> Stoics in general were supposed to be indifferent to riches, and Seneca often opted for an especially hard line in praising poverty as a philosophical good; f

> Stoics in general were supposed to be indifferent to riches, and Seneca often opted for an especially hard line in praising poverty as a philosophical good; for Stoics virtue itself (and certainly not cash) was the only real aim. Huh, most of what I've gotten out of him is that he thought it important not to be anxious over or fearful of the idea of losing one's riches and being poor, and not to be afraid of the state of poverty, rather than that one should not care at all for gaining wealth. He suggests occasionally playing at poverty by living on what amounts to a beggar's earnings for a few days every now and then, to reassure oneself that it's a tolerable way of living. If anyone's looking for a good copy of his works, the (ongoing) series "The Complete Works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca" from the University of Chicago[1] is really good. They've published all his major philosophical work as of November last year. I'd guess we're getting his drama in the next volume, whenever that comes out. One of the books Mary Beard links at the top of her article is from that series. [1] http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/series/CWLAS.html http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/series/CWLAS.html