Seneca, Ethics, and the Body: The Treatment of Cruelty in Medieval Thought

Journal of the History of Ideas

Volumn 59, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 195-215

  Baraz, Daniel ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ART; ARTICLE; BEHAVIOR; CRIMINOLOGY; ETHICS; EUROPE; HISTORY; ITALY; PHILOSOPHY; VIOLENCE;

BEHAVIOR; CRIMINOLOGY; ETHICS; EUROPE; HISTORY, ANCIENT; HISTORY, MEDIEVAL; HUMAN BODY; PHILOSOPHY; ROME; VIOLENCE;

EID: 0032036686     PISSN: 00225037     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/3653973     Document Type: Review

References (110)

1. Lucien Febvre, "La Sensibilité et l'histoire: Comment reconstituer la vie affective d'autrefois," Annales d'histoire sociale, 3 (1941), 5-20.
2. See, e.g., Norbert Elias, The Civilizing Process (1939; New York, 1978), 194; Johan Huizinga, The Autumn of the Middle Ages, tr. R. J. Payton and U. Mammitzsch (1924; Chicago, 1996).
3. See, e.g., Norbert Elias, The Civilizing Process (1939; New York, 1978), 194; Johan Huizinga, The Autumn of the Middle Ages, tr. R. J. Payton and U. Mammitzsch (1924; Chicago, 1996).
4. There is also a brief reference to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.
5. De clementia (hereafter DC), in Seneca, Moral Essays, ed. and tr. J. W. Basore (London, 1928); English translations slightly modified. On DC and the political context in which it was written, see Miriam T. Griffin, "Imago Vitae Suae," Seneca, ed. C. D. N. Costa (Boston, 1974), 22-23.
6. De clementia (hereafter DC), in Seneca, Moral Essays, ed. and tr. J. W. Basore (London, 1928); English translations slightly modified. On DC and the political context in which it was written, see Miriam T. Griffin, "Imago Vitae Suae," Seneca, ed. C. D. N. Costa (Boston, 1974), 22-23.
7. Miriam T. Griffin, Seneca - A Philosopher in Politics (Oxford, 1976), 149.
8. See Suetonius, De vita caesarum, Caligula 11, 27-32, 36; Claudius 34, in Sueton, Kaiserbiographien, ed. Otto Wittstowck (Berlin, 1993), 244, 260-64, 266; 326 respectively. See also K. M. Coleman, "Fatal Charades: Roman Executions Staged as Mythological Enactments," Journal of Roman Studies, 80 (1990), 70.
9. See Suetonius, De vita caesarum, Caligula 11, 27-32, 36; Claudius 34, in Sueton, Kaiserbiographien, ed. Otto Wittstowck (Berlin, 1993), 244, 260-64, 266; 326 respectively. See also K. M. Coleman, "Fatal Charades: Roman Executions Staged as Mythological Enactments," Journal of Roman Studies, 80 (1990), 70.
10. See Suetonius, De vita caesarum, Caligula 11, 27-32, 36; Claudius 34, in Sueton, Kaiserbiographien, ed. Otto Wittstowck (Berlin, 1993), 244, 260-64, 266; 326 respectively. See also K. M. Coleman, "Fatal Charades: Roman Executions Staged as Mythological Enactments," Journal of Roman Studies, 80 (1990), 70.
11. See Suetonius, De vita caesarum, Caligula 11, 27-32, 36; Claudius 34, in Sueton, Kaiserbiographien, ed. Otto Wittstowck (Berlin, 1993), 244, 260-64, 266; 326 respectively. See also K. M. Coleman, "Fatal Charades: Roman Executions Staged as Mythological Enactments," Journal of Roman Studies, 80 (1990), 70.
12. DC 2.4.1-2.
13. Seneca's distinction between king and tyrant (DC 1.11.4-1.12.2) reflects this middle position: kings are cruel out of necessity, while tyrants do so for their pleasure (in voluptatem saeviunt). Yet Seneca immediately emphasizes that the difference is in deeds as well, and not only in intentions ("tyrannus autem a rege factis distat").
14. DC 2.4.3.
15. The difference between the first and second books has been characterized as "a conflict between 'common usage' and technical philosophical vocabulary" by Griffin, Seneca - A Philosopher in Politics, 153.
16. See e. g., DC 1.25.2. In De ira these terms are used interchangeably as well; see e.g., De ira (hereafter DI), 3.11.3-4, in Seneca, Moral Essays, ed. and tr. J. W. Basore (London, 1928).
