Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In his Odes, Horace pays particular attention not only to the subject in hand, but also to the reader as his audience, or the addressee, who is usually mentioned at the beginning of the poem. As this kind of communication draws the poet into his own creation, it is useful to refer to him in that context, as the speaker. It is evident from the manner of communication with the addressee that Horace conveys the message of each poem not solely by means of statements, but by implying certain facts, through this interaction between speaker and addressee. The specific addressee for each ode - to whom the speaker's attitude is a reaction - is therefore chosen with great care, in order to underline a specific subject or support a point of view. Just as each ode is different, and contains a variety of differing emotions, Horace's speakers display a myriad of different attitudes. His deeper sentiments do however remain constant. This brings one to the realisation that Horace applies a number of "roles", in order to obtain the desired effect in each poem. Eventually the interaction is not between the speaker and the addressee, but between the poet and the reader. Some of the poems do not give the names of addressees, only the roles Horace plays as the speaker. These roles are termed personae, and represent the poet on a number of realistic and super-realistic planes. In this study, a selection of personae was analysed and the effects examined, in order to establish in what way the persona might influence the interpretation of the poem. Initially a collective overview of several personae was planned, for the purpose of a synthesis of those personae, possibly leading to the discovery of a central Horatian persona. It was however, found, in the complex perfection of his work, that that central person is Horace: the poet. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In Horatius se Odes, gee hy dikwels spesifieke aandag nie net aan die onderwerp nie, maar ook aan die leser as sy gehoor, of die aangesproke persoon, wat dikwels in die begin van die gedig genoem word: Omdat so 'n kommunikasie die digter in sy eie skepping intrek, is dit sinvol om na hom in daardie konteks as die spreker te verwys. In die wyse waarop daar dan met die aangesprokene gekommunikeer word, word dit duidelik dat Horatius die boodskap van sy gedig nie slegs deur middel van stellings oordra nie, maar dat hy ook deur middel van die wisselwerking tussen die aangesprokene en die spreker, sekere feite impliseer. Die aangesproke persoon, waarop die spreker se houding dan'n reaksie is, word dus vir elke ode gekies om 'n sekere onderwerp of siening te ondersteun. Soos wat elke ode dus verskil, en'n verskeidenheid emosies bevat, verskil Horatius se houdings teenoor sy aangesprokenes drasties. Sy dieper oortuigings bly egter dieselfde. Dit lei die leser tot die besef dat Horatius 'n verskeidenheid "rolle" aanwend om in elke gedig die gewensde effek te verkry. Die werklike wisselwerking is nie tussen die spreker en die aangesprokene nie, maar tussen die digter en die leser. Sommige gedigte bevat geen name van aangesprokenes nie; slegs die rolle wat Horatius as die spreker gebruik. Hierdie rolle word personae genoem en verteenwoordig die digter op 'n aantal realistiese en bo-realistiese vlakke. Die effekte van 'n seleksie personae word in hierdie studie deur middel van analise ondersoek om vas te stel hoe die toepassing van die persona die interpretasie van die gedig beïnvloed. 'n Gesamentlike beskouing van 'n aantal digterlike personae is aanvanklik beplan, met die oog op 'n sintese van die personae, wat moontlik tot die ontdekking van 'n sentrale persona by Horatius sou kon lei. Daar is egter bevind dat die sentrale persoon wat in die komplekse perfeksie van sy werk self sit, dié is van Horatius as digter.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the Epistulae Morales Seneca presents his moral philosophy. Scholars such as Hadot, Mans and Smuts have studied Seneca's moral philosophy in the Epistulae Morales. The question is, how does Seneca present and develop his moral philosophy in the Epistulae Morales, i.e. what literary technique does he use? Scholars have pointed out that Seneca's use of the epistolary form is an integral part of this literary technique. The epistolary form was an ideal medium for conveying his moral philosophy: "[Seneca] presented himself as a spiritual guide, and for that purpose he made use of the literary form of letters ... In this form Seneca was able to give a detailed presentation of the course of moral education" (Misch 1950:419). The more specific question is thus: how does Seneca use the epistolary form to present and develop his moral philosophy in the Epistulae Morales? In order to answer how Seneca employs the epistolary form, it is necessary to understand what Seneca's goal was with the Epistulae Morales. I suggest that the goal of Seneca's moral philosophy in the Epistulae Morales is the development of a practical moral identity. Seneca's choice of the letter as the form of his philosophical discussion enabled him to create certain fictional personae. The three main personae of the Epistulae Morales are the Ideal Persona (the embodiment of Seneca's moral philosophy), the persona Seneca and the persona Lucilius. These personae demonstrate the phases of moral progress. The Ideal Persona is the ideal, which the personae Seneca and Lucilius must strive towards becoming. The persona Seneca acts in the role of the mentor, advising the persona Lucilius on how to achieve this ideal, but he is himself still struggling towards it. The persona Lucilius is just beginning to walk the road of moral progress at the beginning of the Epistulae Morales. The phases of moral progress, which are enacted by the three personae, are also the phases of the development of a practical moral identity. The practical moral identity should thus be viewed both as a goal and as a process in the letters. Epistulae Morales 1-29 form a separate whole, as scholars have pointed out. These letters also supply sufficient evidence of Seneca's literary technique of developing a practical moral identity in the Epistulae Morales. A close reading of Epistulae Morales 1-29 in Chapter 2 analyses this literary technique. Chapter 3 involves a systematic exposition of the practical moral identity in terms of certain themes. The themes represent the main aspects of moral development, i.e. the main aspects of the development of a practical moral identity in Epistulae Morales 1-29. