Date of Award
Summer 2025
Document Type
Open Access Dissertation
Department
Comparative Literature
First Advisor
Paul Miller
Abstract
Though acknowledging that Persius alludes to Horace so frequently that he creates a dialogue with his elder, many commentators fail to see that Persius would challenge his predecessor. Especially evident in Satire 4, Persius' challenge to Horace stems from the younger poet's Stoicism, which philosophy he sees Horace as lampooning throughout the elder poet's Satires. Persius not only defends his Stoicism in Satires 4 but also engages with perceived weaknesses in the Epicureanism he finds in Horace. For instance, instead of the Epicurean version of natural law Persius finds in Horace, which conceives of human ties as contractual, the younger poet would offer oikeiosis, which posits that humans are innately disposed to bond together.
Rights
© 2025, William Michael Dodd
Recommended Citation
Dodd, W. M.(2025). The Dialogic Self: Persius Satires 4 and Oikeiosis in Stoic Philosophy. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/8406