Augusto e il tentato suicidio: una interpretazione filosofica di Plin. nat. 7.150
Abstract
This paper investigates Emperor Augustus’ alleged suicide attempt through starvation, as detailed by Pliny the Elder in a brief passage of Naturalis Historia 7.150. This study does not aim to reconstruct the historical event itself, but rather to offer a philosophical exegesis of Pliny’s account, demonstrating how Augustus’ crisis and his subsequent decision to live align with the ethical principles of Stoicism, particularly the concept of the ruler’s duty (statio principis) and the Stoic notion of the sapiens.
Presentato: 23 Giugno 2025 | Accettato: 26 Luglio 2025 | Pubblicato 17 Dicembre 2025 | Lingua: it
Keywords Roman Stoicism • Pliny the Elder • Statio principis • Stoic suicide • Augustus
Copyright © 2025 Fabio Fernicola. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Lexis/2724-1564/2025/02/007