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Seneca's Moral Epistles

by Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Anna Lydia Motto (Editor)

4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 · rating details · 2,051 ratings · 85 reviews

-- Introduction on Seneca's life and work, philosophy, style-- Chronologies: historical and of Seneca's extant works

-- Selected bibliography

-- Latin text with same-page notes of 40 Senecan letters

-- Vocabulary

Paperback, 224 pages

Published September 1st 2001 by Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers (first published 65)

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Mar 11, 2013 Steve aka Sckenda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Those Interested in Stoic Wisdom

Shelves: philosophy, ancient, roman, great-books, wisdom

Steve Kendall interviews Seneca for Goodreads in an attempt to find out what a Roman stoic thinks about reading books, writing book reviews, and living like a Roman Stoic. (Seneca, is old-school, so he is not impressed by his fawning, sensitive and neurotic interlocutor.)

Seneca, Welcome to Goodreads. Thank you for agreeing to an interview regarding the Penguin Classics collection of your “Letters from a Stoic,” written around 65 CE. I have recently reviewed books by later Roman stoics, Epictetu...more

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Sep 19, 2008 Nicholas rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy, lifestyle

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Perfect stoicism. Its only taint is that Seneca was the biggest hypocrite in history. The idea is the same as any stoicism. What you cannot control you should not worry about. And that which you can control (your actions) should reflect a perfect virtue. There is nothing else.

This book just makes you think so much about who you are and the actions you take in life. It tells you how to be a man.

Quotes:

"Refrain from following the example of those whose craving is for attention, not their own impro...more

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May 12, 2013 Mike W rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In his letters to Lucius, Seneca elaborated his own eclectic version of stoicism. His central teachings are that happiness is internal and does not depend upon external events, that we should live in the moment and not burden ourselves with past regrets or future fears.

Seneca agrees with Socrates that "the unexamined life is not worth living." And like Socrates, he thinks of philosophy as a kind of medicine for the soul, which offers a cure for the pains and anxieties of life.

Unlike Plato, Sene...more In his letters to Lucius, Seneca elaborated his own eclectic version of stoicism. His central teachings are that happiness is internal and does not depend upon external events, that we should live in the moment and not burden ourselves with past regrets or future fears.

Seneca agrees with Socrates that "the unexamined life is not worth living." And like Socrates, he thinks of philosophy as a kind of medicine for the soul, which offers a cure for the pains and anxieties of life.

Unlike Plato, Seneca considers theory of merely secondary importance. What matters to him is action. Judge a man not by what he says but what he does, he advises.

And yet Seneca himself has been widely criticized for failing to live up to his own admonitions. Despite his dismissal of wealth as relatively unimportant, he himself became very wealthy. Despite his advice to retreat into a quiet life, he was very actively engaged in power politics, and was closely associated with Emperor Nero, who later forced Seneca to commit suicide.

But, unlike the Cynics, Stoics did not scorn the pleasures of this world. Nowhere does Seneca say that wealth or physical pleasure are in themselves undesirable. He merely advises that we should train ourselves to do with out them. They are good, but are not essential, if we have true wisdom. So the charges of hypocrisy against Seneca are probably unfair.

Oddly, the writer Seneca quotes most often is Epicurus, the great intellectual foe of the Stoics. Is this a sign that Seneca was a closet Epicurean, or merely an open-minded Stoic?

I'm a great admirer of the Stoics. And Seneca was one of the greatest Stoics. In his letters, he shows a sobriety and good sense that one finds in only a handful of writers.

And yet his writing lacks some of the eloquence of Epictetus' sayings, or the solitary beauty of Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations." These latter were more given to waxing poetic about the cosmos, and so their teachings contain a kind of metaphysical grandeur that the very worldly Seneca's writings lack,

So, these letters are well worth reading, but the reader might find greater inspiration from Epictetus and Aurelius.(less)

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May 07, 2013 Elliot rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classical-studies, philosophy, sophomore-year-2012-2013

Wealth or poverty -- just meaningless externalities! What matters is only whether you can content yourself with what fate has bequeathed you. Poverty is not lacking what you need, but wanting what you do not have. It takes strength to endure riches, too!

