Selection 12 (1.17.1-10)

Selection 12 (1.17.1–10): Mirrors and Roman decadence.

The previous section (1.16.1–9) told the story of Hostius Quadra, who used magnifying mirrors for creative sexual escapades. Book One concludes with a broader discussion of mirrors. Seneca argues that the reflective properties of mirrors were created by nature to enable human self-knoweldge and ethical reflection, but that human vices have turned what was a simple, natural thing into another needless element of ostentatious, effeminate luxury. This kind of moralism about luxury is common in the NQ and Seneca’s other writings. He says something similar about using one’s hand for scooping water from a stream, versus kings’ goblets in his Phaedra 518-20. Bartsch 2006 is particularly good about the ways that mirrors represent “two remarkably contradictory strains of thought about the function of self-reflection, on the one hand as a tool for self-improvement, and on the other, as a sign of vanity, profligacy, and even emasculation” (55). Seneca has an ambivalent perspective on progress also at the conclusion of Book 5, when discussing winds and navigation of the sea.

Further Reading: Leitão 1998 provides a literary reading of Book 1 as a whole and shows how Hostius Quadra and the philosophy of the mirror work together. On ancient mirrors, see Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, Speculum.

[1.17.1] Philosophers rightly inquire about the nature of mirrors.

Previous philosophers who were interested in the workings of mirrors include Lucretius (DRN 4.150–67, 269–301) and Diogenes of Oenoanda (fr. 9.1.4–12).

This long sentence begins with the main verb (derideantur), follwed by two causal quod-clauses (quod ... disserant, quod ... inquirant), then three indirect questions after inquirant (quid ... reddatur, quid ... voluerit. ... quid pertinuerit). It can be clausulated as follows:

Derideantur: hortatory subjunctive (AG 439), ironic in tone.

quod: “because”(AG 540).

quid: “why.”

et quidem in nos obversa: the quidem gives emphasis (AG 322e) to this phenomenon of the horizonal flipped reflection of a standard mirror image; i.e. if you hold up a sign that says SENECA in front of a mirror it reflects back AƆƎИƎƧ.

quid sibi ... voluerit: “what she intended,” “what she had in mind” (LS volo I.E.3.b), perfect subjunctive in an indirect question.

cum ... etiam: “although ... yet also”

edidisset: plupf. subj. > ēdo, ēdere, ēdidi, ēditum “produce.” Nature is the subject, very much in her role of divine creator, as in Lucretius (rerum natura creatrix, 1.629, 2.1117, 5.1362) or elsewhere in Seneca (Ep. 49.11, 95.52 have natura paired with edere).

simulacra eorum: eorum refers back to the “real bodies” (vera corpora). This book has been concerned with various simulacra of the sun in the atmosphere and questioned whether they are “real” or mere “images” (1.5.1, 1.13.1, 1.15.7–8).

[1.17.2] Nature made mirrors not for manscaping, but for understanding the sun.

quorsus pertinuerit: “to what end does it relate?” pertinuerit is pf. subj. in indirect question after inquirant in the previous section.

materiam excipiendarum imaginum potentem: potentem modifies materiam and takes the genitive (AG 349); the gerundive excipiendarum agrees with imaginum (AG 503).

non in hoc: “not for this purpose,” anticipating two purpose clauses. Order: scīlicet nōn in hoc, ut virī vellerēmus barbam ad speculum, aut ut polīrēmus faciem.

barbam velleremus: Seneca elsewhere lambasts men who spend too much time on their appearance.Ep. 115.2 attacks the dandies who are “sleek in hair and beard” barba et coma nitidos, and Ep. 114.21 likewise criticizes those with sculpted goatees. Christenson 2004 offers a reading of the semiotics of beards in Cicero.

faciem viri poliremus: cf. NQ 7.31.2, “we have surpassed the beauty regimens of women in the smoothness and polish of our bodies” (levitate et politura corporum).

illa: natura

gessit: “does,” > gero, pf. tense expressing a general truth (AG 495)

luxuriae negotium: natura never works together with luxuria, but Seneca notes how luxuria often perverts or transforms the works of natura (NQ 3.18.1–7). Luxuria in NQ becomes a similar active force (like nature), but it works towards divergent goals.

