Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (about 4 BCE–65 CE) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and tragedian who examined virtue under pressure, the discipline of emotion and the use of finite time. On the Shortness of Life argues that life feels brief when attention is surrendered to distraction and status. Letters from a Stoic develops the practice of philosophy through counsel on friendship, mortality, anger and self-command. On Benefits studies giving, gratitude and obligation as bonds within civic life. Seneca's Morals of a Happy Life, Benefits, Anger and Clemency gathers several ethical arguments, while The Tragedies of Seneca reveals a darker dramatic imagination shaped by violence, excess and broken rule. Letters from a Stoic gives the broadest entry into his voice. On the Shortness of Life is more concentrated; On Benefits suits readers interested in ethics as a social exchange rather than private consolation.