On Anger, Book 1, Section 4 — In Plain English

Seneca — The Senator

I've explained what anger is well enough. The difference between anger and being quick-tempered is clear. It's like the difference between a drunk person and an alcoholic, or between someone who's scared and someone who's a coward. You can be angry without being quick-tempered. You can be quick-tempered without being angry right now. I'll skip the other types of anger that the Greeks name with different words, since we don't have exact terms for them in Latin. But we do call people bitter, harsh, cranky, wild, loud, rude, and fierce. These are all different forms of being quick-tempered. You can add sulking to this list — it's a polished version of quick temper. Some kinds of anger are all noise and nothing else. Others last as long as they are common. Some are violent in action but don't waste words. Some pour themselves out in harsh words and curses. Some don't go beyond complaining and giving you the cold shoulder. Some are huge, deep-rooted, and fester inside a person. There are a thousand other forms of this many-faced evil.

Seneca — The Senator Original

What anger is has been sufficiently explained. The difference between it and irascibility is evident: it is the same as that between a drunken man and a drunkard; between a frightened man and a coward. It is possible for an angry man not to be irascible; an irascible man may sometimes not be angry. I shall omit the other varieties of anger, which the Greeks distinguish by various names, because we have no distinctive words for them in our language, although we call men bitter, and harsh, and also peevish, frantic, clamorous, surly, and fierce: all of which are different forms of irascibility. Among these you may class sulkiness, a refined form of irascibility; for there are some sorts of anger which go no further than noise, while some are as lasting as they are common: some are fierce in deed, but inclined to be sparing of words: some expend themselves in bitter words and curses: some do not go beyond complaining and turning one’s back: some are great, deep-seated, and brood within a man: there are a thousand other forms of a multiform evil.