A reflection on the tangled knot of human/ethical and rhetorical dimensions in Seneca (Letters to Lucilius 88 and 114)

Hoc quod audire vulgo soles, quod apud Graecos in proverbium cessit: talis hominibus fuit oratio qualis vita (Sen. Ep. 114.1). Starting from the topical equation between style and man, Seneca delves into the complex (and never fully resolved) ethical and aesthetic interplay between moral character (animus), expressive dimension (oratio and ingenium), and the individuality of the Self. This contribution will therefore aim to understand the theoretical tools Seneca employs when reflecting on the issue of “the style is the man”.