Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Ancient Rome
-4 // 65
Philosopher / Statesman
-4 // 65
Philosopher / Statesman
Quotes
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We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers
We should every night call ourselves to an account: what infirmity have I mastered to-day? what passions opposed? what temptation resisted? what virtue acquired? Our vices will abate of themselves if they be brought every day to the shrift
We often want one thing and pray for another, not telling the truth even to the gods
We can be thankful to a friend for a few acres, or a little money; and yet for the freedom and command of the whole earth, and for the great benefits of our being, our life, health, and reason, we look upon ourselves as under no obligation
We become wiser by adversity; prosperity destroys our appreciation of the right
We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality
True praise comes often even to the lowly; false praise only to the strong
True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future
To be able to endure odium is the first art to be learned by those who aspire to power
Time discovers truth
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays
Essays