181 Quotes & Sayings By Seneca

Lucius Annaeus Seneca, commonly known as Seneca the Younger, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, inveterate letter writer and one of the most prolific authors of the late Roman Republic. He was Lucien's tutor and involved in his education.

Life is like a play: it's not the length, but...
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Life is like a play: it's not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters. Seneca
Timendi causa est nescire - Ignorance is the cause of...
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Timendi causa est nescire - Ignorance is the cause of fear. Seneca
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.
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Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body. Seneca
As is a tale, so is life: not how long...
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As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters. Seneca
Non est ad astra mollis e terris via
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Non est ad astra mollis e terris via" - "There is no easy way from the earth to the stars Seneca
No man was ever wise by chance
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No man was ever wise by chance Seneca
Until we have begun to go without them, we fail...
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Until we have begun to go without them, we fail to realize how unnecessary many things are. We've been using them not because we needed them but because we had them. Seneca
The best ideas are common property
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The best ideas are common property Seneca
No man is crushed by misfortune unless he has first...
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No man is crushed by misfortune unless he has first been deceived by prosperity Seneca
To win true freeedom you must be a slave to...
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To win true freeedom you must be a slave to philosophy. Seneca
Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity...
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Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for crisis. Seneca
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Each day acquire something that will fortify you against poverty, against death, indeed against other misfortunes as well; and after you have run over many thoughts, select one to be thoroughly digested that day. Seneca
Nothing, to my way of thinking, is a better proof...
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Nothing, to my way of thinking, is a better proof of a well ordered mind than a man’s ability to stop just where he is and pass some time in his own company. Seneca
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That you would not anticipate misery since the evils you dread as coming upon you may perhaps never reach you at least they are not yet come Thus some things torture us more than they ought, some before they ought and some which ought never to torture us at all. We heighten our pain either by presupposing a cause or anticipation Seneca
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Here is your great soul–the man who has given himself over to Fate; on the other hand, that man is a weakling and a degenerate who struggles and maligns the order of the universe and would rather reform the gods than reform himself. Seneca
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They Whatever can make life truly happy is absolutely good in its own right because it cannot be warped into evil From whence then comes error In that while all men wish for a happy life they mistake the means for the thing itself and while they fancy themselves in pursuit of it they are flying from it for when the sum of happiness consists in solid tranquillity and an unembarrassed confidence therein they are ever collecting causes of disquiet and not only carry burthens but drag them painfully along through the rugged and deceitful path of life so that they still withdraw themselves from the good effect proposed the more pains they take the more business they have upon their hands instead of advancing they are retrograde and as it happens in a labyrinth their very speed puzzles and confounds them . Seneca
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We deceive ourselves in thinking that death only follows life whereas it both goes before and will follow after it for where is the difference in not beginning or ceasing to exist the effect of both is not to be Seneca
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Consider the whole world reconnoitre individuals j who is there whose life is not taken up with providing for to morrow Do you ask what harm there is in this An infinite deal for such men do not live but are about to live they defer every thing from day to day however circumspect we are life will still outrun us. Seneca
Believe me if you consult philosophy she will persuade you...
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Believe me if you consult philosophy she will persuade you not to lit so long at your counting desk Seneca
I have learned to be a friend to myself Great...
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I have learned to be a friend to myself Great improvement this indeed Such a one can never be said to be alone for know that he who is a friend to himself is a friend to all mankind Seneca
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You shall be told what pleased me to-day in the writings of Hecato; it is these words: "What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself." That wasindeed a great benefit; such a person can never be alone. You may be sure that such a man is a friend to all mankind. Seneca
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On Epicurus; He says: "Contended poverty is an honourable estate." Indeed, if it is contented, it is not poverty at all. It is not the man who has little, but the man who craves more, that is poor. Seneca
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[I]ndulge the body just so far as suffices for good health. It needs to be treated somewhat strictly to prevent it from being disobedient to the spirit. Your food should appease your hunger, your drink quench your thirst, your clothing keep out the cold, your house be a protection against inclement weather. Seneca
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Amintirea plăcerilor este mai de durată Èâ„¢i mai de încredere decât prezenÈ›a lor. Seneca
Reflect that nothing merits admiration except thespirit, the impressiveness of...
