Augustus and the bonus princeps model at Seneca´s De Clementia

Abstract

It’s intended to expose, in this article, the role of Augusto as an example for Nero, from the perspective of Seneca’s De Clementia. As we will emphasize, we will take the peculiar way in which the Roman philosopher takes up the image of Octavian. For Seneca, it’s a question of bringing to light the image of the first emperor as a “man” at the expense of that deified, extolling his political ability and his way of solving practical problems, at the same time that refuse Augusto's clemency, which, in the view of the Roman author, does not constitute true virtue, as it’s distant from the moral precepts of the stoicism. That is, Otaviano will have an ambiguous invocation as an example because, on the one hand, he should be taken into consideration, thanks to his genius ability to articulate and resolve conflicts, but while a moral example he should be taken with caution, since Augusto gave in to the passions, departed from the ratio and, therefore, did not prove to be an ideal ruler from the point of view of Stoic doctrine. In summary, we try to show, in this text, that Augusto, despite his exemplum in the Roman negotium, should not be considered a paradigm of morality for Nero, like the Stoic sapiens.