primum omnium: introduces the first reason that natura gave us mirrors.

inbecilli … ad sustinendum comminus solem: the adjective is connected to the ad + gerundive clause of purpose (AG 506); i.e., our eyes are “powerless to endure” looking directly at the sun.

ignoraturi erant: the future active participle as part of the active periphrastic construction (AG 498). The implication is that natura wanted man to know the shape of the sun.

hebetato … lumine: ablative absolute (AG 419). When reflected in certain materials, the sun not as bright as when looked upon directly.

illum: solem

ostendit: the subject is either speculum or natura.

quamvis ... videremus: this long sentence begins with a concessive quamvis-clause (quamvis ... liceat) answered, as usual, by tamen (“nevertheless”). There follow two extended present counter-factual conditions in imperfect subjunctive: nesciremus ... nisi ... occureret. non videremus, nec ... possemus ... nisi videremus. It could be clausulated as follows:

  

rubentis: agrees with eius and suggests the ruddy color of the sun at sunrise and sunset.

candidā luce: ablative of means (AG 409).

in aliquo … umore: at NQ 1.12.1 Seneca mentions viewing eclipses in bowls of pitch or oil (see Selection 11).

nobis: dative after occurreret

lenior et aspici facilior: lenior and facilior agree with sol. Aspici is the present passive infinitive with facilior (AG 510 note 3).

[1.17.3] Mirrors can be used to observe eclipses.

Seneca writes more fully about the reaction to a mythical eclipse in his Thyestes (789–884).

duorum siderum occursum: the meeting of the sun and moon during a solar eclipse.

quid esset quod: “what it is that,” indirect question (AG 574).

subduceret: “hides” (LS subduco II.C), subj. in a relative clause of characteristic (AG 535).

nulla obversante nube: ablative absolute with concessive force (AG 419)

humi: “on the ground” (observed in a bowl of some liquid). Locative (AG 49.a).

[1.17.4] Mirrors were invented for self-knowledge and to inspire men to certain actions.

ut homo ipse se nosset: purpose clause (AG 506) in secondary sequence with the syncopated pluperfect subjunctive standing in for imperfect; nosset = novisset “to have become acquainted with” = “to know.” This sort of self-knowledge is the ideal for Greek and Roman philosophy. It can be seen in the motto of Apollo’s temple at Delphi (“know thyself,” γνῶθι σεαυτόν (‘gnōthi seauton’)), in Socratic philosophy, and in the ethical reflection that Seneca encourages in his letters. Bartsch 2006 writes eloquently about this from a variety of angles, including the NQ.

consecuturus: “about to gain” > consequor, stressing the many benefits that man gains from mirrors and also recalling the opening of the NQ (quando tam multa consequar, 3.pr.1); see Selection 1.

sui notitiam: “self-knowledge.” As Seneca says in de Providentia, which is also addressed to Lucilius, “For self-knowledge requires a test” (opus est enim ad notitiam sui experimento, Prov. 4.3).

ad quaedam: “for certain situations.” These are detailed in the purpose clauses to follow.

consilium: “wisdom”

formosus ... deformis ... iuvenis ... senex: supply with each of these adjectives, homo consilium consequitur.

redimendum esse virtutibus: redimendum agrees with quidquid and the passive periphrastic construction (here in an indirect statement) implies necessity (AG 196).

quidquid corpori deesset: desum + dative, “is lacking, is absent from” (AG 373.b). The indefinite relative introduces a relative clause of characteristic (AG 535) within the purpose clause.

flore aetatis: “by his youth,” ablative of means (AG 409). Youth was often personified as a “bloom” in Greek and Roman culture, and flos can mean the downy beard of a young man (Verg. Aeneid 8.160), and this expression indicates the “prime of life” elsewhere (e.g. Lucr. 3.770, Cic. Pro Caelio 9.8).