17. DC 1.25.2. See also Ad lucilium epistulae morales 90.45, ed. and tr. R. M. Gummere (London, 1962-67).
18. DC 1.18.2; DI 3.40.2-5.
19. DI 2.5.2-3.
20. Saevire is the verb used for "being cruel"; no parallel verb is derived from crudelitas. Saevitia and crudelitas are used as synonyms also in DI 2.5.2-3 and 3.11.3-4.
21. Translations from the question De crudelitate (Summa theologiae 2-2-159, hereafter ST) are based upon St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, tr. The Fathers of the English Dominican Province (1920; Westminster, Md., 1981), IV, 1838-39; excerpts quoted have been modified for terminological accuracy.
22. Here Thomas also cites Aristotle's distinction between "natural" brutishness and that originating in human vice (Nichomachean Ethics 7.5, Aristotle's Ethics, tr. J. L. Ackerill [London, 1973], 137-38).
23. De regimine principum (hereafter DRP), Aquinas - Selected Political Writings, ed. and tr. A. P. D'Entreves (Oxford, 1965); English translations slightly modified. The large number of manuscripts, additions, and treatises by other authors bearing the same title attest to the influence of the work in the later Middle Ages; see I. T. Eschmann, "Introduction," St. Thomas Aquinas, On Kingship, To the King of Cyprus (1949; Toronto, 1967), ix-xiv.
24. De regimine principum (hereafter DRP), Aquinas - Selected Political Writings, ed. and tr. A. P. D'Entreves (Oxford, 1965); English translations slightly modified. The large number of manuscripts, additions, and treatises by other authors bearing the same title attest to the influence of the work in the later Middle Ages; see I. T. Eschmann, "Introduction," St. Thomas Aquinas, On Kingship, To the King of Cyprus (1949; Toronto, 1967), ix-xiv.
25. The following expressions, for instance, show the link between cruelty and tyranny: tyrannorum crudelitatem, crudelissimos tyrannos, cor tyranni crudele (DRP I: 4, 6, 7).
26. Thomas repeats the idea more than once; see DRP I:3, 16-17.
27. Crudelitas and saevitia are also used as synonyms in ST 2-2-108, defining one of the vices which is contrary to the virtue of vengeance: "unum quidem per excessum, scilicet peccatum crudelitatis vel saevitiae, quae excedit mensuram in puniendo."
28. DRP I:7, 40.
29. DRP I:3, 18-19.
30. See G. R. Evans, Augustine on Evil (1982; Cambridge, 1991), and James Wetzel, Augustine and the Limits of Virtue (Cambridge, 1992).
31. See G. R. Evans, Augustine on Evil (1982; Cambridge, 1991), and James Wetzel, Augustine and the Limits of Virtue (Cambridge, 1992).
32. De civitate Dei 22:22 (hereafter CD), ed. B. Dombart and A. Kalb (Turnhout, 1955; Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina [CCSL] 48).
33. Augustine, Sermo 259, in Patrologiae cursus completus, ed. J. P. Migne (Paris, 1844-90; hereafter PL), 38: 1199; Augustine adopts here a wider definition of cruelty, which includes passive indifference to the suffering of others.
34. Augustine presents the rape of the Sabine women as a constitutive event of Roman history (CD 3:13). On pagan cruelty see also CD 2:18, 2:22, 3:17, 3-24-29, 5:19, 7:26; on cruel practices of the Manicheans, De moribus ecclesiae catholicae et Manichaeorum, 2, PL 32, cols. 1367-75; and on the Jews' cruelty in crucifying Christ, CD 3:15.
35. Etienne Gilson summarizes Augustine's position on the subject as follows: "... man is neither his body alone, nor his rational soul alone, but a composite of both. Such a formula would satisfy even the viewpoint of St. Thomas Aquinas, but the same could not be said of the way St. Augustine interprets it, because that interpretation sometimes betrays formulae different from the preceeding, e.g. man is a soul using a body" (E. Gilson, The Christian Philosophy of Saint Augustine, tr. L. E. M. Lynch [1960; London, 1961], 208-9; on the precedence of the soul see also 167).
36. See Daniel A. Dombrowski, "St. Augustine, Abortion, and libido crudelis," JHI, 49 (1988), 153.
37. Augustine writes to Caecilianus, "quod ille cum anima sua quam cum istius corpore crudelius egerit," and further on: "sibi igitur ille nocuit, quidquid nocuit; suam transfixit animam, suam uitam, suam conscientiam ... caeca ilia crudelitate usatauit" (Epistulae 151.10, ed. A. Goldbacher [Leipzig, 1904], 390 [CSEL 44]). Cf. Confessiones 6.8, ed. J. J. O'Donnell (Oxford, 1992), 65-66, where Alypius's soul and the gladiator are wounded simultaneously.
