De Clementia

Ancient historians remembered them as a time of sensible government, and much of the credit went to Seneca and his colleague Burrus, the commander of the guard.

Seneca wrote a whole book for the young emperor, On Mercy, in which he tried to teach him that true power lies in mastering oneself.

But as the years went by, Nero stopped listening.

Burrus died, and Seneca was left alone, facing a pupil who had become everything he had tried to prevent.