Lucius Annaeus Seneca, De Consolatione ad Helviam matrem [Consolation to Helvia]

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The

consolatio ad Helviam matrem

was supposedly written in the mid-42 AD, maybe 10 months after the exile imposed on Seneca from Claudius (Letta 1998, 51 ff.). The work is dedicated to the mother of the philosopher, Helvia, who suffers for the relegation of the son in Corsica.

The main witness of the text is the codex Ambrosianus C, 90 inf. (commonly referred to as ‘A’), which contains, in twelve books, all the Dialogi written by the author. The Consolatio ad Helviam is transmitted in the twelfth position, but it has probably been composed 18 months later than the Consolatio ad Polybium (Ferril 1966, 254 and n. 4), in which Seneca, under the pretext of consoling a powerful freedman of Claudius for his brother’s death, tries to cajole the princeps to get him back to Rome.

The main…

1548 words

Citation: Li Causi, Pietro. "De Consolatione ad Helviam matrem". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 July 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35643, accessed 19 March 2024.]

35643 De Consolatione ad Helviam matrem 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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