tempus … discendi et fortia audendi: take the genitive gerunds with tempus, “time for ... -ing” (AG 504). Seneca writes something similar in Ep. 108 when discussing youth as the best time of life, “Why the best? Because when we are young, we are able to learn, since our minds are still flexible and can be turned toward better things; because this is the time of life that is suited to strenuous effort, to exercising the mind with study and the body with work” (108.26, trans. Graver and Long).

indecora canis: “(things) disgraceful to grey hair” (LS canus I.B), i.e., to old age.

aliquid: “a little”

de morte: a subject on Seneca’s mind in his late works; see esp. Ker 2009: 147–78.

facultatem … videndi: facultas + gerundive in the genitive = “the ability to.”

nosmet ipsos: strong emphasis with both personal and intensive pronoun; see AG 143.d for the suffix –met.

[1.17.5] In ancient times life was simple, and so were the means of reflection.

Seneca adds a quotation from Vergil to support the point.

Fons … perlucidus: this phrase recalls the collocation in Ovid’s Metamorphoses (fons … perlucidus, 3.161) where it is used of the sacred pool of Diana that Actaeon stumbles across. If one remembers the original context, one might anticipate some danger in such waters. Seneca will soon reveal there is something dangerous about the mirrors as well.

lēve saxum: lēvis, “smooth,” not to be confused wth levis = “light.”

nuper … mare: This quotation is from Vergil’s second Eclogue (2.25–26) in which the shepherd Corydon sings about his love for Alexis. He claims he is not “so bad-looking” (adeo informis) because he recently saw himself in the sea, but adds the caveat, “if reflections never lie” (si numquam fallit imago, Eclogue 2.28). Seeing how much of this book has been about false reflections, one might wonder if Seneca is calling attention to a more critical reading of Vergil’s lines.

cultum: “grooming,” “elegance”

hoc ... speculum: “this sort of mirror,” water or smooth stones

comentium: “of whose who groom themselves,” genitive plural present active participle

aetas illa: Seneca likes to imagine early civilization as having limitations as well as benefits from living more “according to nature”; his Ep. 90 provides a critical view of early man and whether it was truly a Golden Age. See Star 2021: 127–56 for more on the Golden Age in Seneca.

fortuitis contenta: this simpler age was content with chance glimpses of themselves (and it is implied also by acquiring goods by chance).

in vitium beneficia detorquebat: this verb was used earlier to comment on the action of mirrors, so we can see the way physical descriptions are now used for ethical purposes (NQ 1.5.14, 1.15.8). Natura provides benefits for mankind, but we “twist” these goods into vices; see Ep. 90.36 for a similar thought.

in libidinem luxumque: in the earlier section about Hostius Quadra, Seneca emphasized how libido marshaled goods to increase its pleasure (1.16.1) and he will go on to write about how mirrors have become luxury goods. As Seneca writes elsewhere, “what is enough for nature is not enough for man” (quod naturae satis est homini non est, Ep. 119.8); mankind is unable to leave well enough alone and live in a contented way.

rapiebat: “were seizing upon” as opportunities.

[1.17.6] Human vanity and progressive moral decline led to the use mined metals to provide better reflective surfaces.

cum ... faceret: order: cum amor sui, insitus mortalibus, faceret aspectum suae formae dulcem. dulcem is predicate acc., sui is the pronoun, objective genitive after amor. Seneca’s word order emphasizes insitus: natural human vanity drives the process. The whole clause describes the circumstances accompanying the main verb, despexere.

despexere: syncopated perfect 3rd person plural active indicative (–ēre for –erunt). The men of old are the assumed subject of this verb.

deterior populus: what had been aetas illa simplicior now is getting worse and worse. The inevitability of moral decline is a staple of Roman thinking. As Seneca says at De Beneficiis 1.10.1, “our ancestors complained about this, we complain about this, our children will complain about this, that customs are overturned, that sin is king, that human affairs get worse and worse (in deterius res humanas).” In NQ the idea also appears also in Book 3 (3.pr.8, 3.pr.18, and 3.29.5).

effosurus obruenda: “intending to dig up things that ought to be buried.” effosurus > effodio, future partciple expressing purpose, AG 499.2. For mining as emblematic of moral decline, see Selection 6.