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Reflect that nothing merits admiration except thespirit, the impressiveness of which prevents it from being impressed by anything. Seneca
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The time will come when diligent research over long periods will bring to light things which now lie hidden. A single lifetime, even though entirely devoted to the sky, would not be enough for the investigation of so vast a subject.. And so this knowledge will be unfolded only through long successive ages. There will come a time when our descendants will be amazed that we did not know things that are so plain to them.. Many discoveries are reserved for ages still to come, when memory of us will have been effaced. Seneca
Errare humanum est, sed perseverare diabolicum: 'to err is human,...
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Errare humanum est, sed perseverare diabolicum: 'to err is human, but to persist (in the mistake) is diabolical. Seneca
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I am not a ‘wise man, ’ nor .. . shall I ever be. And so require not from me that I should be equal to the best, but that I should be better than the wicked. It is enough for me if every day I reduce the number of my vices, and blame my mistakes. Seneca
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Huius (sapientis) opus unum est de divinis humanisque verum invenire; ab hac numquam recedit religio, pietas, iustitia ... Seneca
¿Preguntas cúal es el fundamento de la sabiduría? No gozarte...
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¿Preguntas cúal es el fundamento de la sabiduría? No gozarte en cosas vanas. Seneca
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True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not. Seneca
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For what prevents us from saying that the happy life is to have a mind that is free, lofty, fearless and steadfast - a mind that is placed beyond the reach of fear, beyond the reach of desire, that counts virtue the only good, baseness the only evil, and all else but a worthless mass of things, which come and go without increasing or diminishing the highest good, and neither subtract any part from the happy life nor add any part to it? A man thus grounded must, whether he wills or not, necessarily be attended by constant cheerfulness and a joy that is deep and issues from deep within, since he finds delight in his own resources, and desires no joys greater than his inner joys. Seneca
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What mancan you show me who places any value on his time, who reckons the worth of each day, who understands that he isdying daily? For we are mistaken when we look forward to death; the major portion of death has already passed, Whatever years be behind us are in death's hands. Seneca
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When you enter a grove peopled with ancient trees, higher than the ordinary, and shutting out the sky with their thickly inter-twined branches, do not the stately shadows of the wood, the stillness of the place, and the awful gloom of this doomed cavern then strike you with the presence of a deity? Seneca
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If anyone says that the best life of all is to sail the sea, and then adds that I must not sail upon a sea where shipwrecks are a common occurrence and there are often sudden storms that sweep the helmsman in an adverse direction, I conclude that this man, although he lauds navigation, really forbids me to launch my ship. Seneca
The part of life we really live is small.' For...
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The part of life we really live is small.' For all the rest of existence is not life, but merely time. Seneca
It's not that we have little time, but more that...
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It's not that we have little time, but more that we waste a good deal of it. Seneca
Leisure without books is death, and burial of a man...
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Leisure without books is death, and burial of a man alive. Seneca
Distringit librorum multitudo (the abundance of books is distraction)
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Distringit librorum multitudo (the abundance of books is distraction) Seneca
F you wish to put off all worry, assume that...
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F you wish to put off all worry, assume that what you fear may happen is certainly going to happen. Seneca
There is no enjoying the possession of anything valuable unless...
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There is no enjoying the possession of anything valuable unless one has someone to share it with Seneca
Because thou writest me often, I thank thee ... Never...
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Because thou writest me often, I thank thee ... Never do I receive a letter from thee, but immediately we are together. Seneca
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How closely flattery resembles friendship! It not only apes friendship, but outdoes it, passing it in the race; with wide-open and indulgent ears it is welcomed and sinks to the depths of the heart, and it is pleasing precisely wherein it does harm. Seneca
He who is brave is free
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He who is brave is free Seneca
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But is life really worth so much? Let us examine this; it's a different inquiry. We will offer no solace for so desolate a prison house; we will encourage no one to endure the overlordship of butchers. We shall rather show that in every kind of slavery, the road of freedom lies open. I will say to the man to whom it befell to have a king shoot arrows at his dear ones [Prexaspes], and to him whose master makes fathers banquet on their sons' guts [Harpagus]: 'What are you groaning for, fool?.. Everywhere you look you find an end to your sufferings. You see that steep drop-off? It leads down to freedom. You see that ocean, that river, that well? Freedom lies at its bottom. You see that short, shriveled, bare tree? Freedom hangs from it.. You ask, what is the path to freedom? Any vein in your body. Seneca
It's easier to get philosophers to agree than clocks.
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It's easier to get philosophers to agree than clocks. Seneca
A woman is not beautiful when her ankle or arm...
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A woman is not beautiful when her ankle or arm wins compliments, but when her total appearance diverts admiration from the individual parts of her body. Seneca
The final hour when we cease to exist does not...