38. Augustine writes to Caecilianus, "quod ille cum anima sua quam cum istius corpore crudelius egerit," and further on: "sibi igitur ille nocuit, quidquid nocuit; suam transfixit animam, suam uitam, suam conscientiam ... caeca ilia crudelitate usatauit" (Epistulae 151.10, ed. A. Goldbacher [Leipzig, 1904], 390 [CSEL 44]). Cf. Confessiones 6.8, ed. J. J. O'Donnell (Oxford, 1992), 65-66, where Alypius's soul and the gladiator are wounded simultaneously.
39. Caesarius of Arles preached that those who had intercourse on Sundays and on other days of abstinence would beget lepers, or epileptics, or possessed children (Sermo 44:7; Césaire d'Arles, Sermons au peuple, ed. and tr. G. Morin [1937; Paris, 1971], II, 338-40 [Sources chrétiennes, 243]; cited in Peter Brown, The Body and Society [New York, 1988], 439).
40. Caesarius of Arles preached that those who had intercourse on Sundays and on other days of abstinence would beget lepers, or epileptics, or possessed children (Sermo 44:7; Césaire d'Arles, Sermons au peuple, ed. and tr. G. Morin [1937; Paris, 1971], II, 338-40 [Sources chrétiennes, 243]; cited in Peter Brown, The Body and Society [New York, 1988], 439).
41. Caesarius of Arles preached that those who had intercourse on Sundays and on other days of abstinence would beget lepers, or epileptics, or possessed children (Sermo 44:7; Césaire d'Arles, Sermons au peuple, ed. and tr. G. Morin [1937; Paris, 1971], II, 338-40 [Sources chrétiennes, 243]; cited in Peter Brown, The Body and Society [New York, 1988], 439).
42. G. G. Stroumsa, "Caro salutis cardo," in Savoir et salut (Paris, 1992), 209. It must be noted that in order to avoid the dualist repugnance from the physical aspects of existence, Augustine carefully warns against the other extreme of negating the body by various means of self-inflicted physical cruelty or suicide. See In Iohannis euangelium tractatus 51:10, ed. R. Willems (Turnhout, 1954; CCSL 36), on a cruel mode of committing suicide; CD 2:7, on practices such as self-castration, performed by the devotees of Cybele.
43. G. G. Stroumsa, "Caro salutis cardo," in Savoir et salut (Paris, 1992), 209. It must be noted that in order to avoid the dualist repugnance from the physical aspects of existence, Augustine carefully warns against the other extreme of negating the body by various means of self-inflicted physical cruelty or suicide. See In Iohannis euangelium tractatus 51:10, ed. R. Willems (Turnhout, 1954; CCSL 36), on a cruel mode of committing suicide; CD 2:7, on practices such as self-castration, performed by the devotees of Cybele.
44. References to Bernard's works from Sancti Bernardi Opera, ed. Jean Leclercq (8 vols.; Rome, 1957-77), translations mine (hereafter SBO). Bernard draws in two places a schematic typology of vices in which superbia, vana gloria, and invidia are vices of the soul, while curiositas, loquacitas, crudelitas, and voluptas are vices of the body: Sermones de diversis, sermo 74 (commentary on Psalms 13:1), SBO 6a, 312-13; Sententiae, 3:9 (commentary on Amos 2:4), SBO 6b, 70. In the second place Bernard also characterizes cruelty as a beastly quality.
45. References to Bernard's works from Sancti Bernardi Opera, ed. Jean Leclercq (8 vols.; Rome, 1957-77), translations mine (hereafter SBO). Bernard draws in two places a schematic typology of vices in which superbia, vana gloria, and invidia are vices of the soul, while curiositas, loquacitas, crudelitas, and voluptas are vices of the body: Sermones de diversis, sermo 74 (commentary on Psalms 13:1), SBO 6a, 312-13; Sententiae, 3:9 (commentary on Amos 2:4), SBO 6b, 70. In the second place Bernard also characterizes cruelty as a beastly quality.
46. Apologia ad Guillelmum abbatem, 8 (16-17), SBO 3:95-96.
47. Sermo ad clericos de conversione, 7 (12), SBO 4:86-87.
48. Sermo super Cantica Canticorum, 33:10 , SBO 2:240; see also Liber de gradibus humilitatis et superbiae, 14 (42), SBO 3:49.
