On style as a mirror of character
114:13
Book Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Book Description: The final volume of Seneca's moral letters. Common Stoic themes emerge again and again: the unreliability of fortune, the ability to form Stoic resolve, and the importance of virtue.
13.
Moreover, style has no fixed laws; it is changed by the usage of the people, never the same for any length of time.
Many orators hark back to earlier epochs for their vocabulary, speaking in the language of the Twelve Tables.
Gracchus, Crassus, and Curio, in their eyes, are too refined and too modern; so back to Appius and Coruncanius!
Conversely, certain men, in their endeavour to maintain nothing but well-worn and common usages, fall into a humdrum style.
Book: Moral Letters Vol III
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On style as a mirror of character
Location: Chapter 114, Section 13
Content:
13.
Moreover, style has no fixed laws; it is changed by the usage of the people, never the same for any length of time.
Many orators hark back to earlier epochs for their vocabulary, speaking in the language of the Twelve Tables.
Gracchus, Crassus, and Curio, in their eyes, are too refined and too modern; so back to Appius and Coruncanius!
Conversely, certain men, in their endeavour to maintain nothing but well-worn and common usages, fall into a humdrum style.