438. In the reign of Gaius (Caligula) we first find philosophers as such exposed to persecution; and we may infer that, like the Jews, they resisted tacitly or openly the claim of the emperor to be worshipped as a god. Iulius Graecinus, according to Seneca, was put to death for no other reason than that he was a better man than a tyrant liked to see alive[79]. Kanus Iulius reproved the emperor to his face, and heard with calmness his own doom pronounced. During the ten days still left to him he went quietly on with his daily occupations; he was engaged in a game of chess when the centurion summoned him. ‘After my death,’ he said to his opponent, ‘do not boast that you won the game.’ His philosopher accompanied him, and inquired how his thoughts were occupied. ‘I propose,’ said Kanus, ‘to observe whether at the last moment the soul is conscious of its departure. Afterwards, if I discover what the condition of departed souls is, I will come back and inform my friends[80].’
Arria the elder.
439. In the reign of Claudius we find Stoics engaged in actual conspiracy against the emperor. The name of Paetus Caecina introduces us to a famous Stoic family, for his wife was Arria the elder. Pliny tells us, on the authority of her granddaughter Fannia, how when her husband and son both fell sick together, and the latter died, she carried out the whole funeral without her husband’s knowledge; and each time that she entered his sick chamber, assumed a cheerful smile and assured him that the boy was much better. Whenever her grief became too strong, she would leave the room for a few minutes to weep, and return once more calm. When Scribonianus in Illyria rebelled against Claudius, Paetus took his side; upon his fall he was brought a prisoner to Rome. Arria was not allowed to accompany him, but she followed him in a fishing boat. She encouraged him to face death by piercing her own breast with a dagger, declaring ‘it doesn’t hurt[81],’ and upon his death she determined not to survive him. Thrasea, her son-in-law, tried to dissuade her. ‘If I were condemned, would you,’ said he, ‘wish your daughter to die with me?’ ‘Yes,’ said Arria, ‘if she had lived with you as long and as happily as I with Paetus.’ Here we have a deliberate justification of the Hindu practice of the Satī.
Seneca.
440. In the reign of Nero the Stoics are still more prominent, and almost always in opposition. Seneca, of course, the emperor’s tutor and minister, is on the government side; and from his life we can draw the truest picture of the imperial civil servant in high office. We shall certainly not expect to find that Seneca illustrated in his own life all the virtues that he preached; on the other hand we shall not readily believe that the ardent disciple of Attalus[82] and affectionate husband of Paulina was a man of dissolute life or of avaricious passions. Simple tastes, an endless capacity for hard work, and scrupulous honesty were the ordinary marks of the Roman official in those days, as they are of members of the Civil Service of India to-day[83]. Seneca is often accused of having been too supple as a minister; but he was carrying out the principles of his sect better by taking an active part in politics than if he had, like many others, held sullenly aloof[84]. He did not indeed imitate Cato or Rutilius Rufus, who had carried firmness of principle to an extent that laid them open to the charge of obstinacy; but in submitting frankly to power greater than his own he still saw to it that his own influence should count towards the better side. For the story of his political career we cannot do better than to refer to the latest historian of his times[85]; of his work as a philosopher, to which he himself attributed the greater importance, a general account has been given above[86] and more particular discussions form the central theme of this book.
Persius and Lucan.
441. From Seneca we pass naturally to some mention of the poets Persius and Lucan. A. Persius Flaccus (34-62 A.D.) became at 16 years of age the pupil and companion of the Stoic philosopher Cornutus: he was also a relative of the Arriae already mentioned. He gives us a charming picture of his teacher’s ways of life, which were doubtless typical[87]: and his summary view of the scope of philosophy well indicates how its proportions had shrunk at this period. Dialectic is not mentioned, and physics has interest only in its bearing upon the position and duty of the individual.
‘Go, study, hapless folk, and learn to know
The end and object of our life—what are we;
The purpose of our being here; the rank