Seneca's most sustained moral treatise explores the art of giving and receiving benefits — acts of goodwill that bind human society together. Through twenty chapters, he examines what makes a true benefit, how intention transforms the same act into grace or insult, and why gratitude is the foundation of civilised life. Written in the tradition of Stoic moral philosophy, it argues that generosity freely given without expectation of return is the highest expression of virtue.
20 chapters · Public domain
1
Of Benefits in General
~2 min · 1 pages
›2
Several Sorts of Benefits
~3 min · 2 pages
›3
A Son May Oblige His Father, and a Servant His Master
~8 min · 4 pages
›4
It Is the Intention, not the Matter, That Makes the Benefit
~5 min · 2 pages
›5
There Must Be Judgment in a Benefit, as Well as Matter and Intention; and Especially in the Choice of the Person
~3 min · 2 pages
›6
The Matter of Obligations, with Its Circumstances
~6 min · 4 pages
›7
The Manner of Obliging
~8 min · 4 pages
›8
The Difference and Value of Benefits
~9 min · 4 pages
›9
An Honest Man Cannot Be Outdone in Courtesy
~6 min · 3 pages
›10
The Question Discussed, Whether or not a Man May Give or Return a Benefit to Himself?
~3 min · 2 pages
›11
How Far One Man May Be Obliged for a Benefit Done to Another
~5 min · 3 pages
›12
The Benefactor Must Have No By-ends
~13 min · 6 pages
›13
There Are Many Cases Wherein a Man May Be Minded of a Benefit, but it Is Very Rarely to Be Challenged, and Never to Be Upbraided
~10 min · 6 pages
›14
How Far to Oblige or Requite a Wicked Man
~11 min · 5 pages
›15
A General View of the Parts and Duties of the Benefactor
~7 min · 4 pages
›16
How the Receiver Ought to Behave Himself
~11 min · 6 pages
›17
Of Gratitude
~7 min · 4 pages
›18
Gratitude Mistaken
~5 min · 3 pages
›19
Of Ingratitude
~8 min · 4 pages
›20
There Can Be No Law Against Ingratitude
~7 min · 3 pages
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