Philosophical Works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Vol. 2

who applied their critical labor with care and success to the emendation of these works. In applying these emendations, I have followed this policy: that I would either insert the good things they brought forward into the text or note them in the margin, with some judgment of my own appended; other things I would pass over entirely in silence; others, though rejectable, I would include by way of a specimen. In addition to the editions already praised, I also consulted the Basel edition by Jo. Hervagius, by Desid. Erasmus, which appeared in a more corrected form in 1537 in folio, which Gronovius did not use, as he consulted the much earlier one of 1515. In some places that were manifestly corrupt, I preferred to apply a remedy by conjecture—where it could be done with a light touch—rather than leave a jagged reading, provided that the reading I rejected was noted in the margin, and the reason for the change was added. I have used this editorial freedom, a matter which does not yet seem to have been brought to a clear resolution, with moderation. In particular, I have adjusted the punctuation—which it is agreed should be more free for an editor, especially in the case of Seneca—in such a way that not only has the reading been rendered more convenient and useful, but the author himself also appears to be acquitted more than once of the charge of error with which he was burdened.

» That in the exposition of the Philosopher it was my pleasure to follow the footsteps of men greater than myself who polished Seneca before me, especially Lipsius and Gronovius, and to use their learning and acuteness, truly seems to me to require no excuse. For I am so far from making light of the merits of truly famous men regarding Seneca, or detracting from their reputation—since they are granted no opportunity from the underworld to refute and convict their detractors—that I hold nothing more ancient and sacred than the study of diligently collecting their learned remains, though they be somewhat weakened for the light of our own times, and, as the reasons of my plan might warrant, aptly joining them with my own; lest they be despoiled of even this part of human immortality, so that even without our name being mentioned, our good deeds or words might be eternalized, and they be either buried in oblivion or overwhelmed by envy. Nevertheless, I have very often named them for the sake of honor, from whom I knew I had been helped in the exposition of the Philosopher. I have used the aid of their arguments for the same reasons, especially that of Lipsius. I then added to these a certain outline of the literature or sources from which Seneca might appear to have drawn either the occasion for writing or one or another of the passages discussed. In doing so, however, I did not think it should be my task to affect abundance and richness, as if turning over material with the dust, but rather, by briefly appending the main works of the same argument which have become known to us up to Seneca, to show the traces and outlines, which, if anyone has the leisure, he may usefully pursue, and indeed bring forth and adorn. For it does not escape me that many things could still be added: for instance, to the Consolations, things from Cicero, to whom that famous letter of Servius Sulpicius stands in Ad Fam. IV, 5; to the book on the Vita Beata, works of the same inscription by Augustine, Ambrose, and Lactantius: although these additions refer to times after Seneca, and are therefore foreign to our purpose.

» I believe I have been the first to bring no small convenience to those who wish to use Seneca either by reading or praising him, by marking the text with the distinctions which they call paragraphs, placed in the margin. »

We shall add a few things from the preface of the 4th volume (in which the books