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Seneca - College of Stoic Philosophers

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30 SENECAcarefullyto observe whether the soul is conscious <strong>of</strong> itsflight ; and he promised,if he discovered anything, toreturn and tell his friends where and what were thesouls <strong>of</strong> the departed.^It was impossible, as <strong>Seneca</strong> observed, to practisephilosophy longer and this tranquillity in the;midst <strong>of</strong> tempests argued a soul vi^orthy <strong>of</strong> eternity.To pity the fates <strong>of</strong> such men as Canus, Socrates,or Sir Thomas More w^ould be to misunderstandthem. But the emperor's freakish cruelty couldnot always be so thwarted and another incident;related by <strong>Seneca</strong> isprobably more characteristic<strong>of</strong> the time than that just recorded. There wasa rich knight called Pastor whose son, having<strong>of</strong>fended Caligula by the luxuriance <strong>of</strong> his hairand the elegance <strong>of</strong> his apparel, had been throwninto prison. Pastor came to the emperor to begfor his son's release; whereupon Caligula, asifsuddenly reminded <strong>of</strong> something he had forgotten,ordered the youth to instant execution.The same day he invited the father to a banquet<strong>of</strong> one hundred covers ;and instructed a spy toobserve his looks and conduct. Pastor came,showing no discomposure in his countenance.The feast was splendid, and the emperor drankto his health, plied him with wine, sent himointments and garlands, treated him with especialcourtesy, and bade him drown his cares in wineand good-fellowship. Pastor, a gouty old man,showed no sign <strong>of</strong> distress. He anointed himselfwith the oil, crowned himself with the garlands,and drank more than would have become him1De Tranquill. Animi, c. 14.

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