All easy to say for one of Rome's richest men, one who was basically the Roman emperor for five years at the beginning of Nero's reign.

We love to hate Seneca's Stoicism: admirable in its encouragement of humans to endure hardship without self-pit...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Ryan Holiday rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I tore this book to pieces. My copy is overflowing with tabbed pages and highlighted lines and notes in the margins. Seneca of course, is a fascinating figure. Gregory Hays once said about Marcus Aurelius that "not being a tyrant was something he had to work at one day at a time" and often, Seneca lost that battle. He was the Cardinal Richelieu behind Nero. He sat back and enjoyed the spoils of his student who had clearly lost his way--at least Aristotle didn't profit from Alexander's lust for p...more I tore this book to pieces. My copy is overflowing with tabbed pages and highlighted lines and notes in the margins. Seneca of course, is a fascinating figure. Gregory Hays once said about Marcus Aurelius that "not being a tyrant was something he had to work at one day at a time" and often, Seneca lost that battle. He was the Cardinal Richelieu behind Nero. He sat back and enjoyed the spoils of his student who had clearly lost his way--at least Aristotle didn't profit from Alexander's lust for power. However, there is some interesting evidence put forth in a paper titled - Seneca: The Case of the Opulent Stoic in which Lydia Motto presents that what we know of Seneca's reputation comes almost entirely from a single, less than objective source. And in fact, if we can trust the way in which Seneca faced his forced suicide there was not much difference between practice and philosophy.

The book is profoundly insightful, it calls you to action, and it has that 'quit your whining--this is life' attitude that so defines the Roman Stoics. This is by no means an all inclusive list but is Seneca on some important topics:

On doing more than consuming:
He should be delivering himself of such sayings, not memorizing them. It is disgraceful that a man who is old or in sight of old age should have wisdom deriving solely from his notebook. 'Zeno said this.' And what have you said? 'Cleanthes said that.' What have you said? How much longer are you going to serve under others? Assume authority over yourself and utter something that may be handed down to posterity. Produce something from your own resources.

On endurance:
Life's no soft affair. It's a long road you've started on: you can't but expect to have slips and knocks and falls, and get tired and openly wish--a lie--for death.

On freedom from perturbation:
Show me a man who isn't a slave; one who is a slave to sex, another to money, another to ambition; all are slaves to hope or fear. I could show you a man who has been a Consul who is a slave to his 'little old woman', a millionaire who is the slave of a little girl in domestic service. And there is no state of slavery more disgraceful than one which is self-imposed.

On quoting what you read:
There is no enjoying the possession of anything valuable unless one has someone to share it with. I shall send you, accordingly, the actual books themselves, and to save you a lot of trouble hunting all over the place for passages likely to be of use to you, I shall mark the passages so that you can turn straight away to the words I approve and admire."
(less)

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Aug 01, 2009 Robert Cooper rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Selected by Tiberius, Nero became emperor of Rome as a mere teenager, and Nero’s ambitious mother selected Seneca to tutor her son. For five years, while Nero goofed off, Seneca (in alliance with a general, Burris) actually ruled Rome. Some have claimed these were the best five years in the empire’s history. Then palace intrigue caught up with Seneca; he retired voluntarily; but a few years later, after being implicated in a plot against Nero’s life, he was directed to commit suicide (this was...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Roy Brown rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is full of useful advice, and reads comfortably as if spoken word. The style and length of Seneca's letters make it easy to dip in and out. You get a feel for the kind of man Seneca is, and how he sees stoicism should be maintained as a life philosophy.

