In this Book

buy this book Buy This Book in Print
summary
Christopher Star uncovers significant points of contact between Seneca and Petronius, two important Roman writers long thought to be antagonists.In The Empire of the Self, Christopher Star studies the question of how political reality affects the concepts of body, soul, and self. Star argues that during the early Roman Empire the establishment of autocracy and the development of a universal ideal of individual autonomy were mutually enhancing phenomena. The Stoic ideal of individual empire or complete self-command is a major theme of Seneca’s philosophical works. The problematic consequences of this ideal are explored in Seneca’s dramatic and satirical works, as well as in the novel of his contemporary Petronius. Star examines the rhetorical links between these diverse texts. He also demonstrates a significant point of contact between two writers generally thought to be antagonists—the idea that imperial speech structures reveal the self.

Table of Contents

restricted access Download Full Book
  1. Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Contents
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. vii-viii
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Introduction
  2. pp. 1-19
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. PART I: Soul-Shaping Speech
  1. 1. Senecan Philosophy and the Psychology of Command
  2. pp. 23-61
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 2. Self-Address in Senecan Tragedy
  2. pp. 62-83
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 3. Self-Address in the Satyricon
  2. pp. 84-113
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. PART II. Soul-Revealing Speech
  1. 4. Political Speech in De clementia
  2. pp. 117-139
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 5. Soul, Speech, and Politics in the Apocolocyntosis and the Satyricon
  2. pp. 140-170
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 6. Writing, Body, and Money
  2. pp. 171-207
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Epilogue
  2. pp. 209-213
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Notes
  2. pp. 216-276
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Bibliography
  2. pp. 277-294
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Index
  2. pp. 295-302
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
Back To Top

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.