Epistulae Morales Ad Lucilium, folio 174r

A Stoic philosopher, born in Spain and raised in Rome, Lucius Annaeus Seneca wrote his Epistulae Morales Ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucius) towards the end of his life. The letters muse on a variety of topics such as death and old age, the relativity of fame and the relationship between a master and slave. The Epistulae is but one of several tracts contained in this manuscript. The text is decorated with several calligraphic capitals, a decorative N can be seen on folio 174v, and is littered with nota bene drawings, especially pointing hands. As well as the decorated initial a drawing of a monster with a human head, wings, and the hind parts of a quadruped can also be observed on folio 174v.