Sublime

As Isabel could live with thee forever.

Gaius Julius Zoilos

Petronius was some thirty years younger than Seneca: he was born around 27 CE, so would have been in his thirties in the sixties. Petronius was dubbed the “arbiter of taste” (arbiter elegantium), known for his risky, witty speech and his love of parties. Unlike Seneca, Petronius rose to the senatorial class.

And Seneca’s dear friend Annaeus Serenus was given command of the night watch. All this suggests that Seneca had plenty of influence behind the scenes to choose who did well or poorly under the Neronian regime, and that he used it to promote the people he knew.

the life story of Thomas More, scholar, philosopher, writer, and advisor to Henry VIII, who was then beheaded by the king, has been well compared to that of Seneca. 13 Seneca as a historical character (rather than as a writer or philosopher) often did come across rather badly in early modern literature and drama