and humor. I will never find enough words to express my gratitude to my wife Chiara and my children Clelia and Emanuele, who have tolerated my absences and vagueness arising from the gestation of this commentary for far too many years. Chiara has always been a fruitful vine in the inner part of myself, Clelia and Emanuele are like olive shoots deep-rooted in my soul. With their superhuman patience and their gratuitous love, they have allowed this book to take shape day after day and have demonstrated that wisdom the gift of oneself is not as rare as the phoenix pace Seneca.

Many friends and colleagues have helped me in a variety of ways, and to them I likewise extend my sincerest thanks. It is impossible to mention all of them by name without these acknowledgements becoming a book in themselves. Both the University of Palermo and the Convitto Nazionale G. Falcone have made a decisive contribution to the completion of this project by creating a lively and congenial research environment. Ermanno Malaspina has provided me with invaluable advice ever since I conceived the idea of writing a commentary. I am extremely grateful to him, Veronica Revello (editorial staff of Cicero Series), and the two anonymous referees for carrying out an exemplarily scrupulous and constructive review of my manuscript. Francesca Romana Berno, David Konstan, and Giusto Picone have borne the burden of reading much of an earlier draft of the book and have offered many illuminating suggestions. Carlo M. Lucarini discussed with me crucial passages of the Latin text at an early stage and offered detailed insights into them. Among the people who supported me directly and indirectly, with their prodigious learning and their humane understanding, I should mention at least Han Baltussen, Myrto Garani, Luciano Landolfi, Rita Marchese, Steve Newmyer, Elisa Romano, Christian Vassallo, Francesco Verde, Amanda Wilcox, and Pamela Zinn. But this is by no means a complete list and, most importantly, I am very thankful to each and every person who over these years has increased my sensitivity to the issues of grief, parental affection, and social pressure in my classes or at the train station. The main ambition of this book is to show that Seneca and the ancients still have a word to say about these and many other issues about our own lives.