Project Gutenberg 2003-02-01 Public domain in the USA. 1640 Seneca, Lucius Annaeus 65 Seneca, L. A. (Lucius Annaeus) Seneca, Annaeus Annaeus Seneca, Lucius Stewart, Aubrey 1844 1918 L. Annaeus Seneca on Benefits Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Beneficiis Produced by Charles Franks, Robert Rowe, David Widger, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team "On Benefits" by Lucius Annaeus Seneca is a philosophical treatise written in the early 2nd century AD. This work delves into the intricacies of human relationships, focusing particularly on the concepts of giving, receiving, and reciprocating benefits. Seneca explores the moral dimensions of these interactions, emphasizing the importance of intention behind acts of kindness and the rampant issue of ingratitude within society. At the start of the text, Seneca introduces the topic by lamenting humanity's failure to properly bestow or accept benefits, suggesting that this leads to societal discord. He discusses various reasons for ingratitude and reflects on the nature of benefits themselves, positing that the true essence of a benefit lies not in material goods but in the goodwill of the giver. He argues for the careful selection of recipients for one’s generosity, highlighting the necessity of giving thoughtfully and sincerely to foster gratitude, while also urging individuals to cultivate a sense of gratitude and responsibility when receiving benefits. Ultimately, Seneca sets the stage for a rich, philosophical examination of ethics in personal interactions throughout the remainder of the work. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 63.9 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Classical literature Essays Conduct of life Benevolence PA Text Category: Philosophy & Ethics 528133 2025-08-02T09:07:21.050273 text/html 519305 2013-02-08T16:18:36 text/html 266425 2025-08-02T09:07:28.755198 application/epub+zip 273572 2025-08-02T09:07:24.220197 application/epub+zip 253472 2025-08-02T09:07:23.009244 application/epub+zip 484231 2025-08-02T09:07:32.390202 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 460034 2025-08-02T09:07:27.874204 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 422801 2022-09-02T11:50:48.731309 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 476947 2025-08-02T09:07:20.636268 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 476791 2009-12-03T16:08:04 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19281 2025-08-02T09:07:32.537158 application/rdf+xml 15741 2025-08-02T09:07:23.524229 image/jpeg 3806 2025-08-02T09:07:23.260205 image/jpeg 181523 2013-02-08T16:18:38 application/octet-stream application/zip 176056 2009-12-03T16:09:14 application/octet-stream application/zip 263669 2025-08-02T09:07:21.092252 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia