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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens to Seneca's work ethic and studies once he moves to the country?
(a) He stops all together.
(b) He studies less, but says it really isn't distraction since he is focusing on nature.
(c) They improve.
(d) He finds himself distracted by nature.

2. What does Seneca say the gods give man the capacity for?
(a) Life.
(b) Philosophy.
(c) Love.
(d) Scientific study.

3. Why does Seneca say he considered suicide once?
(a) He felt worthless.
(b) He didn't feel loved or needed by society.
(c) To escape his illness.
(d) Out of consideration for his parents.

4. According to Seneca, what is the fruit of man's own efforts?
(a) Philosophy.
(b) Love.
(c) Life.
(d) Peace between nations.

5. What does Seneca say that many people find attractive for the wrong reasons?
(a) Philosophy.
(b) Outward appearance.
(c) Politics.
(d) Religion.

6. What includes the studies of literature, rhetoric and history?
(a) Fine arts.
(b) Bachelor of arts.
(c) Liberal arts.
(d) Still life art.

7. According to his criticism in Letter CVIII, what does Seneca say literary scholars do with philosophical theories?
(a) Ruin them by writing them down incorrectly.
(b) Read them over and over.
(c) Help spread them to the masses.
(d) Dissect the words without garnering the meaning.

8. Whose first instinct is it to incorporate wisdom into his life and actions?
(a) The philosopher.
(b) The literary scholar.
(c) The teacher.
(d) The priest.

9. Who says there are four causes?
(a) Sophocles.
(b) Plato.
(c) Seneca.
(d) Aristotle.

10. What kind of events does Seneca say upsets people the most?
(a) Calm events.
(b) Planned events.
(c) Hysterical events.
(d) Surprise events.

11. How does Seneca spend most of his day?
(a) In study.
(b) Dreaming.
(c) Exercising.
(d) Praying.

12. According to Seneca, what was the goal of technological inventions of the past age?
(a) To make man comfortable or wealthy.
(b) To outdo the previous generation.
(c) To save money.
(d) To make life more basic than ever.

13. According to Stoic thought, what is the formless substance with "unlimited potential?"
(a) Reason.
(b) Mass.
(c) Cause.
(d) Matter.

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

15. What do the friends Seneca talks about in Letter LXV compare to concepts by Aristotle and Plato?
(a) Zeno's concept of relationships.
(b) Arelius' thoughts about life.
(c) The Stoic concept of causation.
(d) Seneca's thoughts about death.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Seneca, where are the sharpest pains?

2. How much duty does Seneca say one must must fulfill before his life ends?

3. What is symptomatic of excessive attachment to the body, according to Seneca?

4. What teaches men how to live well, according to Seneca?

5. According to Letter XCI, what town was destroyed by fire?

(see the answer keys)

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