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The final hour when we cease to exist does not itself bring death; it merely of itself completes the death-process. We reach death at that moment, but we have been a long time on the way. Seneca
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It is quality rather than quantity that matters. Seneca
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…because it is natural to touch more often the parts that hurt. Seneca
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Fidelity purchased with money, money can destroy. Seneca
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It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable. Seneca
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As Lucretius says: 'Thus ever from himself doth each man flee.' But what does he gain if he does not escape from himself? He ever follows himself and weighs upon himself as his own most burdensome companion. And so we ought to understand that what we struggle with is the fault, not of the places, but of ourselves Seneca
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Finally, everybody agrees that no one pursuit can be successfully followed by a man who is preoccupied with many things–eloquence cannot, nor the liberal studies–since the mind, when distracted, takes in nothing very deeply, but rejects everything that is, as it were, crammed into it. There is nothing the busy man is less busied with than living: there is nothing that is harder to learn. Seneca
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There is nothing in the world so much admired as a man who knows how to bear unhappiness with courage."– Seneca Seneca
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And so there is no reason for you to think that any man has lived long because he has grey hairs or wrinkles, he has not lived long — he has existed long. For what if you should think that man had had a long voyage who had been caught by a fierce storm as soon as he left harbour, and, swept hither and thither by a succession of winds that raged from different quarters, had been driven in a circle around the same course? Not much voyaging did he have, but much tossing about. Seneca
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It takes the whole of life to learn how to live, and--what will perhaps make you wonder more--it takes the whole of life to learn how to die. Seneca
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The willing, Destiny guides them. The unwilling, Destiny drags them. Seneca
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Life is divided into three parts: what was, what is and what shall be. Of these three periods, the present is short, the future is doubtful and the past alone is certain. Seneca
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Words need to be sown like seeds. No matter how tiny a seed may be, when in lands in the right sort of ground it unfolds its strength and from being minute expands and grows to a massive size. Seneca
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It takes all of our life to learn how to live, and — something that may surprise you more — it takes just as long to learn how to die. Seneca
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How silly then to imagine that the human mind, which is formed of the same elements as divine beings, objects to movement and change of abode, while the divine nature finds delight and even self-preservation in continual and very rapid change. Seneca
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Love sometimes injures. Friendship always benefits, After friendship is formed you must trust, but before that you must judge. Seneca
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Love sometimes injures. Friendship always benefits Seneca
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Fire tests gold, suffering tests brave men. Seneca
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Sorrowers tend to avoid what they are most fond of and try to give vent to their grief. Seneca
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What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears. Seneca
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You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head, of how much time has already gone by you take no heed. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, though all the while that day which you bestow on some person or thing is perhaps your last. Seneca
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I've come across people who say that there is a sort of inborn restlessness in the human spirit and an urge to change one's abode; for man is endowed with a mind which is changeable and and unsettled: nowhere at rest, it darts about and directs its thoughts to all places known and unknown, a wanderer which cannot endure repose and delights chiefly in novelty. Seneca
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If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person. Seneca
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All this hurrying from place to place won’t bring you any relief, for you’re traveling in the company of your own emotions, followed by your troubles all the way. Seneca
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The trip doesn’t exist that can set you beyond the reach of cravings, fits of temper, or fears … so long as you carry the sources of your troubles about with you, those troubles will continue to harass and plague you wherever you wander on land or on sea. Does it surprise you that running away doesn’t do you any good? The things you’re running away from are with you all the time. Seneca
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So long, in fact, as you remain in ignorance of what to aim at and what to avoid, what is essential and what is superfluous, what is upright or honorable conduct and what is not, it will not be travelling but drifting. All this hurrying from place to place won’t bring you any relief, for you’re travelling in the company of your own emotions, followed by your troubles all the way. Seneca
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Once you have rid yourself of the affliction there, though, every change of scene will become a pleasure. You may be banished to the ends of the earth, and yet in whatever outlandish corner of the world you may find yourself stationed, you will find that place, whatever it may be like, a hospitable home. Where you arrive does not matter so much as what sort of person you are when you arrive there. Seneca
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The man who spends his time choosing one resort after another in a hunt for peace and quiet will in every place he visits find something to prevent him from relaxing. Seneca
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Wealth is the slave of a wise man. The master of a fool Seneca
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It is the sign of a weak mind to be unable to bear wealth. Seneca
