Letter 47: On Master and Slave
E932951
"Letter 47: On Master and Slave" is a famous moral epistle by the Stoic philosopher Seneca that reflects on the humane and ethical treatment of slaves and the shared humanity of all people.
Statements (38)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Stoic text
ⓘ
moral epistle ⓘ philosophical letter ⓘ |
| addresses | Lucilius NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| author |
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Seneca the Younger NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| circulation | read and copied in late antiquity and the Middle Ages ⓘ |
| collectionNumbering | Letter 47 in the correspondence to Lucilius ⓘ |
| emphasizes |
kindness toward dependents
ⓘ
moral responsibility of those in power ⓘ recognition of common human frailty ⓘ |
| ethicalView |
external status does not affect inner worth
ⓘ
masters have duties of kindness and justice ⓘ slaves should be treated as fellow human beings ⓘ |
| genre | epistle ⓘ |
| historicalContext | ancient Roman slavery ⓘ |
| influenced |
later Christian moral thought on slavery
ⓘ
modern discussions of human rights ⓘ |
| language | Latin ⓘ |
| literaryForm | didactic prose ⓘ |
| mainTheme |
dignity of all human beings
ⓘ
ethical treatment of slaves ⓘ moral obligations of masters ⓘ shared humanity of masters and slaves ⓘ social hierarchy and morality ⓘ |
| modernReception |
frequently anthologized in Stoic ethics collections
ⓘ
studied in courses on ancient philosophy and ethics ⓘ |
| moralStance |
advocates humane treatment of household servants
ⓘ
criticizes cruelty to slaves ⓘ |
| originalTitleLanguage | Latin ⓘ |
| partOf | Moral Letters to Lucilius NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| period | 1st century CE ⓘ |
| philosophicalConcept |
equality in rational nature
ⓘ
indifference of social rank to virtue ⓘ universal brotherhood of humankind ⓘ |
| philosophicalSchool | Stoicism NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| setting | Roman Empire NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| workStatus | surviving text ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.