The Consolations of Travel: Reading Seneca’s Ad Marciam vis-à-vis Paul of Tarsus
-
Christoph Jedan
Abstract
The chapter compares the use of travel vocabulary and imagery in Seneca, with a specific focus on the Ad Marciam, and Paul. It also discusses comparative methodology. Two extended travel narratives take a surprising space in Seneca’s Ad Marciam (nearly a fifth of the text), while there is a surprising scarcity of travel vocabulary in Paul. The chapter argues that we cannot explain this difference by interpreting Paul as mostly interested in the journeys of “the inner human being” and Seneca as mostly interested in the “superficially visible.” It explains the key role of the two travel narratives in the context of Seneca’s consolatory project, aimed at the spiritual transformation of his addressee. The chapter argues for a properly contextualized, bi-directional comparative strategy, which investigates not only the underpinning world views that might lead to contrasting motifs and concepts, but also how different concepts and theories fulfil comparable functions in the context of different world views. In this vein the chapter points to fundamental differences between Seneca and Paul regarding the nature and scope of cosmic permanence and human immortality, but also to differences between Seneca’s and Paul’s axiologies, as factors determining the relative neglect of travel motifs in Paul compared to Seneca. The structure of Paul’s overall theology and mission allow us to understand why he tends to avoid travel metaphors, since they aggregate positive and negative aspects of travel. Paul “offloads” the negative aspects of travelling on to the word field of “work,” and is thus able to address his communities with a more positive, flattering message than could be achieved with the word field of “travel.”
Abstract
The chapter compares the use of travel vocabulary and imagery in Seneca, with a specific focus on the Ad Marciam, and Paul. It also discusses comparative methodology. Two extended travel narratives take a surprising space in Seneca’s Ad Marciam (nearly a fifth of the text), while there is a surprising scarcity of travel vocabulary in Paul. The chapter argues that we cannot explain this difference by interpreting Paul as mostly interested in the journeys of “the inner human being” and Seneca as mostly interested in the “superficially visible.” It explains the key role of the two travel narratives in the context of Seneca’s consolatory project, aimed at the spiritual transformation of his addressee. The chapter argues for a properly contextualized, bi-directional comparative strategy, which investigates not only the underpinning world views that might lead to contrasting motifs and concepts, but also how different concepts and theories fulfil comparable functions in the context of different world views. In this vein the chapter points to fundamental differences between Seneca and Paul regarding the nature and scope of cosmic permanence and human immortality, but also to differences between Seneca’s and Paul’s axiologies, as factors determining the relative neglect of travel motifs in Paul compared to Seneca. The structure of Paul’s overall theology and mission allow us to understand why he tends to avoid travel metaphors, since they aggregate positive and negative aspects of travel. Paul “offloads” the negative aspects of travelling on to the word field of “work,” and is thus able to address his communities with a more positive, flattering message than could be achieved with the word field of “travel.”
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- List of Contributors VII
- Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Travel Experiences 1
- “And as They Travelled Eastward” (Gen 11:2): Travel in the Book of Genesis and the Anonymous Travelers in the Tower of Babel Account 11
- The Consolations of Travel: Reading Seneca’s Ad Marciam vis-à-vis Paul of Tarsus 33
- The (Missing) Motif of “Returning Home” from an Otherworldly Journey in Menippean Literature and the New Testament 55
- The Educational Aspect of the Lukan Travel Narrative: Jesus as a Πεπαιδευμένος 73
- Acts of the Apostles—A Celebration of Uncertainty? Constructing a Dialogical Self for the Early Jesus Movement 97
- “Today or Tomorrow We Will Go to Such and Such a City” (Jas 4:13): The Experience of Interconnectivity and the Mobility of Norms in the Ancient Globalized World 113
- Heavenly Journey and Divine Epistemology in the Fourth Gospel 145
- Following Vespasian in His Footsteps: Movement and (E)motion Management in Josephus’ Judean War 161
- Religion on the Road—Nehalennia Revisited: Voyagers Addressing a North Sea Deity in the Second Century CE 181
- Mapping Cosmological Space in the Apocalypse of Paul and the Visio Pauli: The Actualization of Virtual Spatiality in Two Pauline Apocalyptical Journeys based on 2 Cor 12:2–4 189
- The Travels of Barnabas: From the Acts of the Apostles to Late Antique Hagiographic Literature 229
- Rabbinic Geography: Between the Imaginary and Real 251
- The Journey of Zayd Ibn ʿAmr: In Search of True Worship 269
- Nautical Fiction of Late Antiquity: Jews and Christians Traveling by Sea 295
- Monasteries as Travel Loci for Muslims and Christians (500–1000 CE) 313
- Sachregister 337
- Stellenregister 341
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- List of Contributors VII
- Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Travel Experiences 1
- “And as They Travelled Eastward” (Gen 11:2): Travel in the Book of Genesis and the Anonymous Travelers in the Tower of Babel Account 11
- The Consolations of Travel: Reading Seneca’s Ad Marciam vis-à-vis Paul of Tarsus 33
- The (Missing) Motif of “Returning Home” from an Otherworldly Journey in Menippean Literature and the New Testament 55
- The Educational Aspect of the Lukan Travel Narrative: Jesus as a Πεπαιδευμένος 73
- Acts of the Apostles—A Celebration of Uncertainty? Constructing a Dialogical Self for the Early Jesus Movement 97
- “Today or Tomorrow We Will Go to Such and Such a City” (Jas 4:13): The Experience of Interconnectivity and the Mobility of Norms in the Ancient Globalized World 113
- Heavenly Journey and Divine Epistemology in the Fourth Gospel 145
- Following Vespasian in His Footsteps: Movement and (E)motion Management in Josephus’ Judean War 161
- Religion on the Road—Nehalennia Revisited: Voyagers Addressing a North Sea Deity in the Second Century CE 181
- Mapping Cosmological Space in the Apocalypse of Paul and the Visio Pauli: The Actualization of Virtual Spatiality in Two Pauline Apocalyptical Journeys based on 2 Cor 12:2–4 189
- The Travels of Barnabas: From the Acts of the Apostles to Late Antique Hagiographic Literature 229
- Rabbinic Geography: Between the Imaginary and Real 251
- The Journey of Zayd Ibn ʿAmr: In Search of True Worship 269
- Nautical Fiction of Late Antiquity: Jews and Christians Traveling by Sea 295
- Monasteries as Travel Loci for Muslims and Christians (500–1000 CE) 313
- Sachregister 337
- Stellenregister 341
