Seneca’s sick body between evidentia and parenesis

The article examines the last three years of Seneca’s life, who after his political failure, chooses a secluded life, dedicating himself entirely to philosophy. In this introspection the author focuses on the suffering of his own body, sick and vulnerable, to demonstrate that ill- ness can be endured if not defeated by the strength of the soul if constantly trained in philo- sophical reflection. Some of the Moral Letters to Lucilius are examined (8, 26, 27, 53, 54, 78), in which Seneca brings into play the habitual practice of self-examination and dialogue to deal with his sick body in a narrative way, to the point that more than autobiography one can speak of an ‘autopathography’. To recount his physical pain and share it with others with the effec- tive clarity that ethical parenesis demands, Seneca delves into medical texts (De medicina by Celsus; Compositiones medicamentorum by Scribonius Largo, outreach activities of illustri- ous exponents of the various medical schools present in Rome).