Sotion

One of them left his mark on him for good.

His name was Attalus, a Stoic teacher with a fiery tongue.

Seneca tells us in one of his letters that he was always the first to arrive at his lectures and the last to leave, and that whenever Attalus spoke out against luxury and against the pleasures that enslave, he walked out determined to change his life, and he did, at least in part.

Seneca relates that on Attalus' advice, he gave up oysters and mushrooms for good, which in Rome were a rich man's indulgence.

He gave up perfumes.

For the rest of his life, he never drank wine to excess, and he avoided baths that were too hot.

He even stopped eating meat for a year under the influence of another teacher, Sotion, until his father asked him to give it up because in those days, such a habit could arouse suspicion.

Then life happened.