Seneca was pretty rich, and not exactly austere, especially for a Stoic. I always remember his advice to strictly 'avoid wearing tattered robes' and engage in other such practices often employed by people subscribing to stoic doctrine; i...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Bilbobookins rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-ancient-ones

I can see myself turning to this book again and again for inspiration, tranquility, and guidance. It is the best sort of self help book- a philosophical how-to that is timeless and most of the time right on the money. Seneca even promises Lucilius Junior, the procurator in Sicily to whom he is writing, immortality for having exchanged letters with him. And the letters are more like mini essays addressing a variety of topics in which Seneca acts like philosopher, sage, and teacher to the younger...more I can see myself turning to this book again and again for inspiration, tranquility, and guidance. It is the best sort of self help book- a philosophical how-to that is timeless and most of the time right on the money. Seneca even promises Lucilius Junior, the procurator in Sicily to whom he is writing, immortality for having exchanged letters with him. And the letters are more like mini essays addressing a variety of topics in which Seneca acts like philosopher, sage, and teacher to the younger Lucillius. Maybe a model for Montaigne's Essays.
Some of my favorite letters were numbers XXXIII, LIII, LIV, LXXXVIII, and XCI and what Seneca review could be complete without quotes? The man wrote to be remembered and I have to disagree with Macaulay's statement that "I cannot bear Seneca...His works are made up of mottoes. There is hardly a sentence which might not be quoted; but to read him straightforward is like dining on nothing but anchovy sauce."I didnt mind Seneca's style at all. In fact I spooned it up in ladles, anchovy sauce and all. But maybe I'm always starving, always hungry, filling the insatiable spirit, the craving for philosophy that occupies most of my thoughts, awake and dreaming. But, yes, the quotes.

"..if you wish to be loved, love."
"What difference does it make, after all, what your position in life is if you dislike it yourself?"
"We need to set our affections on some good man and keep him constantly before our eyes, so that we may live as if he were watching us and do everything as if he saw what we were doing."
"Happy the man who improves other people not merely when he is in their presence but even when he is in their thoughts!"
"The men who pioneered the old routes are leaders, not our masters. Truth lies open to everyone. There has yet to be a monopoly of truth. And there is plenty of it left for future generations too."
"Death is just not being. What that is like I know already. It will be the same after me as it was before me. If there is any torment in the later state, there must also have been torment in the period before we saw the light of day; yet we never felt concious of any distress then."

I'll let you discover more...(less)

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Aug 14, 2012 Cassandra Silva rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-of-antiquity, philosophy

Seneca you wastrel! To teach of stoicism while living in such opulence. Eh-gads! Fabulous writing, I think I blushed unbeckoned during the blushing scene, and stop trying to get us all to give up oysters, they are both erotic and have the potential to profit a pearl or two. Unacceptable I say!

Also very forward thinking in regards to slavery I must say.

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Jul 29, 2012 Chuck Rylant rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is hard to rate because the book is loaded with valuable insights. There are several quotes that will apply to your life today.

That said, it was very hard to read. It is boring beyond belief. It took me months to get through it because I could only take a few pages at a time before my mind wondered off.

I don't think I got all there is to get from it in one read. This is more of a book that needs to be studied. Perhaps leave is laying on the coffee table and read a page or two a day with a h...more

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Jun 18, 2011 Ransom Mowris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: already-read

One of the most profound books I've read. Seneca defines philosophy not as a system of logical rules for old men to argue about and rearrange, but as a means to prescribe a way of life. He sees a philosopher as a wise doctor who provides advice on the optimal way to live so as to be as happy as possible.

With this goal in mind, Seneca wrote a series of letters to his close friend advising him on the many dangers of Roman social life circa the 1st century. He also advises his friend on practices...more

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Dec 26, 2010 Jesse Lopes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Many Stoic edicts have the profitable effect of reminding one how limited an individual is in the universe. We all need these reminders, especially in societies like Ancient Rome or the U.S. where envy is practically mandatory for all citizens. To the degree that these letters offer consolation, they are beneficial, but they can be harmful if one takes their apolitical stance too far. Remember, the reason why Stoicism was considered the basis for the Enlightenment culture is because appealing to...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Ann Spivack rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay, I'm not good at reading something like this cover to cover -- it's thought-provoking but it takes me a while to just think over each letter. I keep this book on my nightstand and read it just one letter at a time, and sometimes weeks go by before I read another. But still, there's something astonishing about reading ideas that still apply so many centuries after Seneca wrote them. For example, he says, stay on one subject; if you fly from topic to topic, it's harder for your mind to work a...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Yann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: antiquité, philosophie, espagne

J'adore les œuvres morales antiques !

