Seneca the Younger on the Roman herma | Photo: Calidius | On Creative Commons Attribution license - On the same terms 3.0.
Wealthy Romans often travelled with the litter. It got to such an extent that the Roman writer and rhetorician Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BCE – 65 CE) complained about the inconvenience of such a means of transport.
In his letters, he said: “I have just returned from a ride in my litter; and I am as weary as if I had walked the distance, instead of being seated. Even to be carried for any length of time is hard work, perhaps all the more so because it is an unnatural exercise; for Nature gave us legs with which to do our own walking, and eyes with which to do our own seeing”1.
On the other hand, Seneca emphasizes that while travelling on a litter, the human body is shaken, but during this time, a person may devote himself to reading, learning and conversation; which, however, is not possible while hiking.
- Seneca the Younger, Letters, LV.1