sōlum: “merely.” This word could be taken with eruisset, “merely dug them up,” without putting them to wicked uses; or, with id, “merely iron,” and not other metals.

alia terrae mala: i.e. gold, silver, and bronze. Supply in usu fuerunt.

aliud agentibus: “to people doing something else,” i.e., just going about their business. agentibus is the dative indirect object with aliud its direct object. People noticed their reflection in the smooth surface of other metal objects like cups and plates.

quam: the antecedent is speciem suam.

hic … ille: “this man … that man....” The asyndeton makes it seem like everyone was doing it.

ad ali[qu]os usus: “for some (real) use.” Other editors delete the bracketed letters and read alios, “for other uses.”

argentei nitoris: genitive of material (AG 344)

†fragilis† vilisque materiae: Hine finds fragilis odd here, but it may denote glass, cf. Parroni (2002) ad loc.

[1.17.7] In early times men practiced simple grooming and had no need for hairdressers.

It is notable that ancient philosophers tended to wear beards and to pay less attention to their appearance if statuary and some of Seneca’s comments in Ep. 5 are to be believed.

cum … viverent: the clause describes the circumstances that accompanied the action of the main verb (AG 546).

satis nitidi: supply erant.

adverso flumine: ablative of means (AG 409).

cura comere capilllum fuit: cura fuit takes a subject clause, in this case the infinitives comere (with its direct object capillum) as well as depectere (with its direct object prominentem barbam). The alliteration of this opening is striking.

hac re: grooming

sibi quisque ... dabat: order: quisque dabat operam sibi, non (dabat operam) alteri in vicem.

<ne> coniugum … adtrectabatur: order: ille crinis, quem olim mos fuit viris effundere, adtrectabatur manu ne coniugum quidem. Seneca’s order highlights ne coniugum quidem. ne ... quidem, “not even,” emphasizes what it surrounds (AG 322.f).

sine ullo artifice: hair-dressers and barbers were often slaves in rich houses (ornatrices), but women’s hair styles could be exceptionally elaborate. Ovid writes in his Ars Amatoria about how women would often try to achieve a “natural” hairstyle that actually required a lot of effort (3.153–4).

formosi: in Seneca’s Phaedra, Hippolytus’ unkempt hair and beard are said to be alluring (753–7, 800–4).

generosa animalia: “noble-spirited animals,” such as lions or horses; supply quatiebant. Seneca refers to lions in this way also in De Ira (Ira 2.16.1) and to other high-spirited animals at Ep. 92.9. In Ep. 124.22 he questions why men spend so much time on their hair when “any horse will brandish a thicker mane, and a more beautiful mane will stand out on the neck of a lion.”

[1.17.8] With the spread of luxury, mirrors became vastly more ornate and expensive.

rerum potiente luxuriā: ablative absolute; potior governs the genitive (AG 357).

specula totis paria corporibus: “full-length mirrors.” paria takes the dative (AG 385).

pluris ... feminae constitit … quam: “cost a woman more than ...” (LS consto II.B.6, “to stand at, i.e., to cost”). The genitive (pluris > plus) is normal when stating an indefinite value (AG 417).

his: speculīs.

antiquarum dos: dowries were given in Roman marriages from the bride’s family to that of the groom. The dowry would often include funds to help cover household expenses, land, slaves, the wife’s clothes, jewelry, etc. Now one mirror is worth more than the dowries of women of old.

non <excepta> illa: “not excluding that (dowry).” The sense of the passage requires a word like excepta to be added.

publice: “at public expense,” bestowed by the senate as a special honor based on the services of their kinsmen to the state.

imperatorum pauperum liberis: “to the daughters of penniless generals.” Seneca is thinking particularly of the two Cornelias, daughters of Scipio Africanus (who died in 183 BC): Cornelia Africana Major and Cornelia Africana Minor (the mother of the Gracchi). See just below, and Saller 1994: 214–15 for more about this story and the larger context of dowries.

auro inlitum … speculum: inlino often has derogatory connotations, “smear on,” but now used with a precious material.