49. Sermo super Cantica Canticorum, 33:10 , SBO 2:240; see also Liber de gradibus humilitatis et superbiae, 14 (42), SBO 3:49.
50. Liber de praecepto et dispensatione, 33-34, SBO 3:276-77.
51. Sermones de diversis, 66, SBO 6a:301.
52. Epistulae 2, SBO 7:18-19; Epistulae 322, SBO 8:257. See alsoEpistulae 126, SBO 7:313 for figurative use of the term "cruelty," which points again to the predominantly spiritual character of cruelty.
53. Epistulae 2, SBO 7:18-19; Epistulae 322, SBO 8:257. See alsoEpistulae 126, SBO 7:313 for figurative use of the term "cruelty," which points again to the predominantly spiritual character of cruelty.
54. Epistulae 2, SBO 7:18-19; Epistulae 322, SBO 8:257. See alsoEpistulae 126, SBO 7:313 for figurative use of the term "cruelty," which points again to the predominantly spiritual character of cruelty.
55. His attack on the cruelty of the Cathars may be interpreted in this context as well, to the effect that they are leading souls to perdition (Sermo super Cantica Canticorum 66:1, 2:178). Establishing the cruelty of the Cathars was a necessary step for the application of violence against them. See, for instance, Petrus Vallium Sarnaii monachus, Hystoria Albigensis 127, 142, ed. Pascal Guébin and Ernest Lyon (Paris, 1930), I, 132, 148.
56. His attack on the cruelty of the Cathars may be interpreted in this context as well, to the effect that they are leading souls to perdition (Sermo super Cantica Canticorum 66:1, 2:178). Establishing the cruelty of the Cathars was a necessary step for the application of violence against them. See, for instance, Petrus Vallium Sarnaii monachus, Hystoria Albigensis 127, 142, ed. Pascal Guébin and Ernest Lyon (Paris, 1930), I, 132, 148.
57. Isidori Hispalensis episcopi etymologiarum sive originum libri XX 10.48, ed. W.M. Lindsay (1911; Oxford, 1989): "Crudelis, hoc est crudus, quem Graeciω + (combining comma above)μoυ appelant per translationem, quasi non coctus nee esui habilis. Est enim asper et durus," Saevus is related to punishment in the legal context: "Severus, quasi saevus verus; tenet enim sine pietate iustitiam" (ibid., 10.250). In Aquinas's question on cruelty Isidore is the only Christian authority cited.
58. Isidori Hispalensis episcopi etymologiarum sive originum libri XX 10.48, ed. W.M. Lindsay (1911; Oxford, 1989): "Crudelis, hoc est crudus, quem Graeciω + (combining comma above)μoυ appelant per translationem, quasi non coctus nee esui habilis. Est enim asper et durus," Saevus is related to punishment in the legal context: "Severus, quasi saevus verus; tenet enim sine pietate iustitiam" (ibid., 10.250). In Aquinas's question on cruelty Isidore is the only Christian authority cited.
59. See Summa contra gentiles II:67-72, Editio Leonina (Rome, 1934); see especialy II:71: "ostensum est enim (cf. capp. 68, 70) quod anima unitur corpori ut forma eius." See also ST, 1-76 (De unione animae ad corpus): "anima intellectiva est forma corpori" (1-76-1, co.); "Sed si posamus animam corpori uniri sicut formam ..." (1-76-3, co.).
60. See Summa contra gentiles II:67-72, Editio Leonina (Rome, 1934); see especialy II:71: "ostensum est enim (cf. capp. 68, 70) quod anima unitur corpori ut forma eius." See also ST, 1-76 (De unione animae ad corpus): "anima intellectiva est forma corpori" (1-76-1, co.); "Sed si posamus animam corpori uniri sicut formam ..." (1-76-3, co.).
61. See Summa contra gentiles II:67-72, Editio Leonina (Rome, 1934); see especialy II:71: "ostensum est enim (cf. capp. 68, 70) quod anima unitur corpori ut forma eius." See also ST, 1-76 (De unione animae ad corpus): "anima intellectiva est forma corpori" (1-76-1, co.); "Sed si posamus animam corpori uniri sicut formam ..." (1-76-3, co.).
62. See Brian Davies, The Thought of Thomas Aquinas (Oxford, 1992), 210-11 . The question of the relation between body and soul is treated extensively in the Summa contra gentiles, II:56-82, where Aquinas refutes a number of other opinions, including the Platonic conception in II:57; and cf. ST 1-76-3, co.
