THE IMPERIAL DIPTYCH: a stoic reading of the works Stoner and Augustus, by John Edward Williams
Stoner. Augustus. John Williams. Stoicism.
This work focuses on studying Stoner and Augustus, by John Edward Williams, in the light of Stoic philosophy, more specifically through the ethics of the imperial Roman period and its three main thinkers: Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Through a philosophically oriented reading, we try to demonstrate how the philosophical can become the literary. In order to do this, we apply the hermeneutic analysis method proposed by Benedito Nunes, which offers new perceptions about the literary object from philosophical points of incidence. This method, just like the debate around the relationship between literature and philosophy, is part of the discussions carried out on the second section of this study. Next, a systematization of the Stoic philosophy is presented, aiming to establish a solid ground for the interpretations. The last section, finally, is composed by a reading of literary works of Stoicism’s main thinkers. Through these readings we expect to add new interpretative paths to the readers and researchers of the American author.