Roman philosopher, statesman and writer, born in Córdoba, Spain, the son of Seneca (the Elder). Banished to Corsica (41--9) by Claudius, on a charge of adultery, he was recalled by Agrippina, who entrusted him with the education of her son, Nero. Made consul by Nero in 57, his high moral aims gradually incurred the emperor's displeasure, and he withdrew from public life. Drawn into conspiracy, he was condemned, and committed suicide in Rome. The publication of his Tenne Tragedies in 1581 was important in the evolution of Elizabethan drama, which took from them the five-act division, as well as the horrors and the rhetoric.