Feeling
Fear
Stoic passages for fear, each with a modern reading you can use today.
- Cleanthes In every difficulty keep these words ready: Lead me, God and Fate, toward the end appointed for me. I will follow;…
- Diogenes Laertius Zeno also held that nothing obstructs a secure grasp of knowledge more than deceiving oneself.
- Epictetus A philosopher's school is a clinic, not a pleasure hall. We should leave it challenged, because we arrive unwell.
- Epictetus A public platform and a cell are both places, one elevated and one lowly; yet in either your power of choice can…
- Epictetus As a mark is not set up for the sake of missing the aim, so neither does the nature of evil exist in the world.
- Epictetus Cast off conceit: no one can learn what they suppose they already know.
- Epictetus Difficulties reveal character. When a trial meets you, think of it as a younger training partner sent by a coach.…
- Epictetus Do not cling so tightly to old companions that they pull you downward. Choose: remain as you were and be liked, or…
- Epictetus Don't allow such considerations as these distress you. "I will live in dishonor, and be nobody anywhere." For, if…
- Epictetus Endure a demanding winter of training; do not rush into work for which you have made no preparation.
- Epictetus Events make us fearful when we judge that others control them. A stronghold falls not chiefly to fire or steel, but to…
- Epictetus For remember that, if you adhere to the same point, those very persons who at first ridiculed will afterwards admire…
- Epictetus Free is the one who lives without compulsion or obstruction in their choices, whose aims are sound and whose aversions…
- Epictetus If you cherish anything outside your reasoned choice, you endanger your freedom of choice.
- Epictetus If you kiss your child, or your wife, say that you only kiss things which are human, and thus you will not be…
- Epictetus If you wish your children, and your wife, and your friends to live for ever, you are stupid; for you wish to be in…
- Epictetus Keep death, exile, and every feared thing before you daily; then you will avoid base thoughts and excessive desire.
- Epictetus Let death and exile, and all other things which appear terrible be daily before your eyes, but chiefly death, and you…
- Epictetus Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning things. Death, for…
- Epictetus Never say of anything, "I have lost it"; but, "I have returned it." Is your child dead? It is returned. Is your wife…
- Epictetus Philosophers tell us not to stop at learning: add practice and training, or time will make us forget our lessons and…
- Epictetus Philosophy is preparation for whatever may come. One who has prepared to endure can say to each trial: this is what my…
- Epictetus Remember that following desire promises the attainment of that of which you are desirous; and aversion promises the…
- Epictetus Remember that you are an actor in a drama, of such a kind as the author pleases to make it. If short, of a short one;…
- Epictetus Show me someone cheerful in illness, danger, death, exile, or disgrace. If not a complete Stoic, then show me one who…
- Epictetus Sickness is a hindrance to the body, but not to your ability to choose, unless that is your choice. Lameness is a…
- Epictetus The free person has what they will under every condition; whoever can be forced, restrained, or driven against their…
- Epictetus The good person is unconquerable because they do not enter contests where they are weak. Others may take possessions,…
- Epictetus The greatest evil is not death but fearing it. Train against that fear in thought, practice, and study; this is the…
- Epictetus The true athlete trains against misleading impressions. Stand firm under pressure; do not let appearances carry you…
- Epictetus Two things must be removed: proud certainty, which thinks nothing more is needed, and despair, which thinks happiness…
- Epictetus We do not give up our efforts merely because perfect mastery is beyond us.
- Epictetus What can be stopped, seized, or compelled is not truly one’s own; what cannot be hindered belongs to us.
- Epictetus What comes from these teachings? The finest reward of genuine learning: calm, courage, and liberty. Do not accept the…
- Epictetus What makes a person unimpeded and self-directed? Not wealth, office, public rank, or kingship. It is something else:…
- Epictetus Whatever moral rules you have deliberately proposed to yourself. abide by them as they were laws, and as if you would…
- Epictetus When a painful impression comes, say: you are only an impression, not necessarily what you seem. Test whether it…
- Epictetus When a raven happens to croak unluckily, don't allow the appearance hurry you away with it, but immediately make the…
- Epictetus When caution is directed toward one's own judgments and actions, one also gains the power to avoid harm. But when…
- Epictetus When loss stings, remember that what you love is fragile and lent, not a possession. Hold child, sibling, and friend…
- Epictetus When you do anything from a clear judgment that it ought to be done, never shun the being seen to do it, even though…
- Epictetus You may restrain my body, but not even the highest god can destroy my power to choose.