63. See Brian Davies, The Thought of Thomas Aquinas (Oxford, 1992), 210-11 . The question of the relation between body and soul is treated extensively in the Summa contra gentiles, II:56-82, where Aquinas refutes a number of other opinions, including the Platonic conception in II:57; and cf. ST 1-76-3, co.
64. Etienne Gilson, History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages (New York, 1955), 361-62 , terms Thomas's new conception of the soul "the Thomistic reformation." On the Thomistic conception of the body and soul and its consequences see also Gilson, The Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. E. Bullough (1924; New York, 1929), 204-20; Davies, The Thought of Thomas Aquinas, 207-26; Anthony Kenny, Aquinas on Mind (New York, 1993), 145-59.
65. Etienne Gilson, History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages (New York, 1955), 361-62 , terms Thomas's new conception of the soul "the Thomistic reformation." On the Thomistic conception of the body and soul and its consequences see also Gilson, The Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. E. Bullough (1924; New York, 1929), 204-20; Davies, The Thought of Thomas Aquinas, 207-26; Anthony Kenny, Aquinas on Mind (New York, 1993), 145-59.
66. Etienne Gilson, History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages (New York, 1955), 361-62 , terms Thomas's new conception of the soul "the Thomistic reformation." On the Thomistic conception of the body and soul and its consequences see also Gilson, The Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. E. Bullough (1924; New York, 1929), 204-20; Davies, The Thought of Thomas Aquinas, 207-26; Anthony Kenny, Aquinas on Mind (New York, 1993), 145-59.
67. Etienne Gilson, History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages (New York, 1955), 361-62 , terms Thomas's new conception of the soul "the Thomistic reformation." On the Thomistic conception of the body and soul and its consequences see also Gilson, The Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. E. Bullough (1924; New York, 1929), 204-20; Davies, The Thought of Thomas Aquinas, 207-26; Anthony Kenny, Aquinas on Mind (New York, 1993), 145-59.
68. "Opera quippe quae, ut prediximus, eque reprobis ut electis communia sunt, omnia in se indifferentia sunt nec nisi pro intentione agentis bona uel mala dicenda sunt ..." (Peter Abelard, Ethics, ed. and tr. D. E. Luscombe [1971; Oxford, 1979], 44-45).
69. Ibid., 66-67.
70. Robert Blomme, La Doctrine du péché dans les écoles théologiques de la première moitié du XIIe siècle (Louvain, 1958).
71. ST, 2-2-159, art. 1, ra.1. Yet Aquinas is less extreme than Abelard and maintains that actions can be judged as good or bad objectively; see Gilson, The Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, 316-20. Aristotle also maintains that some actions are bad in themselves, and do not fit the model of the mean (Nicomachean Ethics II:6, 69).
72. ST, 2-2-159, art. 1, ra.1. Yet Aquinas is less extreme than Abelard and maintains that actions can be judged as good or bad objectively; see Gilson, The Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, 316-20. Aristotle also maintains that some actions are bad in themselves, and do not fit the model of the mean (Nicomachean Ethics II:6, 69).
73. On the text of DC and the dating of its manuscripts, see François Préchac, "Introduction" to Sénèque, De la clémence, ed. François Préchac (Paris, 1921).
74. Ambrosianus C 90, the earliest manuscript known now, dates from the eleventh century; it is the only manuscript that contains the full text of the Dialogues which appears in the corpus assembled by Birger Munk Olsen, L'étude des auteurs classiques latins aux XIe et XIIe siècles (Paris, 1985), II, 417; for fragments of the Dialogues see ibid., 395, 412, 414, 415, 426, 455. For the transmission of the Dialogues see L. D. Reynolds, "The Medieval Tradition of Seneca's Dialogues," The Classical Quarterly, 72 (1968), 355-72.
75. Ambrosianus C 90, the earliest manuscript known now, dates from the eleventh century; it is the only manuscript that contains the full text of the Dialogues which appears in the corpus assembled by Birger Munk Olsen, L'étude des auteurs classiques latins aux XIe et XIIe siècles (Paris, 1985), II, 417; for fragments of the Dialogues see ibid., 395, 412, 414, 415, 426, 455. For the transmission of the Dialogues see L. D. Reynolds, "The Medieval Tradition of Seneca's Dialogues," The Classical Quarterly, 72 (1968), 355-72.
