Letters 108.13

At any rate, when I used to hear Attalus denouncing sin, error, and the evils of life, I often felt sorry for mankind and regarded Attalus as a noble and majestic being,—above our mortal heights. He called himself a king, but I thought him more than a king, because he was entitled to pass judgment on kings.

Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 108.13, translated by Richard Mott Gummere