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die Epistulae Morales bied Seneca sy morele filosofie aan. Vakkundiges soos Hadot, Mans en Smuts het Seneca se morele filosofie in die Epistulae Morales bestudeer. Die vraag is egter, hoe ontwikkel Seneca sy morele filosofie in die Epistulae Morales, m.a.w watter literêre tegniek gebruik hy? Vakkundiges het daarop gedui dat Seneca se gebruik van die briefvorm 'n integrale deel van hierdie literêre tegniek uitmaak. Die briefvorm was 'n ideale medium om sy morele filosofie weer te gee: "[Seneca] presented himself as a spiritual guide, and for that purpose he made use of the literary form of letters ... In this form Seneca was able to give a detailed presentation of the course of moral education" (Misch 1950:419). Die meer spesifieke vraag is dus: hoe gebruik Seneca die briefvorm om sy morele filosofie in die Epistulae Morales te ontwikkel? Om hierdie vraag te beantwoord, is dit nodig om te verstaan wat Seneca se doel met die Epistulae Morales was. Ek stel voor dat Seneca die ontwikkeling van 'n praktiese morele identiteit ten doel gehad het. Seneca se gebruik van die briefvorm het hom in staat gestel om sekere fiktiewe personae te skep. Die drie hoof personae van die Epistulae Morales is die Ideale Persona (die verpersoonliking van Seneca se morele filosofie), die persona Seneca en die persona Lucilius. Hierdie personae verteenwoordig die fases van morele ontwikkeling. Die Ideale Persona is die ideaal, wat Seneca en Lucilius moet nastreef. Seneca speel die rol van mentor. Hy gee Lucilius raad oor hoe om hierdie ideaal te verwesenlik, maar hyself streef ook daarna. Die Epistulae Morales open met Lucilius aan die begin van sy morele ontwikkeling. Die fases van morele ontwikkeling wat deur die drie personae opgevoer word is ook die fases van die ontwikkeling van 'n praktiese morele identiteit. Die praktiese morele identiteit moet gesien word as beide 'n doel en 'n proses in die briewe. Epistulae Morales 1-29 vorm 'n afsonderlike geheel, soos deur vakkundiges uitgewys is. Hierdie briewe verskaf voldoende bewys vir die literêre tegniek waarmee die praktiese morele identiteit in die Epistulae Morales geskep word. 'n Gedetailleerde analise van Epistulae Morales 1-29 in Hoofstuk 2 analiseer hierdie literêre tegniek. Hoofstuk 3 gee 'n sistematiese uiteensetting van die praktiese morele identiteit in terme van sekere temas. Die temas verteenwoordig die hoof aspekte van morele ontwikkeling, m.a.w. die hoof aspekte van die ontwikkeling van 'n praktiese morele identiteit in Epistulae Morales 1-29.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to explore Marcus Tullius Cicero's awareness and interpretation of contemporary political events as reflected in his private correspondence during the last years of both the Roman republic and his own life. Cicero's correspondence gives a detailed view of current political events in Rome and constitutes, with Caesar's own narrative, our major contemporary evidence for the circumstances of the civil war of 49 BC. The dissertation takes as Leitmotiv Cicero's own judgement of the state as 'sacrificial victim' to the ambitions of individual politicians, with as metaphor his examination of a 'dying' body politic in the manner of a haruspex inspecting the entrails of a sacrificial animal. It poses the question whether Cicero understood the message of political decline signalled by the 'entrails' of the 'carcass' of the res publica, and whether this ability in its turn enabled him to anticipate future political development in Rome. In what follows, the theoretical input of Cicero's predecessors, their perceptions of constitutional development, and of Roman politics in particular, as well as Cicero's own perception of their political theories will be considered in order to determine the extent of Cicero's awareness of a larger pattern of political events, and how consistent he was in his analyses of such patterns, that is, to what extent Cicero may be considered seriously as a political analyst. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die oogmerk van die verhandeling is om vas te stel of Marcus Tullius Cicero met reg daaop kan aanspraak maak dat hy eietydse politieke gebeure sinvol kon interpreteer as die manifestering van 'n nuwe politieke stroming wat die voorkoms van die toekomstige Romeinse politieke toneel sou bepaal. Cicero se waarneming en begrip van eietydse politieke gebeure in die laaste paar jaar van die Romeinse Republiek en sy eie lewe word tekenend weerspieël in sy persoonlike briefwisseling uit die tydperk 51 tot 43 v.C. As historiese dokument bied hierdie korrespondensie, as primêre bronmateriaal, naas die behoue kontemporêre beriggewing van Julius Caesar, die enigste ander kontemporêre getuienis vir die uitbreek en nadraai van die burgeroorlog van 49 v.C. Die sentrale tema van die verhandeling is Cicero se persepsie van die Romeinse staat as die 'slagoffer' van magsugtige politieke rolspelers. Cicero se rol as waarnemer en politieke analis word uitgebeeld deur die metafoor van 'n haruspex (profeet) wat die 'ingewande' van die 'karkas' van die gestorwe Romeinse Republiek ondersoek. Die kernvraag wat gestel word is, of Cicero inderdaad daartoe in staat was om die boodskap van politieke verandering raak te lees, die implikasies daarvan te begryp en daarvolgens 'n beredeneerde toekomsprojeksie van die Romeinse politieke toneel te maak. Om te bepaal of Cicero meriete verdien as 'n politieke analis, word die volgende kriteria as toetsstene gebruik: die teoretiese insette van Cicero se voorgangers en sy beheersing van sodanige politieke teoretisering, die mate waarin hy konsekwent en objektief kon oordeel, en die mate waarin hy teorie en die praktiese werklikheid van die Romeinse politieke situasie kon integreer.