76. Ambrosianus C 90, the earliest manuscript known now, dates from the eleventh century; it is the only manuscript that contains the full text of the Dialogues which appears in the corpus assembled by Birger Munk Olsen, L'étude des auteurs classiques latins aux XIe et XIIe siècles (Paris, 1985), II, 417; for fragments of the Dialogues see ibid., 395, 412, 414, 415, 426, 455. For the transmission of the Dialogues see L. D. Reynolds, "The Medieval Tradition of Seneca's Dialogues," The Classical Quarterly, 72 (1968), 355-72.
77. The first complete edition of the philosophical works is that of Moravus (Naples, 1475).
78. Calvin's Commentary on Seneca's De Clementia, ed. and tr. F. L. Battles and A. M. Hugo (Leiden, 1969).
79. The transmission of Seneca's tragedies from the twelfth century onwards is traced in Richard H. Rouse, "The A Text of Seneca's Tragedies in the Thirteenth Century," Revue d'histoire des textes, 1 (1971), 93-121, remarking (120) on the previous neglect of the tragedies.
80. The oldest text of the tragedies is the E text, which dates from the eleventh century but was rarely copied. It is the only version figuring in Olsen, L'étude des auteurs, II, 402; for earlier quotations from Seneca's tragedies, see also Otto Zwierlein, "Spuren der Tragoedien Senecas bei Bernardus Silvestris, Petrus Pictor und Marbod von Rennes," Mittellateinisches Jahrbuch, 22 for 1987 (1989), 171-96.
81. The oldest text of the tragedies is the E text, which dates from the eleventh century but was rarely copied. It is the only version figuring in Olsen, L'étude des auteurs, II, 402; for earlier quotations from Seneca's tragedies, see also Otto Zwierlein, "Spuren der Tragoedien Senecas bei Bernardus Silvestris, Petrus Pictor und Marbod von Rennes," Mittellateinisches Jahrbuch, 22 for 1987 (1989), 171-96.
82. Rouse, "The A Text," 116-20.
83. Familiari 24:5:17, cited in Guido Martellotti, "La questione dei due Seneca da Petrarca a Benvenuto," Italia medioevale e umanistica, 15 (1972), 153.
84. Familiari 24:5:17, cited in Guido Martellotti, "La questione dei due Seneca da Petrarca a Benvenuto," Italia medioevale e umanistica, 15 (1972), 153.
85. Martelotti mentions other classical authors who were "divided" into two, on philological grounds (ibid., 150).
86. See E. F. Waiting, "Introduction," in Seneca - Four Tragedies and Octavia (Har-mondsworth, 1966), 7-39.
87. Antonin Artaud, the founder of the modern Theater of Cruelty, refers to a play by John Ford as a source of inspiration; see Carol C. Rosen, "The Language of Cruelty in Ford's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore," in Drama in the Renaissance, eds. C. Davidson, C. J. Gianakaris, and J. H. Stroupe (New York, 1986), 315-27. See also William L. Stull, "'This Metamorphosde Tragoedie': Thomas Kyd, Cyril Tourneur, and the Jacobean Theater of Cruelty," Ariel, 14 (1983), 35-49, and on the extent of Seneca's influence on this aspect of Renaissance drama, Robert S. Miola, Shakespeare and Classical Tragedy (Oxford, 1992), 3-10.
88. Antonin Artaud, the founder of the modern Theater of Cruelty, refers to a play by John Ford as a source of inspiration; see Carol C. Rosen, "The Language of Cruelty in Ford's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore," in Drama in the Renaissance, eds. C. Davidson, C. J. Gianakaris, and J. H. Stroupe (New York, 1986), 315-27. See also William L. Stull, "'This Metamorphosde Tragoedie': Thomas Kyd, Cyril Tourneur, and the Jacobean Theater of Cruelty," Ariel, 14 (1983), 35-49, and on the extent of Seneca's influence on this aspect of Renaissance drama, Robert S. Miola, Shakespeare and Classical Tragedy (Oxford, 1992), 3-10.
89. Antonin Artaud, the founder of the modern Theater of Cruelty, refers to a play by John Ford as a source of inspiration; see Carol C. Rosen, "The Language of Cruelty in Ford's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore," in Drama in the Renaissance, eds. C. Davidson, C. J. Gianakaris, and J. H. Stroupe (New York, 1986), 315-27. See also William L. Stull, "'This Metamorphosde Tragoedie': Thomas Kyd, Cyril Tourneur, and the Jacobean Theater of Cruelty," Ariel, 14 (1983), 35-49, and on the extent of Seneca's influence on this aspect of Renaissance drama, Robert S. Miola, Shakespeare and Classical Tragedy (Oxford, 1992), 3-10.
