o moderante terras et ostendente, quanto melius
beneficiis imperium custodiatur quam armis, illo rebus humanis
praeside non est periculum, ne quid perdidisse te sentias.' For
similar flattery of Claudius, cf. 7,4; 12,5.

(12) _ad Helviam matrem de consolatione_, written during his
banishment.

2. _ad Neronem Caesarem de clementia_, in three Books, two of which
are extant. The work was written in A.D. 55-6, doubtless to show the
public what sort of instruction Seneca had given Nero, and what sort
of emperor they had to expect (cf. i, 1, 1). The date is settled by i.
9, 1, '[divus Augustus] cum hoc aetatis esset quod tu nunc es,
duodevicesimum egressus annum,' Nero having been born 15th December,
A.D. 37. The flattery contained in ii. 1, 1-2, and elsewhere, can be
justified to some extent by Nero's conduct at that time. Cf. Sueton.
_Nero_, 10, 'Neque liberalitatis, neque clementiae, ne comitatis
quidem exhibendae ullam occasionem omisit.'

3. _De Beneficiis_ in seven Books, addressed to Aebutius Liberalis of
Lugdunum. It is probable that Books i.-iv. were published first,
shortly after the death of Claudius (who is sneered at in i. 15, 6).
Books v.-vii. are probably a later addition. Cf. v. 1, 1, 'In
prioribus libris videbar consummasse propositum ... Quidquid ultra
moror, non servio materiae, sed indulgeo ... Verum quia ita vis,
perseveremus peractis.' The eulogy of Demetrius the Cynic in vii.
8-12, makes it probable that Book vii. at least was written in
Seneca's last years.

4. _Apocolocyntosis_, a political satire on Claudius, written shortly
after his death in A.D. 54. The explanation of the title is given by
Dio, lx. 35, 2, +Agrippina kai ho Neron ... es ton ouranon anegagon
hon ek tou symposiou phoraden exenenochesan. hotheuper Loukios Iounios
Gallion ho tou Seneka adelphos asteiotaton ti apephthenxato; synetheke
men gar kai ho Senekas syngramma, apokolokyntosin auto hosper tina
apathanatisin onomasas, ekeinos de en brachytato polla eipon
apomnemoneuetai ... ephe ton Klaudion ankistro es ton ouranon
anenechthenai+. The work does not bear this title in the MSS., and
there is no hint of the witticism in the book itself; the St. Gall
MS., however, has 'Divi Claudii +APOTHEOSIS+ Annei Senecae per
Saturam,' which may be a corruption of the proper title. The title is
derived from +kolokynte+, 'a gourd,' which was used to denote a fool.
Seneca (_Apocol._ 6) takes the official view that Claudius died of a
fever. The