Study Lucius Annaeus Seneca, if you must study a man. 
Study his life to learn the trials of a Sage. 
Study his Epistles to see a great man sewing righteous seeds among men.
Study his Consolations to see wisdom in action. 
Study his Natural Questions to see a fine soul at play. 
Study his Tragedies to taste the fruit of a true Poet and wordsmith. 
Study all his works, even that those things that were once hidden may be revealed. 
Study the state of affairs throughout his life as well as his enemies and their critiques to know the Wasteland through which the true seeker must wade on his way to the distant hills. 
Study the teachers from whom Seneca learned to think.
Study the giants among men who were guided by Seneca’s works, even that you may know how One man can shift the very course of Fate for eternity.
Study all these things together. See the wisdom of the whole. 

This man was a great man.
This man was a true seeker.
This man was a philosopher like no others before him. 
This man was an artist and a Poet. 
This man was at home within his highly polished soul.
This man was a friend to himself, and a friend to God. 
This man was a caretaker of the highest degree. 
This man was a divine Prophet of God. 
This man is a weather-tossed mountain wildflower, for he dug his roots deep into his infinite world beneath him, he spread his branches far into the eternal future, and his flowers now reflect the glory of the sun above, even the light of the Logos. 
This man is a towering oak tree, for his foundation is firm, his trunk rises high into the canopy above, and his branches now bear acorns, which give way to new life. 
This man sang the song of The Universal Soul, which now sings back at him. 
This man was a wise man, nay, even a Sage. 
This man was shined upon, and he reflected nobly, and with great strength.