"The decision of such judges as Claudius and his Senate is worth very little in the question of a man's innocence or guilt, but the sentence was that Seneca should be banished to the island of Corsica"
About this Quote
The subtext is theological without sounding preachy: human tribunals are fallen, prone to vanity, fear, and political theater. Claudius isn’t invoked as a nuanced administrator; he’s a symbol of compromised sovereignty. The Senate, nominally Rome’s conscience, becomes an accessory to empire. Farrar writes like a Victorian moralist looking back at pagan Rome to diagnose an evergreen problem: institutions that perform justice while quietly enforcing loyalty.
Context matters: Seneca’s banishment to Corsica (in 41 CE) wasn’t just a plot twist in an ancient biography; it was a lesson about how reputations, factions, and imperial moods can outweigh evidence. Farrar’s intent is to rehabilitate Seneca’s moral standing while indicting the system that punished him. The sentence becomes a kind of secular crucifixion: not a declaration of truth, but a demonstration of who gets to decide what counts as truth.
What makes the line work is its cold asymmetry: the verdict is “worth very little,” yet it still rearranges a life. Justice can be bogus and still win. That’s Farrar’s warning.
Quote Details
| Topic | Justice |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Farrar, Frederic William. (2026, February 16). The decision of such judges as Claudius and his Senate is worth very little in the question of a man's innocence or guilt, but the sentence was that Seneca should be banished to the island of Corsica. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-decision-of-such-judges-as-claudius-and-his-150634/
Chicago Style
Farrar, Frederic William. "The decision of such judges as Claudius and his Senate is worth very little in the question of a man's innocence or guilt, but the sentence was that Seneca should be banished to the island of Corsica." FixQuotes. February 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-decision-of-such-judges-as-claudius-and-his-150634/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The decision of such judges as Claudius and his Senate is worth very little in the question of a man's innocence or guilt, but the sentence was that Seneca should be banished to the island of Corsica." FixQuotes, 16 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-decision-of-such-judges-as-claudius-and-his-150634/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