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Oh, what darkness does great prosperity cast over our minds! Seneca
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If you look on wealth as a thing to be valued your imaginary poverty will cause you torment. Seneca
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The shortest route to wealth is the contempt of wealth. Seneca
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For many men, the acquisition of wealth does not end their troubles, it only changes them Seneca
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If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable. Seneca
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The greatest loss of time is delay and expectation, which depend upon the future. We let go the present, which we have in our power, and look forward to that which depends upon chance, and so relinquish a certainty for an uncertainty. Seneca
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There are more things, Lucilius, likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality. Seneca
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Sometimes even to live is an act of courage. Seneca
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However much you possess there's someone else who has more, and you'll be fancying yourself to be short of things you need to exact extent to which you lag behind him. Seneca
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Nature does not reveal her mysteries once and for all. Seneca
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For Fate/ The willing leads, the unwilling drags along. Seneca
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I know that these mental disturbances of mine are not dangerous and give no promise of a storm; to express what I complain of in apt metaphor, I am distressed, not by a tempest, but by sea-sickness. Seneca
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[Philosophers] have come to envy the philologist and the mathematician, and they have taken over all the inessential elements in those studies–with the result that they know more about devoting care and attention to their speech than about devoting such attention to their lives. Seneca
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Our universe is a sorry little affair unless it has in it something for every age to investigate. Seneca
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All cruelty springs from weakness. Seneca
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Count your years and you'll be ashamed to be wanting and working for exactly the same things as you wanted when you were a boy. Of this one thing make sure against your dying day - that your faults die before you do. Have done with those unsettled pleasures, which cost one dear - they do one harm after they're past and gone, not merely when they're in prospect. Even when they're over, pleasures of a depraved nature are apt to carry feelings of dissatisfaction, in the same way as a criminal's anxiety doesn't end with the commission of the crime, even if it's undetected at the time. Such pleasures are insubstantial and unreliable; even if they don't do one any harm, they're fleeting in character. Look around for some enduring good instead. And nothing answers this description except what the spirit discovers for itself within itself. A good character is the only guarantee of everlasting, carefree happiness. Even if some obstacle to this comes on the scene, its appearance is only to be compared to that of clouds which drift in front of the sun without ever defeating its light. Seneca
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The road is long if one proceeds by way of precepts but short and effectual if by way of personal example. Seneca
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No one could endure lasting adversity if it continued to have the same force as when it first hit us. We are all tied to Fortune, some by a loose and golden chain, and others by a tight one of baser metal: but what does it matter? We are all held in the same captivity, and those who have bound others are themselves in bonds - unless you think perhaps that the left-hand chain is lighter. One man is bound by high office, another by wealth; good birth weighs down some, and a humble origin others; some bow under the rule of other men and some under their own; some are restricted to one place by exile, others by priesthoods: all life is a servitude. So you have to get used to your circumstances, complain about them as little as possible, and grasp whatever advantage they have to offer: no condition is so bitter that a stable mind cannot find some consolation in it. . Seneca
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Preserve a sense of proportion in your attitude to everything that pleases you, and make the most of them while they are at their best. Seneca
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So let those people go on weeping and wailing whose self-indulgent minds have been weakened by long prosperity, let them collapse at the threat of the most trivial injuries; but let those who have spent all their years suffering disasters endure the worst afflictions with a brave and resolute staunchness. Everlasting misfortune does have one blessing, that it ends up by toughening those whom it constantly afflicts. Seneca
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The world you see, nature's greatest and most glorious creation, and the human mind which gazes and wonders at it, and is the most splendid part of it, these are our own everlasting possessions and will remain with us as long as we ourselves remain. So, eager and upright, let us hasten with bold steps wherever circumstances take us, and let us journey through any countries whatever: there can be no place of exile within the world since nothing within the world is alien to men. Seneca
100
I see that you have come to the last stage of human life; you are close upon your hundreth year, or even beyond: come now, hold an audit of your life. Reckon how much of your time has been taken up by a money-lender, how much by a mistress, a patron, a client, quarreling with your wife, punishing your slaves, dashing about the city on your social obligations. Consider also the diseases which we have brought on ourselves, and the time too which has been unused. You will find that you have fewer years than you reckon. Call to mind when you ever had a fixed purpose; how few days have passed as you had planned; when you were ever at your own disposal; when your face wore its natural expression; when your mind was undisturbed; what work you have achieved in such a long life; how many have plundered your life when you were unaware of your losses; how much you have lost through groundless sorrow, foolish joy, greedy desire, the seductions of society; how little of your own was left to you. You will realize that you are dying prematurely. Seneca