Serenus
historical figure · 2 works · 3 mentions · 7 anchored passages
dearest Serenus
in the texts
On Tranquillity of Mind
The young Roman interlocutor who confesses his inner instability and asks Seneca for tranquillity of mind.
To my mind, dearest Serenus, Athenodorus seems to have given in to the times too much, to have retreated too soon.
For some time now, Serenus, I have been asking myself in silence what I might liken such a condition of mind to, and I can bring it close to no example so nearly as to the case of those who, having recovered from a long and grave illness, are still touched now and then by little twinges and slight upsets, and who, though they have escaped the last remnants of the disease, are nonetheless made unea …
It pleases me to follow the commands of my teachers and to plunge into the thick of public life;
On the Steadfastness of the Wise Man
The friend and addressee of Seneca's discourse, whose indignation at Cato's mistreatment prompts the whole argument about the wise man's invulnerability.
Let us distinguish, Serenus, if it seems good to you, injury from insult.
I should not be wrong, Serenus, in saying that there is as great a difference between the Stoics and the rest of those who lay claim to wisdom as there is between women and men, since each group contributes equally to the partnership of life, but the one is born to obey, the other to command.
Let us be favorable, I beg you, to this proposition, and attend with fair minds and ears, while the wise man is exempted from injury!