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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Letters CIV, CV, CVII, and CVIII.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Lucilius ask Seneca to include in his letters?
(a) Investment information.
(b) A poem to read to his friend.
(c) An autograph.
(d) Stoic aphorisms.

2. Who says that hope is the cause of fear?
(a) Hecato.
(b) Socrates.
(c) Euripides.
(d) Homer.

3. According to his criticism in Letter CVIII, what does Seneca say literary scholars should do with philosophical theories?
(a) Write fiction about them that will appeal to the masses.
(b) Interpret them correctly.
(c) Compare them to other theories.
(d) Apply them to their own lives.

4. In his example of suffering for the sake of knowledge, who does Seneca say was executed for blasphemy?
(a) Claudius.
(b) Homer.
(c) Socrates.
(d) Plato.

5. What does Seneca encourage in Letter VI?
(a) Suicide among the elderly.
(b) Living in Rome.
(c) Contributions to poor slaves.
(d) Lucilius come to live with him.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who says in Chapter XVII that wise men should avoid the festival that is being celebrated?

2. According to Stoic thought, what is the formless substance with "unlimited potential?"

3. What purpose does fasting serve, according to Seneca?

4. Why does Seneca say he took the ride in Letter LV?

5. In a large group of people, how might their vices seem, according to Seneca?

(see the answer key)

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