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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Letter XCI, what town was destroyed by fire?
(a) Lyons.
(b) Rome.
(c) Croton.
(d) Vatican City.

2. Who does Seneca point out (in Letter CIV) had a wife and children who constantly nagged him?
(a) Himself.
(b) Plato.
(c) Socrates.
(d) Sophocles.

3. What does Seneca say prepares the mind for philosophy?
(a) Fine arts.
(b) Religion.
(c) Meditations.
(d) Liberal arts.

4. What does Scipio volunteer to do?
(a) Kill Seneca.
(b) Help teach Seneca.
(c) Care for the ailing Seneca.
(d) Go into exile.

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

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

7. According to Seneca, what often brings the most unusual tragedies?
(a) Fortune.
(b) Emotion.
(c) Superstition.
(d) Freedom.

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

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

10. What phrase best sums up Letter XCI?
(a) The early bird catches the worm.
(b) If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
(c) Never look back.
(d) Expect the unexpected.

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

12. Who ran away in Letter CVII that made Lucilius grieve?
(a) Some of his slaves.
(b) His wife and kids.
(c) His dog.
(d) His oldest daughter.

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

14. What does Seneca give advice about coping with in Letter LXXVIII?
(a) Grief.
(b) Religious faith.
(c) Illness.
(d) Love.

15. According to Seneca, where are the sharpest pains?
(a) In the heart.
(b) In the smallest area of the body.
(c) In the eye/temple area because they are close to the brain.
(d) In the nose.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who wrote the Iliad?

2. What is duty that Seneca states all men are bound to eventually carry out?

3. What kind of events does Seneca say upsets people the most?

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

5. According to Letter LXXXVIII, how important is the knowledge of the liberal arts to Stoicism?

(see the answer keys)

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