[3] From the Epistles of Seneca we learn that Sextius, though born of an illustrious family, had declined the office of Senator when offered him by Julius Caesar.
[4] He also subjected himself to a scrupulous self-examination at the close of each day;[5] and he abstained from animal food, though for different reasons than those ascribed to Pythagoras: Sextius believed that man had enough sustenance without resorting to blood, and that a habit of cruelty is formed whenever butchery is practised for pleasure.
[10] Seneca delighted much in a work of Sextius, the title of which he does not give, but which he praises, as written with great power: Ye Gods, what strength and spirit one finds in him!
But when you come to read Sextius you will say: "He is alive; he is strong; he is free; he is more than a man; he fills me with a mighty confidence before I close his book."
I shall acknowledge to you the state of mind I am in when I read his works: I want to challenge every hazard; I want to cry: "Why keep me waiting, Fortune?