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Sep 13, 2012 Evan Leach rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 0-999, roman-literature, philosophy, essays

Along with his tragedies, treatises and longer dialogues, the philosopher Seneca wrote 124 letters addressed to his friend Lucilius. Whether these letters were actually sent is unknown, but their style indicates that they were intended for publication at some point. These letters are really mini-essays in disguise, discussing Seneca’s Stoic beliefs and his outlook on life in general. This collection contains about a third of Seneca’s surviving letters, some of which are abridged.

For readers inte...more Along with his tragedies, treatises and longer dialogues, the philosopher Seneca wrote 124 letters addressed to his friend Lucilius. Whether these letters were actually sent is unknown, but their style indicates that they were intended for publication at some point. These letters are really mini-essays in disguise, discussing Seneca’s Stoic beliefs and his outlook on life in general. This collection contains about a third of Seneca’s surviving letters, some of which are abridged.

For readers interested in Stoicism and Roman philosophy generally, I think these letters do just as good a job (if not better) of expressing Seneca’s beliefs as his dialogues do, and are more pleasant reading to boot. Stoicism (which had been around much longer than Seneca) held that men should live ‘in accordance with nature,’ learning to live in conformity with the world as it is and accepting whatever fate should bring their way. People should value and cultivate reason, and discipline the pleasures and the passions. Only in this way can true happiness be achieved. The duties Stoicism glorified – courage, self-control, simple habits, rationality and obedience to the State – corresponded closely to traditional Roman values, and Stoicism was the most influential philosophy in the Roman world for a long time. To some degree, it contrasted with Epicurean thought, which placed more value on the pursuit of individual pleasure. But in his letters Seneca displayed a remarkably open mind regarding Epicurus and his disciples, and the two schools of thought were not entirely at odds.

Many of the values Stoicism promoted were universal ones with wide appeal. Also, although the Stoics believed in a supreme providence that governed the universe, they were not particularly concerned with how this force was labeled: nature, divine reason, god, destiny, etc. This flexibility helped Stoicism adapt and fit within all kids of belief systems. Interestingly, the early Christian Church (which was very disfavorably disposed to most pagan writings) viewed Seneca as ‘one of them’ for this reason. This popularity was to continue into medieval times – in the Inferno Dante placed Seneca in Limbo, the highest place a non-Christian could aspire to, and Queen Elizabeth I “did much admire Senca’s wholesome advisings.”

However, Seneca has had his critics too over the centuries. He preached simple living and a rejection of luxury in his writings, but Seneca was one of the most powerful men in Rome and one of the wealthiest in the Western world during his lifetime. He was Emperor Nero’s chief advisor, and ‘the real master of the world’ for a while according to one modern writer. As chief imperial advisor, he almost certainly assisted Nero in the murder of the emperor’s own mother. Wealth and virtue are certainly not mutually exclusive, but extravagent wealth, advising a tyrant and being an accessory to murder do not scream good Stoic living. Whether Seneca lacked the courage of his own convictions, or was unable to practice what he preached, is at least in doubt. Also, Seneca is rarely (if ever) praised as a groundbreaking philosophical thinker. He did not invent Stoicism, but instead “spiritualized and humanized it” in his writings. Readers expecting Plato or Aristotle will probably be disappointed.

But readers interested in learning about Stoicism in general will be well served by this book. As I said earlier, I thought these letters were on the whole better than Seneca’s longer dialogues (which are not really ‘dialogues’ at all in any traditional sense, with one exception). As an introduction to Stoic philosophy, which was an important school of thought in the Greco-Roman world and beyond, you could do a lot worse. 3.5 stars.(less)

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May 13, 2012 Dianne Oliver rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Loads of food for thought, without being the least bit heavy-handed.

