 A brief note is in order here on the relative chronology of Seneca’s works, which is hard to establish given that we know so little about Seneca’s life apart from his imperial service, as noted above, and its consequences. The Consolation to Marcia is probably the earliest surviving piece of Seneca’s work. Similarly, the Consolation to His Mother Helvia and the Consolation to Polybius are considered early (perhaps dating to 43 or 44), the former actually being composed on the occasion of Seneca’s banishment to Corsica. All other surviving works seem to be written later, mostly after Seneca’s return to Rome in 49 from his Corsican exile. Among the Moral Essays, the only one we can date with some certainty is On Mercy, an essay in which Seneca directly addresses Nero in the early days of his reign (55 or 56). The Moral Letters to Lucilius as well as the Natural Questions are the product of the last years of Seneca’s life, the brief period (62–65) that Seneca spent in retirement before following Nero’s order to commit suicide (on the dating of Seneca’s writings see the introductions in Cooper/Procopé 1995, and Griffin 1992).