EleutherIA — Defined term

Exercitatio (Adversity as Training)

exercitatio

Roman Imperial

Exercitatio designates Seneca's argument in De providentia 2–5 that apparent adversity can train, test, and display the virtue of a good person rather than constitute a genuine moral evil. Seneca develops the point through athletic competition, paternal discipline, military service, and the distinction between what one undergoes and how one bears it. Two often-cited maxims belong at De providentia 2.3–4 and 5.9–10, though paragraph divisions vary by edition.

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