Lucius Annaeus Seneca, (4 B.C.-A.D. 65) Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, "Seneca the Younger" Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Comment on this quote Share via Email Print this Page [91-117] of 117 Lucius Annaeus Seneca quotesLucius Annaeus Seneca QuotesLucius Annaeus Seneca Previous 30 quotes The best ideas are common property.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca The old Romans had a custom which survived even into my lifetime. They would add to the opening words of a letter: "If you are well, it is well; I also am well." Persons like ourselves would do well to say. "If you are studying philosophy, it is well." For this is just what "being well" means. Without philosophy the mind is sickly.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca The shortest way to wealth is through the contempt of wealth.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca The wise man will live as long as he ought, not as long as he can.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca There is no great genius without some touch of madness.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca Things ’twas hard to bear ’tis pleasant to recall.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca This is the worst trait of minds rendered arrogant by prosperity, they hate those whom they have injured.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your betters.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca Unjust rule never abides continually.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca Valor withers without adversity.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca Virtue alone affords everlasting and peace-giving joy; even if some obstacle arise, it is but like an intervening cloud, which floats beneath the sun but never prevails against it.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca We are all chained to fortune: the chain of one is made of gold, and wide, while that of another is short and rusty. But what difference does it make? The same prison surrounds all of us, and even those who have bound others are bound themselves; unless perchance you think that a chain on the left side is lighter. Honors bind one man, wealth another; nobility oppresses some, humility others; some are held in subjection by an external power, while others obey the tyrant within; banishments keep some in one place, the priesthood others. All life is slavery. Therefore each one must accustom himself to his own condition and complain about it as little as possible, and lay hold of whatever good is to be found near him. Nothing is so bitter that a calm mind cannot find comfort in it. Small tablets, because of the writer's skill, have often served for many purposes, and a clever arrangement has often made a very narrow piece of land habitable. Apply reason to difficulties; harsh circumstances can be softened, narrow limits can be widened, and burdensome things can be made to press less severely on those who bear them cleverly.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca We are mad, not only individually, but nationally. We check manslaughter and isolated murders; but what of war and the much-vaunted crime of slaughtering whole peoples? There are no limits to our greed, none to our cruelty. And as long as such crimes are committed by stealth and by individuals, they are less harmful and less portentous; but cruelties are practised in accordance with acts of senate and popular assembly, and the public is bidden to do that which is forbidden to the individual. Deeds that would be punished by loss of life when committed in secret, are praised by us because uniformed generals have carried them out. Man, naturally the gentlest class of being, is not ashamed to revel in the blood of others, to wage war, and to entrust the waging of war to his sons, when even dumb beasts and wild beasts keep the peace with one another. Against this overmastering and widespread madness philosophy has become a matter of greater effort, and has taken on strength in proportion to the strength which is gained by the opposition forces.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca We often want one thing and pray for another, not telling the truth even to the gods.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca What fools these mortals be!~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca What is wisdom? Always desiring the same things, and always refusing the same things.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca What man can you show me who places any value on his time, who reckons the worth of each day, who understands that he is dying daily?~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca What then? Shall I not follow in the footsteps of my predecessors? I shall indeed use the old road, but if I find one that makes a shorter cut and is smoother to travel, I shall open the new road. Men who have made these discoveries before us are not our masters, but our guides. Truth lies open for all; it has not yet been monopolized. And there is plenty of it left even for posterity to discover.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca What," say you, "are you giving me advice? Indeed, have you already advised yourself, already corrected your own faults? Is this the reason why you have leisure to reform other men?" No, I am not so shameless as to undertake to cure my fellow-men when I am ill myself. I am, however, discussing with you troubles which concern us both, and sharing the remedy with you, just as if we were lying ill in the same hospital.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca Whether we believe the Greek poet, "it is sometimes even pleasant to be mad", or Plato, "he who is master of himself has knocked in vain at the doors of poetry"; or Aristotle, "no great genius was without a mixture of insanity"; the mind cannot express anything lofty and above the ordinary unless inspired.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca Who can be forced has not learned how to die.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca Who is everywhere is nowhere. When a person spends all his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many acquaintances, but no friends.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca Why does God afflict the best of men with ill-health, or sorrow, or other troubles? Because in the army the most hazardous services are assigned to the bravest soldiers: a general sends his choicest troops to attack the enemy in a midnight ambuscade, to reconnoitre his line of march, or to drive the hostile garrisons from their strong places. No one of these men says as he begins his march, "The general has dealt hardly with me," but "He has judged well of me." ~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can. Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself can improve. The process is mutual; for men learn while they teach.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca You are doing an excellent thing, one which will be wholesome for you, if, as you write me, you are persisting in your effort to attain sound understanding; it is foolish to pray for this when you can acquire it from yourself. We do not need to uplift our hands towards heaven, or to beg the keeper of a temple to let us approach his idol's ear, as if in this way our prayers were more likely to be heard. A god is near you, with you, and in you. This is what I mean, Lucilius: there sits a holy spirit within us, one who marks our good and bad deeds, and is our a guardian.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca You can tell the character of every man when you see how he gives and receives praise.~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca Previous 30 quotes Share on Facebook Tweet Email Print