The volume offers English translations of two classical treatises on divine providence and the delayed punishment of the gods, accompanied by selections, critical notes, bibliographies, and two essays on Graeco-Roman life in the first century after Christ. It situates Seneca and Plutarch within their political and intellectual environments, examines how Stoic and Greek ethical resources addressed suffering and moral order, and contrasts those responses with emerging Christian ideas. Supplemental material includes lists of works, commentary on language and style, and extracts that illuminate how ancient writers sought to reconcile human experience with notions of divine justice.