90. Cited in Miola, 11.
91. Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy, III, xiii, ed. J. R. Murlyne (New York, 1970), 85-87. The references to Seneca in this scene are mentioned by Miola. Murlyne notes Senecan influence in the fact that Kyd "shares with Seneca a certain interest in bloodshed and various kinds of horror" (xvii).
92. Antoninus of Florence discusses cruelty in his Summa theologica. Yet, in spite of some hints of novel elements, he generally summarizes the medieval references to cruelty, and his main authority is Aquinas's discussion: Summa theologica 2-8-5 (Verona, 1740; repr. Graz, 1959); see also 1-4-11, 4-4-3, 4-4-9, and 2-7-1 in passing.
93. Montaigne, Essais, 2:11, ed. Albert Thibaudet (Paris, 1950), 465-66; The Essays of Michel de Montaigne, tr. M.A. Screech (1987; Harmondsworth, 1991), 474. On Montaigne's conception of virtue see R. A. Sayce (The Essays of Montaigne: A Critical Exploration [London, 1972], 142-48), presenting a view similar to mine, and Jean Starobinski (Montaigne en mouvement [1982; Paris, 1993], 254-65), who offers a different interpretation.
94. Montaigne, Essais, 2:11, ed. Albert Thibaudet (Paris, 1950), 465-66; The Essays of Michel de Montaigne, tr. M.A. Screech (1987; Harmondsworth, 1991), 474. On Montaigne's conception of virtue see R. A. Sayce (The Essays of Montaigne: A Critical Exploration [London, 1972], 142-48), presenting a view similar to mine, and Jean Starobinski (Montaigne en mouvement [1982; Paris, 1993], 254-65), who offers a different interpretation.
95. Montaigne, Essais, 2:11, ed. Albert Thibaudet (Paris, 1950), 465-66; The Essays of Michel de Montaigne, tr. M.A. Screech (1987; Harmondsworth, 1991), 474. On Montaigne's conception of virtue see R. A. Sayce (The Essays of Montaigne: A Critical Exploration [London, 1972], 142-48), presenting a view similar to mine, and Jean Starobinski (Montaigne en mouvement [1982; Paris, 1993], 254-65), who offers a different interpretation.
96. Montaigne, Essais, 2:11, ed. Albert Thibaudet (Paris, 1950), 465-66; The Essays of Michel de Montaigne, tr. M.A. Screech (1987; Harmondsworth, 1991), 474. On Montaigne's conception of virtue see R. A. Sayce (The Essays of Montaigne: A Critical Exploration [London, 1972], 142-48), presenting a view similar to mine, and Jean Starobinski (Montaigne en mouvement [1982; Paris, 1993], 254-65), who offers a different interpretation.
97. "... mais tant y a que la plupart des vices je les ay de moi mesmes en horreur" (Essais, 2:11, 471; Screech, 479).
98. Essais, 2:11, 473; Screech, 480-81 (modified).
99. Essais, 2:11, 476-77; Screech, 484. The Latin is quoted from Seneca's Epistulae morales 90.45 (see note 12).
100. On the shift in ethical conceptions evident here see Philip P. Hallie, "The Ethics of Montaigne's 'De la cruauté,'" O un ami! Essays on Montaigne in Honor of Donald M. Frame, ed. R. C. La Charité (Lexington, 1977), 157-58.
101. Essais, 2:11, 475; Screech, 482. This statement is repeated verbatim in the essay "Couardise mère de la cruauté," Essais, 2:27, 785 (Screech, 794).
102. See Michael Baraz, L'Etre et la connaissance selon Montaigne (Paris, 1968), 81, 194-98. The increased interest in the human body and in the physical is one of the basic features of the Renaissance (see already in Burckhardt, The Civilization of Renaissance in Italy, tr. S. G. C. Middlemore [1860; New York, 1965], pt. IV, ch. 7 [vol. II, 338-43], pt. VI, ch. 5 [vol. II, 510-16]). See also Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and his World, tr. Helene Iswolsky (1965; Bloomington, 1984); particularly ch. 6: "Images of the Material Bodily Lower Stratum," 368-436. See also reference in note 72. Indicative of the new attitude to cruelty is a letter of Ficino, in which he sets crudelitas as the opposite of humanitas, presents the possibility that cruelty may be attributed to physical causes (not only mental), and links cruelty to madness (Ficino, Epistolae, 1:55 [Basel, 1576; repr. Turin, 1962], 635).
