Study of the reception accorded to Stoic philosophy in major 17th century German tragedies reveals the conceptual foundations of the incipient modern age from the vantage of tradition. In this approach, Stoic philosophy is freed of the reduction to the phenomenon of constantia typical of previous research on the Baroque and is taken seriously as a philosophy of culture of the kind represented throughout the works of Seneca. The analysis from the viewpoint of the history of ideas foreground the Stoic premise of secundum naturam vivere and shows how the early modern age represented a dead end for Stoic philosophy in a 'modern', practical form.

The series ADocumenta MnemonicaA will comprise a total of 8 volumes providing access to the sources on memorial philosophy and art from antiquity to the early modern age. Volume I is the first to make available to interdisciplinary research the most important philosophical, rhetorical, theological and medical testimonies of concern with the subject of memory (memoria). The present part-volume (the first of three) contains 33 texts in chronological order by authors representing the incipient and early phase of the engagement with memory and memorialization. Multi-language keyword and name indexes, an extensive list of references and an afterword pointing up the main lines of development ensure the manual optimal utility.