Séneca como personaje literario en una Europa en transformación. Consideraciones metodológicas sobre su recepción

Abstract

Taking as starting point the study of the Historia de la vida de Lucio Anneo Séneca español (Madrid, 1625) by Juan Pablo Mártir Rizo and of the Essai sur les règnes of Claude et de Néron et sur les moeurs et les écrits of Sénèque pour servir d’introduction à la lecture de ce philosophe(1782) by Denis Diderot, this article aims to study the relationship between the different interpretations of the crucial aspects of the philosopher’s life and the political and philosophical context in which both works were conceived. My analysis shows that Mártir Rizo reflects on the nature of power within the framework of tacitism, and Diderot focuses on the freedom and political responsibility of the philosopher under an autocratic government. Besides, this article gains insights into certain aspects of the work of Mártir Rizo, an author much underresearched until now.