Seneca was a friend and tutor to the emperor Nero. Nero began to suspect that Seneca was plotting against him, so he planned to kill Seneca. Nero sent Natalis to inform Seneca that he was going to die. Many people consider Seneca a great stoic in the face of death. Stoicism is the ability to endure pain and hardship while retaining the ability to control one's emotions; Seneca, at his death, was a perfect example of a stoic.
When Natalis was sent to Seneca, one of the men who was with Seneca noted that, "he saw no signs of fear, and perceived no sadness in his words or in his looks." Seneca was completely calm in the face of death. Seneca himself said, "Who knew not Nero's cruelty? After a mother's and a brother's murder, nothing remains but to add the destruction of a guardian and a tutor." Seneca knew what was coming, and he accepted it. He understood that if Nero was willing to kill his own kin, he would be willing to kill a friend. He was in total control of his emotions, and he didn't let anyone know what he was truly feeling.
Seneca was strongly supported by his wife in the whole ordeal. His wife loved him so much, she told him she would be willing to die with him. Seneca told her, "I have shown you ways of smoothing life; you prefer the glory of dying. I will not grudge you such a noble example. Let the fortitude of so courageous an end be alike in both of us, but let there be more in your decease to win fame." Even though he didn't really want her to die, he would let her make her own choices. He told her was a good life she could have without him, but, once again, he didn't let his emotions get the better of him.
Even while being tortured, Seneca remained emotionless. "Worn out by cruel anguish, afraid too that his sufferings might break his wife's spirit, and that, as he looked on her tortures, he might himself sink into irresolution, he persuaded her to retire into another chamber. Even at the last moment his eloquence failed him not." His wife meant a lot to him, and even though he was in a lot of pain, he focused on her. He didn't want her to see him in pain, so he protected her even while he was being tortured. Not many people would be thinking of their wife while they were being brutally tortured.
In conclusion, Seneca was a very strong man for doing what he did. He showed no worry, no fear, when he was told he was going to die. His love for his wife overcame the greatest pain he could endure. His stoicism remained up until his last breath. He endured pain and plenty of hardship during his final years, but he came through it all with no fear. Seneca was a great stoic and showed no emotion in the face of torture, and in the end, death.
