Meditative missives.

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, born at Corduba (Cordova) ca. 4 BC, of a prominent and wealthy family, spent an ailing childhood and youth at Rome in an aunt’s care. He became famous in rhetoric, philosophy, money-making, and imperial service. After some disgrace during Claudius’ reign he became tutor and then, in AD 54, advising minister to Nero, some of whose worst misdeeds he did not prevent. Involved (innocently?) in a conspiracy, he killed himself by order in 65. Wealthy, he preached indifference to wealth; evader of pain and death, he preached scorn of both; and there were other contrasts between practice and principle.

We have Seneca’s philosophical or moral essays (ten of them traditionally called Dialogues)—on providence, steadfastness, the happy life, anger, leisure, tranquility, the brevity of life, gift-giving, forgiveness—and treatises on natural phenomena. Also extant are 124 epistles, in which he writes in a relaxed style about moral and ethical questions, relating them to personal experiences; a skit on the official deification of Claudius, Apocolocyntosis (in LCL 15); and nine rhetorical tragedies on ancient Greek themes. Many epistles and all his speeches are lost.

The 124 epistles are collected in Volumes IV–VI of the Loeb Classical Library’s ten-volume edition of Seneca.

Meditative missives.

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, born at Corduba (Cordova) ca. 4 BC, of a prominent and wealthy family, spent an ailing childhood and youth at Rome in an aunt’s care. He became famous in rhetoric, philosophy, money-making, and imperial service. After some disgrace during Claudius’ reign he became tutor and then, in AD 54, advising minister to Nero, some of whose worst misdeeds he did not prevent. Involved (innocently?) in a conspiracy, he killed himself by order in 65. Wealthy, he preached indifference to wealth; evader of pain and death, he preached scorn of both; and there were other contrasts between practice and principle.

We have Seneca’s philosophical or moral essays (ten of them traditionally called Dialogues)—on providence, steadfastness, the happy life, anger, leisure, tranquility, the brevity of life, gift-giving, forgiveness—and treatises on natural phenomena. Also extant are 124 epistles, in which he writes in a relaxed style about moral and ethical questions, relating them to personal experiences; a skit on the official deification of Claudius, Apocolocyntosis (in LCL 15); and nine rhetorical tragedies on ancient Greek themes. Many epistles and all his speeches are lost.

The 124 epistles are collected in Volumes IV–VI of the Loeb Classical Library’s ten-volume edition of Seneca.

Meditative missives.

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, born at Corduba (Cordova) ca. 4 BC, of a prominent and wealthy family, spent an ailing childhood and youth at Rome in an aunt’s care. He became famous in rhetoric, philosophy, money-making, and imperial service. After some disgrace during Claudius’ reign he became tutor and then, in AD 54, advising minister to Nero, some of whose worst misdeeds he did not prevent. Involved (innocently?) in a conspiracy, he killed himself by order in 65. Wealthy, he preached indifference to wealth; evader of pain and death, he preached scorn of both; and there were other contrasts between practice and principle.

We have Seneca’s philosophical or moral essays (ten of them traditionally called Dialogues)—on providence, steadfastness, the happy life, anger, leisure, tranquility, the brevity of life, gift-giving, forgiveness—and treatises on natural phenomena. Also extant are 124 epistles, in which he writes in a relaxed style about moral and ethical questions, relating them to personal experiences; a skit on the official deification of Claudius, Apocolocyntosis (in LCL 15); and nine rhetorical tragedies on ancient Greek themes. Many epistles and all his speeches are lost.

The 124 epistles are collected in Volumes IV–VI of the Loeb Classical Library’s ten-volume edition of Seneca.

Beginners and experts alike will find a complete immersion into the workings and nature of the Latin language embodied in the incomparable, insuperable epistles of the great Marcus Tullius Cicero, something which other commentators pass over or scorn. This second volume puts “meat on the bones” of the Latin language presented in the first volume: Ossa Latinitatis Sola: The Mere Bones of Latin. The personal letters of Cicero provide ample meat to enflesh the skeletal structure of the language, thus the title: Ossium Carnes Multae: The Bones’ Meats Abundant from the epistles of Marcus Tullius Cicero. Part 1 presents 51 complete letters from the Tyrell-Purser text. Facing each letter is an image of its oldest manuscript edition as early as the ninth century, which are preserved and guarded in the Medicea Laurentiana library in Florence, Italy, witnessing to the human hand preserving this monument of world heritage for over two millennia. Part 2 follows with a most careful rendition into English of Tully’s living, telephone-like Latin discourse. A thorough treatment and explanation of noteworthy elements of his natural talk follows with numerous references to the Encounters in Volume I. All this has students, learners, teachers, experts of the Latin language in mind and is humbly designed to deepen the understanding and appreciation of specific expressions and peculiarities of Cicero’s language itself. Part 3 provides 500 sentences consisting of from 1 to 5 words and suited for the beginnings or continuation of Latin conversations: 200 declarations, 100 questions, 100 exclamations, 100 injunctions drawn from his letters. The volume is amply indexed. All this has been done to enhance the study and use of Latin, to popularize Cicero’s correspondence, to prepare the reader for Volume III which will deal again with the letters and their usefulness for Latin conversation.

This volume addresses the perennial issue of unity and diversity in the New Testament canon. Celebrating the academic legacy of Fr. Frank J. Matera, colleagues and friends interact with elements of his many important works. Scholars and students alike will find fresh and stimulating discussions that navigate the turbulent waters between the Gospels and Paul, ranging from questions of Matthew's so-called anti-Pauline polemic to cruciform teaching in the New Testament. The volume includes contributions from leading scholars in the field, offering a rich array of insights on issues such as Christology, social ethics, soteriology, and more. The contributors are Paul J. Achtemeier, Sherri Brown, Raymond F. Collins, A. Andrew Das, John R. Donahue, S.J., Francis T. Gignac, S.J., Michael J. Gorman, Kelly R. Iverson, Luke Timothy Johnson, Jack Dean Kingsbury, William S. Kurz, S.J., John P. Meier, Francis J. Moloney, S.D.B., Christopher W. Skinner, and Matt Whitlock.