The Epistles of Lucius Annaeus Seneca

But Seneca amassed great wealth. How strangely are men divided in their censure! Some they accuse of wealth, others of poverty; in some they find ambition, in others avarice! And who in his senses would condemn wisdom to perpetual poverty? The philosopher may possess great riches, provided they come not by wrong or robbery, and can be disposed of as honorably as they came. These then are the conditions by which riches are allowed the wise man: let them be sought, or come, honorably, and be honorably expended. And was not this the case of Seneca? He received them from the munificence of a prince (master of all the world), as did many others with not half his merit. And says another Seneca Referring to the Roman poet Martial, or perhaps a misattribution in the text.:

Quis influentis dona fortunæ abnuat?
Original: "Who would refuse the gifts of flowing fortune?"
Who e'er refused the flow of fortune's gifts?

And our author says, "No wise man thinks himself unworthy the favors of fortune. He will not reject them, nor regret their departure when they take wing; and where can fortune entrust them more safely than in the hands of those who are ready to resign them?"

Behold our author and admire his coming to Nero, saying: "Order the auditors of your revenue to undertake the direction of my fortune and annex it to your own. Nor shall I by this plunge myself into indigence and poverty; but having only surrendered that invidious opulence which exposes me to the offensive blaze of so much splendor, I shall redeem the time which at present is sequestered to the care of pompous feasts and gardens, and apply it to the repose and cultivation of my mind." Behold the philosopher who admitted wealth into his treasury, but not into his bosom. He possesses riches as light and transitory things, without suffering them to be burdensome to himself or injurious to anyone. It is manifest to me (says Lipsius) they were only lent to Seneca for the benefit of others. He gave them either to the good or to those whom he thought he could make so. He gave them to the most deserving, as being persuaded that he must give an account both of his receipts and disbursements. Public fame speaks of his liberality:

Nemo petit modicis quæ mittebantur amicis
A Seneca,—quæ Piso bona, et quæ Cotta solebat
Largiri—
Original: "No one asks for the small gifts that were sent by Seneca—the goods that Piso and Cotta were accustomed to bestow—"
Not that I such largess crave,
As Seneca, or Piso, or Cotta gave
To their poor clients.