Scipionis: for Scipio Africanus as an exemplum of old-fashioned virtue vs. contemporary decadence, see also Ep. 86, in which Seneca visits his villa at Liternum.

aes grave: the large, heavy coinage of the early Republic made up the dowry of Scipio’s daughters.

[1.17.9] The simplicty of the Republic and the dissipation of Seneca’s contemporary Rome can be seen through this story about dowries and mirrors.

O felix paupertas: a paradox, since poverty is usually not considered a blessing (this is the only extant example of the pairing of these two words in Latin), but the Cornelias’ poverty allowed them to win glory and represents the old-fashioned mos maiorum.

tanto titulo locum fecit: “gave opportunity for such glory” (LS titulus II.A).

non cepissent … si habuissent: past contrary-to-fact condition (AG 517). A direct object seems to be missing after habuissent. Editors variously supplement with “expensive mirrors” or “a dowry from their father.”

quisquis ille: “that man, whoever he was,” a dismissive reference to the husbands of the Cornelias.

soceri loco: loco + genitive = “in place of.” The senate, in providing a dowry for Scipio’s daughters, was taking the role of father-in-law to their husbands.

quam fas non esset reddere: relative clause of characteristic (AG 534). In cases of divorce, the dowry was returned with the bride to her paterfamilias. But in this case, it would have been impossibly shameful to return such as glorious (though financially modest) dowry.

iam ... dedit: order: illa dos, quam (senatus olim) dedit, iam non sufficit in unum speculum virgunculis libertinorum. The snobbery of this formulation is notable. The diminutive virgunculis emphasizes the girls’ youth and low social status, and libertinorum their low social status, in contrast to the extremely high status of Scipio’s daughters. The diffusion of wealth to the lower classes is seen as a sure sign of moral decline. sufficio + in + accusative = “to be sufficient for.” Freedmen might be expected to be poor but would still look down on such a dowry. In fact, Seneca and his contemporaries often write about freedmen as the nouveau-riche of their time, like Trimalchio in Petronius’ Satyricon.

†pro aio se†: the text is corrupt here. One would expect a name, or senatus as the subject of dedit.

[1.17.10] Luxuria has now progressed to the point where even military men use mirrors for feminine levels of grooming.

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Luxury has become worse and worse as Rome has prospered. This leads to the spread of various vices as well. This is a commonplace in Roman thought. As Livy states, “In these latter years wealth has brought avarice in its train, and the unlimited command of pleasure has created in men a passion for ruining themselves and everything else through self-indulgence and licentiousness.” (Livy pref. 1: trans. Roberts). This sort of pessimism can be found as well at the conclusion of other books of NQ (see Selection 3 for the end of Book 3, Selection 5 for the end of Book 4b) and the end of the Book 5 as well as Book 7.

opibus ipsis invitata luxuria: “luxury encouraged by sheer wealth”—evidently assumed to be the result of increased mining (see above, 1.17.6, subit terras effosurus obruenda). This analysis elides the true sources of the wealth of the Roman upper class: agriculture, trade, and the exploitation of the provinces through taxation and money-lending.

incrementum ingens vitia ceperunt: the “huge growth” of vices has come hand-in-hand with the increase in luxury.

indiscreta: “confused,” “indiscriminate”

diversissimis artibus: “by the most various refinements,” ablative of means. These “arts” are probably those of the beautician and hair-plucker (see Ep. 56.2).

ut … sint: result clause (AG 537).

mundus: “the articles a woman uses to beautify herself,” “toilet,” “cosmetics.” There is possibly wordplay the homonym mundus = “the world,” “the cosmos.” As Williams 2012 points out, “While the sapiens contemplates the integrated mundus, what commands attention here is the very different mundus muliebris in a world integrated (cf. indiscrete) by vice, not by a higher philosophy” (90).

omnes dico: supply viros.

ornatūs tantum causā: causā + a preceding genitive (ornatūs), “for the sake of.” Tantum is adverbial, “only.”

nulli non vitio: double-negative, “for every vice.” Necessarius takes the dative here, but can also take a possessive genitive (AG 385.c). What other vices require mirrors is left unstated, but the reader is no doubt meant to think of the sexual escapades of Hostius Quadra just discussed (1.16.1–2).