&gt; Stoics in general were supposed to be indifferent to riches, and Seneca often opted for an especially hard line in praising poverty as a philosophical good; for Stoics virtue itself (and certainly not cash) was the only real aim.<p>Huh, most of what I&#x27;ve gotten out of him is that he thought it important not to be anxious over or fearful of the idea of losing one&#x27;s riches and being poor, and not to be afraid of the state of poverty, rather than that one should not care <i>at all</i> for gaining wealth. He suggests occasionally playing at poverty by living on what amounts to a beggar&#x27;s earnings for a few days every now and then, to reassure oneself that it&#x27;s a tolerable way of living.<p>If anyone&#x27;s looking for a good copy of his works, the (ongoing) series &quot;The Complete Works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca&quot; from the University of Chicago[1] is really good. They&#x27;ve published all his major philosophical work as of November last year. I&#x27;d guess we&#x27;re getting his drama in the next volume, whenever that comes out. One of the books Mary Beard links at the top of her article is from that series.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.press.uchicago.edu&#x2F;ucp&#x2F;books&#x2F;series&#x2F;CWLAS.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.press.uchicago.edu&#x2F;ucp&#x2F;books&#x2F;series&#x2F;CWLAS.html</a>