Outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss makes her farewell speech. EPA
Outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss makes her farewell speech. EPA
Outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss makes her farewell speech. EPA
Outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss makes her farewell speech. EPA

Who is Seneca? The Roman philosopher Liz Truss quoted in her exit speech


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

For the second time in seven weeks, a British prime minister quoted a Roman statesman during their resignation speech outside Downing Street.

Boris Johnson compared himself to Cincinnatus, a figure who “returned to his plough” after a stint in power, while Liz Truss quoted a senator on the difficulties of daring to do the necessary thing.

Quoting Seneca, Ms Truss said: “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare. It is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”

Cincinnatus was later called to return to Rome to take power a second time — unlike Mr Johnson, who missed out on his chance to return as prime minister after ruling himself out of the race late on Sunday.

Cincinnatus was no friend of the people. But after maintaining his authority “only long enough to bring Rome through the emergency,” he then resigned and returned to his farm again.

Seneca’s end was more tragic.

According to Britannica, Seneca was “Rome’s leading intellectual figure in the mid-1st century [AD] and was virtual ruler with his friends of the Roman world between 54 and 62, during the first phase of the emperor Nero’s reign”.

Seneca fell out of favour with Nero after that in 62.

“He withdrew from public life, and in his remaining years he wrote some of his best philosophical works,” said Britannica.

“In 65 Seneca’s enemies denounced him as having been a party to a conspiracy to murder Nero, and he was ordered to commit suicide.”

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

match info

Southampton 0

Arsenal 2 (Nketiah 20', Willock 87')

Red card: Jack Stephens (Southampton)

Man of the match: Rob Holding (Arsenal)

UAE players with central contracts

Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

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Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding

Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.

Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.

Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.

For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae

 

Fixtures (all times UAE)

Saturday
Brescia v Atalanta (6pm)
Genoa v Torino (9pm)
Fiorentina v Lecce (11.45pm)

Sunday
Juventus v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Inter Milan v SPAL (6pm)
Lazio v Udinese (6pm)
Parma v AC Milan (6pm)
Napoli v Bologna (9pm)
Verona v AS Roma (11.45pm)

Monday
Cagliari v Sampdoria (11.45pm)

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

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The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

ACL Elite (West) - fixtures

Monday, Sept 30

Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)

Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RACECARD
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

In numbers

- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100

- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100

- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India

- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100

- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth

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Updated: October 25, 2022, 2:06 PM`