Eg. "...when every day we're running into our own storms, spiritual storms, and driven by vice into all the troubles that Ulysses ever knew. We're not spared those eye-distracting beauties, or attackers. We too have to contend in various places with savage monsters reveling in human blood, insidious voices that beguile our ears, shipwrecks and all manner of misfortune. What you should be teaching me is how I may attain such a lo...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Joe Adelizzi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While I did enjoy Seneca's letters I muast admit I did not appreciate them as much as I did the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. My preference for the thoughts of the Emperor over the Teacher may stem from suspicions regarding Seneca's level of involvement with the various atrocities and mechanations of Emperor Nero over the years, which may not be a fair criterion to use to judge two philosophical works. However, that being said, this work by Seneca does have its share of well expressed Stoic id...more

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Apr 22, 2013 Nick Perdiew rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't buy the criticism you see about Seneca not practicing what he preached. The closest I've ever been to being emperor of anything is the emperor of ice cream, so maybe the guy deserves more credit than the typical accusations of hypocrisy.

I had picked this book up again last year just sensing a need for some more sturdy philosophical grounding for resilience in my life and then decided to promote it in my queue at the reco of Tim Ferriss.

I slogged through it for a long time. Not gonna lie,...more I don't buy the criticism you see about Seneca not practicing what he preached. The closest I've ever been to being emperor of anything is the emperor of ice cream, so maybe the guy deserves more credit than the typical accusations of hypocrisy.

I had picked this book up again last year just sensing a need for some more sturdy philosophical grounding for resilience in my life and then decided to promote it in my queue at the reco of Tim Ferriss.

I slogged through it for a long time. Not gonna lie, the first half of the book really took it out of me. But something crazy happened along the way. My father died abruptly and all the sudden these discussions about resilience, temperance, equanimity, simplicity, moral clarity, overcoming the limits of mortality, and the stoicism in the face of loss--all of it came into focus. I found a lot of this to be spot-on and hella-comforting at this time.

Now, I'm not going to start taking cold showers. But maybe I'll try it?

Parts of this book, if you read them carefully, are a total lol. His railing against over-grooming in men and against the wearing of age-inappropriate clothing (hello 2013!). His letters CXIV and CXII about decadence are just awesome, plump with rants against literary adornment, affectation, fetishes. I see this hilarious crotchety old dude railing against the hepcats of Rome with their sunscreened boys and entourages partying all night. It's actually quite hilarious.

Some notable cross references that this book stirred for me.
1) Fellini's film masterpiece from 1960 La Dolce Vita. You get some of that same thematic stuff as in Seneca's letter about Rome's decadence.

2)Thoreau's Walden from 1854. You note a lot of philosophical commonality. Certain passages seem almost lifted from Seneca. Especially the most quoted stuff about sucking the marrow from life, about working on yourself, eschewing the pleasures of the world, living a life of principle, avoiding travel for the sake of variety alone.

3) The Declaration of Independence (1776). Most apparent here is this philosophical summum bonum of Happiness (its pursuit). Seneca sets his views apart from mere knowledge-acquisition or philosophy for the sake of itself, by explicitly saying the end is about putting into practice decisions that make for a happy life. It's a profound departure from many thinkers at the time. It's amazing to see the the deep taproots of this idea stretch all the way from 1776 to AD 50 (and probably before). It's a great rejection of sophistry. "My advice is really this: what we hear the philosophers saying and what we find in their writings should be applied in our pursuit of the happy life." (Letter CVIII). We may see this as obvious, but it has not always been so.

Last thing, the cash value for me in this has been in allowing in Seneca's ideas about how to cope with the death of loved ones. I'm pretty sure Seneca would be happy to know we put this stuff to use.

Take your time with this book.(less)

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Apr 13, 2010 Jake McCrary rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-tech

This is a great read about stoicism. It is a collection of letters Seneca wrote to a friend of his. This format is great as each letter focuses on at most a few main ideas.

