97 ECLECTICISM AS SENECA’S HERITAGE: EVIL AND THE COSMIC CYCLE IN JUSTUS LIPSIUS Kuni Sakamoto * University of Tokyo 1. Introduction Early modern humanism revived several philosophical schools of ancient Greece as alternatives to scholastic Aristotelianism. Each school had its own central figure for restoration. Neither Platonism nor Epicureanism would have been widely disseminated without the lifelong efforts of Marsilio Ficino (1433-99) and Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655), respectively. For Stoicism this role was played by the Flemish humanist Justus Lipsius (1547-1606). 1 His main works, Manuductio ad Stoicam philosophiam and Physiologia Stoicorum, both published in Antwerp in 1604, prompted the reception of Stoicism in the seventeenth century and laid the foundation for its modern reconstruction. Lipsius tried to reconcile Stoic philosophy with Christian theology. Although the importance of his Christianized interpretation was recognized, historians have paid little attention to the real motivation that led him to write the Manuductio and Physiologia. 2 The preface to the Manuductio makes evident that his primary aim was the exposition of Seneca’s philosophy. 3 Indeed Lipsius’ heavy reliance on the Roman philosopher and other Latin authors has been criticized since the * I thank Hiro Hirai (Nijmegen) for his ever-patient help and encouragement. My gratitude also goes to Hidemi Takahashi (Tokyo) for correcting my translations from Latin. 1 On Lipsius, see Léontine Zanta, La renaissance du stoïcisme au XVI e siècle (Paris: Champion, 1914), pp. 151- 240; Jason L. Saunders, Justus Lipsius: The Philosophy of Renaissance Stoicism (New York: Liberal Arts, 1955); Jacqueline Lagrée, Juste Lipse et la restauration du stoïcisme (Paris: Vrin, 1994); Christian Mouchel (ed.), Juste Lipse (1547-1606) en son temps (Paris: Champion, 1996); Marc Laureys (ed.), The World of Justus Lipsius (Turnhout: Brepols, 1998). 2 The exception is Franco Buzzi, ‘La filosofia di Seneca nel pensiero cristiano di Giusto Lipsio’, in Seneca e i Cristiani, ed. Antonio P. Martina (Milan: Vita e Pensiero, 2001), pp. 365-391. See also Jan Papy, ‘Lipsius’s (Neo-)Stoicism: Constancy between Christian Faith and Stoic Virtue’, in Grotius and the Stoa, ed. Hans W. Blom - Laurens C. Winkel (Assen: Van Gorcum, 2004) [Grotiana, N.S. 22-23 (2001-2002)], 47-72; Idem, ‘Neostoizismus und Humanismus: Lipsius’ neue Lektüre von Seneca in der Manuductio ad Stoicam philosophiam (1604)’, in Der Einfluss des Hellenismus auf die Philosophie der frühen Neuzeit, ed. Gábor Boros (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2005), pp. 53-80. 3 Justus Lipsius, Manuductio ad Stoicam philosophiam [hereafter MSP], VI, preface, in Opera omnia, 4 vols (Wesel: André van Hoogenhuysen, 1675; repr. Hildesheim: Olms, 2003), pp. 617-618. See Jan Papy, ‘Erasmus’s and Lipsius’s Editions of Seneca: A ‘Complementary’ Project?’, Erasmus of Rotterdam Society Yearbook, 22 (2002), 10-36.