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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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.

2. Why does Seneca move to the country?
(a) To be closer to Lucilius.
(b) To get out of the greedy city of Croton.
(c) To be farther from the corruptness of Rome.
(d) For the health benefits of fresh air.

3. What is a syllogism?
(a) A word or phrase with repetitive consonants.
(b) A form of deductive reasoning/logic.
(c) Two words with the same number of syllables and same meanings.
(d) Two words that sound alike but have different meanings.

4. Who especially does Seneca consider when he makes his move to the country?
(a) Himself.
(b) His wife.
(c) His father.
(d) His mother.

5. What does Seneca called the past age?
(a) The Golden Age.
(b) The Bronze Age.
(c) The Platonic Age.
(d) The Silver Age.

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

7. When does Seneca say that men that began to claim pieces of land as their property?
(a) When greed entered the hearts of mankind.
(b) When gods told them to do so.
(c) When the emperor began giving it away.
(d) When they became more self-aware.

8. Who was Posidinius?
(a) God of an ancient river.
(b) A sailor.
(c) A sea god.
(d) A historian.

9. What is symptomatic of excessive attachment to the body, according to Seneca?
(a) Frequent baths.
(b) Frequent trips to community baths.
(c) Excessive primping.
(d) Excessive concern with pain.

10. According to Seneca in Letter LXXXVIII, what should man not strive to become?
(a) A religious man.
(b) A learned man.
(c) A good man.
(d) A pleasant man.

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

12. According to Letter LXV, how do friends get Seneca to stop reading and writing while he is sick?
(a) By taking him to a hospital.
(b) By entertaining him with a short play.
(c) By asking him to discuss a philosophical question.
(d) By bringing in a card game.

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

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

15. Where is Seneca when he writes Letter LXXXVI?
(a) In the hospital.
(b) At Lucilius' house.
(c) On vacation.
(d) In bed at home recuperating.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Who does Seneca point out (in Letter CIV) had a wife and children who constantly nagged him?

3. According to Seneca, what was the goal of technological inventions of the past age?

4. Who wrote the Iliad?

5. For Stoics, what are two basic elements found in any object?

(see the answer keys)

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