The first chapter considers Seneca’s views on the life of studious leisure (otium) in relation to the therapeutic purpose that he claims for all his philosophical writings. In his essay On Leisure, Seneca explores several standard defenses of the contemplative life (Aristotle’s βίος θεωρητικός), indicating clearly that such theoretical pursuits as astronomy and metaphysics are worthwhile pursuits in their own right. Yet there are tensions in his position, for he also suggests that the expenditure of time that philosophy requires is justified primarily by the moral benefits it conveys to oneself and, through the medium of writing, to future generations. In the Letters on Ethics, the latter claim is put forward as the very reason for the book’s existence, a generic imperative to which the entire content should refer. Consequently, those purely theoretical investigations that (nonetheless) appear in the Letters are present on sufferance and must be excused by a series of deliberately transparent rhetorical devices.

Catullus’ collection contains several clear echoes of the work of two contemporary Epicurean poets, Lucretius and Philodemus. Indeed, several of the neoteric poet’s central themes (the attractions of otium and disengagement from public life; patronage by members of the high elite and its pitfalls; dissatisfaction with the mos maiorum) bring him potentially into close alignment with Epicurean ideals. In this chapter, however, I argue that, on closer consideration, Catullus’ intertextual engagement with his two contemporaries points rather to a self-consciously antagonistic stance towards Epicurean ethics. Catullus’ attack on ‘Socration’ in Poem 47, combined with parodic echoes of Philodemus’ epigrams in Poems 13 and 43, bears comparison with Cicero’s deployment of anti-Epicurean clichés in the In Pisonem; similarly, Philodemean and Lucretian echoes underline a striking divergence both from Epicurean ideals of friendship and from the rejection of romantic love explicit in Lucretius and arguably implicit in Philodemus’ Xanthippe cycle.

The Roman imperial court was not confined to the palaces of Rome. Emperors owned lavish villas in rural and seaside areas of Italy, at which they and members of their court would often sojourn. This chapter examines the imperial villas for which there are substantial archaeological remains, including Tiberius’ Villa Iovis on Capreae, Domitian’s villa at Lacus Albanus, Hadrian’s villa at Tibur, and the Antonine Villa Magna near Anagnia. The remains of these complexes suggest that they were simultaneously places of luxurious leisure (otium) for emperors and their courtiers, but also locations where the serious business of running an empire could take place. A powerful ideological statement about the emperor’s power to transform nature itself was also encoded in the architecture of some of these villas.

This chapter traces the architectural development of the imperial palaces in Rome, with emphasis on the Flavian palace. The imperial residences in Rome show us how power and stratification were embodied in architecture; they also tell us something about social practices within the imperial court. The chapter sets the background by examining the residence of Augustus, which was an assemblage of aristocratic houses adjacent to a sacred area, and Nero’s Domus Aurea, which sought to create spaces for leisure (otium) reminiscent of villas and suburban gardens (horti). With the Flavian palace, an enduring model for the Roman imperial palace was defined. It offered a flexible assemblage of spaces, some of them suited to the social rituals of court life, including the salutatio and banquets, and others providing spaces for otium. The success of the model was such that elements were imitated in the palaces of the Tetrarchic period.

Catullus’ collection contains several clear echoes of the work of two contemporary Epicurean poets, Lucretius and Philodemus. Indeed, several of the neoteric poet’s central themes (the attractions of otium and disengagement from public life; patronage by members of the high elite and its pitfalls; dissatisfaction with the mos maiorum) bring him potentially into close alignment with Epicurean ideals. In this chapter, however, I argue that, on closer consideration, Catullus’ intertextual engagement with his two contemporaries points rather to a self-consciously antagonistic stance towards Epicurean ethics. Catullus’ attack on ‘Socration’ in Poem 47, combined with parodic echoes of Philodemus’ epigrams in Poems 13 and 43, bears comparison with Cicero’s deployment of anti-Epicurean clichés in the In Pisonem; similarly, Philodemean and Lucretian echoes underline a striking divergence both from Epicurean ideals of friendship and from the rejection of romantic love explicit in Lucretius and arguably implicit in Philodemus’ Xanthippe cycle.

Besides Florence, the other formative context for the humanist cultivation of singing to the lyre were the educational environments in which the studia humanitatis was implemented. The primary sources are the humanist educational treatises written during the first half of the fifteenth century by figures like Pier Paolo Vergerio, Leonardo Bruni, and Battista Guarini. A careful re-reading of these sources reveals their attention to the aural qualities of written texts, especially poetry, and to the promotion of singing verse to the lyre as a way to develop proper diction, as an aid to the memorization of texts, and as a form of recreation with clear ancient precedent. The fundamentally oral aspect of humanist culture proceeds from its pedagogical and practical emphasis on rhetorical eloquence, and the view of cantare ad lyram as an integral aspect of rhetoric guaranteed for it a wide dissemination through the rapidly growing apparatus of humanist schools and universities. A final section devoted to the relatively unknown correspondence of Michele Verino, a student of the University of Florence with a predilection for singing to the lyre, complements the prescriptive approach of the educational treatises with the actual practices of a student enrolled in the studia humanitatis.