I'd highly recommend this collection of letters to anyone. Seneca touches on subjects of friendship, learning, possessions, death, and much more. This is a book that I will definitely be rereading sections.

I'll admit some of the later letters are longer than the earlier ones and kind of lose some focus (at least at first read,...more

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Sep 21, 2011 umberto rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: letter, philosophy

At last I can find this edition in GR, instead of the Penguin one, after I had bought this hardcover three years ago as one in the 5-volume boxed set from the 16th National Book Fair in Bangkok. It's my delight to have read it since I had longed to read his famous letters since some years ago.

I knew briefly Seneca was assigned to teach Nero but I don't know much about their learning/teaching process, the impact, the extent in which they engaged in pursuit of knowledge or wisdom worth studying fo...more

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Sep 27, 2010 Bradley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love how readable this translation is. Definitely something to be mulled over time and time again. In fact, Seneca says that instead of perusing several books superficially, not learning anything from them, you should read and re-read only a few classic texts, making them a part of your lifestyle. What great advice! And that was only the best part of the first page... there are gems around every corner in this wonderful text.

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Mar 15, 2010 Garik Sadovy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: life-changing-literature, non-fiction-authors-best-of

I would say that Seneca has given me one of the best explanations I have ever heard for the balance between living lives that are in our control and being able to affect a resillient attitude on those things which are not in our control, not allowing ourselves to become beholden to vice or fortune, or for that matter, misfortune. Any one of his letters is wildly quotable, and his style is both easy to percieve as well as intensely educated. If Chesterton demands that the best authors write to th...more

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Dec 10, 2010 Sarah Milne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010

Eh, I tend to start these things with a higher degree of enthusiasm than I end them with. Seneca's one dang fascinating man, though. If Benedict Arnold is the face of traitordom (I think I made that word up), then Seneca may well be the face of hypocrisy. He sure did have some interesting - and good - things to say, notwithstanding!

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Jan 30, 2013 Kris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A quick and instructive/philosophically useful read, with plenty of wisdom on living one's life, to put it succinctly. It's delivered through a series of letters/essays from Seneca, ordered chronologically I believe. I found the first 1/3 to be very good, with quality generally much lower/declining from there, though there was the occasional nugget later on.

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Apr 28, 2009 Andrew rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the most important book of philosophy I have ever read. These letters from Seneca to his friend are full of brilliant, common sense advise for how to be happy in life. While the material is clearly dated, it is far more valuable than any current self-help book I can imagine.

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Feb 13, 2011 Brackney rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy

Seneca is one of the Big Three of Stoicism, and his letters and essays draw on both Stoic and Epicurean principles. Easily read in good English translation, Seneca provides food for thought and advice for living still relevant today (like all Stoics)!

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Feb 26, 2010 ACRL added it · review of another edition

Shelves: motw

Read by ACRL Member of the Week Sarah Faye Cohen. Learn more about Sarah on the ACRL Insider blog.

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Jun 01, 2009 Michael Dworaczyk rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

One of my favorite books of all time. I could read this over and over again. It got me through the tough time when my father was very ill, and ended up passing away. This book is timeless.

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Feb 13, 2013 Wilson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

'Essays in disguise', philosophical musings in a letter format that defies its temporal relevance by having a striking and clear set of ideological principles posing as thoughts. Absolutely fascinating.

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Feb 26, 2012 Mario rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: art-of-living

En efecto, este es uno de esos libros que hay que mantener bajo la almohada como fuente constante de inspiración.

Definitivamente el estoicismo se ha convertido en los últimos años una de mis corrientes filosóficas predilectas y en esta obra Séneca expresa con máxima claridad los preceptos que la componen, concentrándose en lo esencial y dejando a un lado todo lo accesorio...

"Como una obra teatral, así es la vida: importa no el tiempo, sino el acierto con que se ha representado. No atañe a la cue...more

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About Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca) (ca. 4 BC – 65 AD) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero. While he was later forced to commit suicide for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to assassinate Nero, the last of the Julio-Claudian emperors, he may...more

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