ng of God. This source of knowledge can be gained through philosophy, or phronesus, which means: practical wisdom. He speaks of 'real freedom', (Seneca, Reader: 70) freedom from the passions. The only way in which to gain this type of freedom is through wisdom.
             In essence Seneca is saying that anger, lust, love, ambition and fear which control one can be expelled through wisdom (which gives one control), which is the only way to free oneself of the passions.
             Seneca describes Anger as the most chaotic, violent and self destructive of the passions. He writes: 'The most hideous and frenzied of all the emotions. For the other emotions have in them some element of peace and calm, while this one is wholly violent. (The Stoic Legacy to the Renaissance. Seneca's Essays Volume I on Anger)
             Anger according to Seneca, is a weakness in the mind of man which takes place in even the wisest of men after the belief that a wrong has been performed. It is released at ones own will. This can be seen in his letter to Novatus where he writes: 'Anger may be routed at our behest; for it is a weakness of the mind that is subject to the will, not one of those things that result from some condition of the general lot of man and therefore befall even the wisest, among which must be placed foremost that mental shock which affects us after we have formed the impression of a wrong committed.' (The Stoic Legacy to the Renaissance. Seneca's Essays Volume I on Anger vs Reason)
             He considers anger to be a form of madness, (G Sauer-Thompson. Philosophy.Com) holding the same attributes as insanity. He writes:
             'Certain wise men, therefore, have claimed that anger is temporary madness. For it is equally devoid of self- control, forgetful of decency, unmindful of ties, persistent and diligent in whatever it begins, closed to reason and counsel, excited by trifling causes, unfit to discern the right and true ..... But you have only...