103. See Michael Baraz, L'Etre et la connaissance selon Montaigne (Paris, 1968), 81, 194-98. The increased interest in the human body and in the physical is one of the basic features of the Renaissance (see already in Burckhardt, The Civilization of Renaissance in Italy, tr. S. G. C. Middlemore [1860; New York, 1965], pt. IV, ch. 7 [vol. II, 338-43], pt. VI, ch. 5 [vol. II, 510-16]). See also Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and his World, tr. Helene Iswolsky (1965; Bloomington, 1984); particularly ch. 6: "Images of the Material Bodily Lower Stratum," 368-436. See also reference in note 72. Indicative of the new attitude to cruelty is a letter of Ficino, in which he sets crudelitas as the opposite of humanitas, presents the possibility that cruelty may be attributed to physical causes (not only mental), and links cruelty to madness (Ficino, Epistolae, 1:55 [Basel, 1576; repr. Turin, 1962], 635).
104. See Michael Baraz, L'Etre et la connaissance selon Montaigne (Paris, 1968), 81, 194-98. The increased interest in the human body and in the physical is one of the basic features of the Renaissance (see already in Burckhardt, The Civilization of Renaissance in Italy, tr. S. G. C. Middlemore [1860; New York, 1965], pt. IV, ch. 7 [vol. II, 338-43], pt. VI, ch. 5 [vol. II, 510-16]). See also Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and his World, tr. Helene Iswolsky (1965; Bloomington, 1984); particularly ch. 6: "Images of the Material Bodily Lower Stratum," 368-436. See also reference in note 72. Indicative of the new attitude to cruelty is a letter of Ficino, in which he sets crudelitas as the opposite of humanitas, presents the possibility that cruelty may be attributed to physical causes (not only mental), and links cruelty to madness (Ficino, Epistolae, 1:55 [Basel, 1576; repr. Turin, 1962], 635).
105. See Michael Baraz, L'Etre et la connaissance selon Montaigne (Paris, 1968), 81, 194-98. The increased interest in the human body and in the physical is one of the basic features of the Renaissance (see already in Burckhardt, The Civilization of Renaissance in Italy, tr. S. G. C. Middlemore [1860; New York, 1965], pt. IV, ch. 7 [vol. II, 338-43], pt. VI, ch. 5 [vol. II, 510-16]). See also Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and his World, tr. Helene Iswolsky (1965; Bloomington, 1984); particularly ch. 6: "Images of the Material Bodily Lower Stratum," 368-436. See also reference in note 72. Indicative of the new attitude to cruelty is a letter of Ficino, in which he sets crudelitas as the opposite of humanitas, presents the possibility that cruelty may be attributed to physical causes (not only mental), and links cruelty to madness (Ficino, Epistolae, 1:55 [Basel, 1576; repr. Turin, 1962], 635).
106. See Michael Baraz, L'Etre et la connaissance selon Montaigne (Paris, 1968), 81, 194-98. The increased interest in the human body and in the physical is one of the basic features of the Renaissance (see already in Burckhardt, The Civilization of Renaissance in Italy, tr. S. G. C. Middlemore [1860; New York, 1965], pt. IV, ch. 7 [vol. II, 338-43], pt. VI, ch. 5 [vol. II, 510-16]). See also Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and his World, tr. Helene Iswolsky (1965; Bloomington, 1984); particularly ch. 6: "Images of the Material Bodily Lower Stratum," 368-436. See also reference in note 72. Indicative of the new attitude to cruelty is a letter of Ficino, in which he sets crudelitas as the opposite of humanitas, presents the possibility that cruelty may be attributed to physical causes (not only mental), and links cruelty to madness (Ficino, Epistolae, 1:55 [Basel, 1576; repr. Turin, 1962], 635).
107. For instance, considering anything beyond a straightforward execution as cruelty.
108. Esther Cohen, "Towards a History of European Physical Sensibility: Pain in the Later Middle Ages," Science in Context, 8 (1995), 47-74.
109. On Montaigne's references to Epicurus see Essais, 2:12, 616-17; Screech, 618; and Essais, 3:13, 1240-41; Screech, 1252; on the relation between the soul and the senses, Diogenes Laertius, 10 (Epicurus), 63ff; on Epicurean influence, Hugo Friedrich, Montaigne, tr. D. Eng (1949; 1967; Berkeley, 1991), 322-23.
110. See Jean Starobinski, Montaigne en mouvement, 299ff.