Seneca - College of Stoic Philosophers

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SENECA 185in which he bequeathed a great sum ofmoney toTigeUinus^ in the hope that by interesting the prefectin the vahdity of the document his remaininglegacies might be secured to his family. Thathe was successful in this is probable, because ageneration later we find Lucan's widow, PoUa,living wealthy and honoured under Domitian, andreceiving the seldom disinterested attentions ofthe Flavian poets. Gallio, after Seneca's death,was violently attacked in the Senate ;but savedfor the moment by friends, who reproached hisantagonist with taking advantage of the publicmisfortunes for the gratification of private hatredand opposing the humane impulses of their mercifulprince. We hear no more of him from Tacitus ;but Dion relates that he perished shortly afterwardsby his own hand. The only other Senecaof whom any mention has survived is Marcus,the son of the philosopher, of whom he wrote sotenderly from his Corsican exile. Can he havebeen the dramatist ?Nothing obliges us tobelieve it ;but it is possible, and has beenbelieved.Seneca's reputation has passed through manyvicissitudes. He has been long neglected, andhis character when discussed has been harshlyappreciated. Yet good wine cannot come froma tainted vessel ;and if we judge his work by theuse that has been made of itby famous poetsand moralists, we must call it a noble heritage.Shakespeare and Milton have transmuted — manyof his thoughts into glorious poetry Miltontaking directly from him, Shakespearein all