- Marcus Aurelius A lamp keeps giving light until its oil is gone. Why should your truthfulness, justice, and self-command not shine…
- Marcus Aurelius Add nothing beyond the first report. Someone speaks badly of you; that is all reported, not that you are harmed. A…
- Marcus Aurelius After one consideration, man is nearest unto us; as we are bound to do them good, and to bear with them. But as he may…
- Marcus Aurelius Again, he that feareth pains and crosses in this world, feareth some of those things which some time or other must…
- Marcus Aurelius Alexander of Macedon, and he that dressed his mules, when once dead both came to one. For either they were both…
- Marcus Aurelius All parts of the world, (all things I mean that are contained within the whole world), must of necessity at some time…
- Marcus Aurelius All substances come soon to their change, and either they shall be resolved by way of exhalation (if so be that all…
- Marcus Aurelius All that I consist of, is either form or matter. No corruption can reduce either of these unto nothing: for neither…
- Marcus Aurelius All things that are in the world, are always in the estate of alteration. Thou also art in a perpetual change, yea and…
- Marcus Aurelius All things that thou seest, will soon be perished, and they that see their corruptions, will soon vanish away…
- Marcus Aurelius As a part hitherto thou hast had a particular subsistence: and now shalt thou vanish away into the common substance of…
- Marcus Aurelius As for that which is truly good, what can it stand in need of more than either justice or truth; or more than either…
- Marcus Aurelius As generation is, so also death, a secret of nature's wisdom: a mixture of elements, resolved into the same elements…
- Marcus Aurelius As ready therefore must a sound understanding be for whatsoever shall happen. But he that saith, O that my children…
- Marcus Aurelius As virtue and wickedness consist not in passion, but in action; so neither doth the true good or evil of a reasonable…
- Marcus Aurelius Be it all one unto thee, whether half frozen or well warm; whether only slumbering, or after a full sleep; whether…
- Marcus Aurelius Be not therefore ashamed, whensoever thou must use the help of others. For whatsoever it be that lieth upon thee to…
- Marcus Aurelius But as for those which by the vulgar are esteemed good, if he shall hear them mentioned as good, he doth hearken for…
- Marcus Aurelius But whatsoever it is that thou art about, remember to call upon the Gods. And as for the time how long thou shalt live…
- Marcus Aurelius Collect yourself. As one waking from a troubling dream sees it for what it was, wake up and see that the things…
- Marcus Aurelius Conceit no such things, as he that wrongeth thee conceiveth, or would have thee to conceive, but look into the matter…
- Marcus Aurelius Consider now the death of a whole kindred and family, as of that of the Pompeys, as that also that useth to be written…
- Marcus Aurelius Consider them through all actions and occupations, of their lives: as when they eat, and when they sleep: when they…
- Marcus Aurelius Continue then to take notice of it, as thou hast begun, and whatsoever thou dost, do it not without this proviso, that…
- Marcus Aurelius Cross this short span of life in accord with nature, then arrive at your final rest with grace, as a ripe olive falls,…
- Marcus Aurelius Death is a cessation from the impression of the senses, the tyranny of the passions, the errors of the mind, and the…
- Marcus Aurelius Do not ever conceive anything impossible to man, which by thee cannot, or not without much difficulty be effected; but…
- Marcus Aurelius Do not live as if you had endless years ahead. Death stands near; while you are able, become good.
- Marcus Aurelius Dost thou grieve that thou dost weigh but so many pounds, and not three hundred rather? Just as much reason hast thou…
- Marcus Aurelius Either this world is a κόσμος, or comely piece, because all disposed and governed by certain order: or if it be a…
- Marcus Aurelius Either thou dost Continue in this kind of life and that is it, which so long thou hast been used unto and therefore…
- Marcus Aurelius Even as if any of the gods should tell thee, Thou shalt certainly die to-morrow, or next day, thou wouldst not, except…
- Marcus Aurelius For the motion of the mind to any injustice, or incontinency, or to sorrow, or to fear, is nothing else but a…
- Marcus Aurelius Free from all compulsion in all cheerfulness and alacrity thou mayst run out thy time, though men should exclaim…
- Marcus Aurelius He is a true fugitive, that flies from reason, by which men are sociable. He blind, who cannot see with the eyes of…
- Marcus Aurelius He that feareth death, either feareth that he shall have no sense at all, or that his senses will not be the same.…
- Marcus Aurelius How many of them who came into the world at the same time when I did, are already gone out of it?
- Marcus Aurelius If anybody shall reprove me, and shall make it apparent unto me, that in any either opinion or action of mine I do…
- Marcus Aurelius If it be not fitting, do it not. If it be not true, speak it not. Ever maintain thine own purpose and resolution free…
- Marcus Aurelius If pain be an evil, either it is in regard of the body; (and that cannot be, because the body of itself is altogether…
- Marcus Aurelius If so be that the souls remain after death (say they that will not believe it); how is the air from all eternity able…
- Marcus Aurelius If someone shows me that my thought or act is mistaken, I will gladly change, for I seek truth; deceit and ignorance…
- Marcus Aurelius If the first, why should I desire to continue any longer in this fortuit confusion and commixtion? or why should I…
- Marcus Aurelius If they can do nothing, why doest thou pray? If they can, why wouldst not thou rather pray, that they will grant unto…
- Marcus Aurelius If you find anything in human life better than justice, truth, self-command, and courage—better than a mind sufficient…
- Marcus Aurelius In the ancient mystical letters of the Ephesians, there was an item, that a man should always have in his mind some…
- Marcus Aurelius Injustice often appears not only in what you do, but in what you fail to do.
- Marcus Aurelius Is any man so foolish as to fear change, to which all things that once were not owe their being? And what is it, that…
- Marcus Aurelius Is it so with thee, that hitherto thou hast neither by word or deed wronged any of them? Remember withal through how…
- Marcus Aurelius It is shameful when the spirit gives up before the body does.
- Marcus Aurelius It is that, that all men have ever been subject unto. That thou camest therefore I am not angry with thee, only…
- Marcus Aurelius It is the part of a man endowed with a good understanding faculty, to consider what they themselves are in very deed,…
- Marcus Aurelius It will suffice to remember, that all things in general are by certain order and appointment: or if it be but few. And…
- Marcus Aurelius Keep thyself therefore, truly simple, good, sincere, grave, free from all ostentation, a lover of that which is just,…
- Marcus Aurelius Let death surprise me when it will, and where it will, I may be εὔμοιρος, or a happy man, nevertheless. For he is a…
- Marcus Aurelius Let every deed, word, and intention be worthy of someone near life’s end.
- Marcus Aurelius Let him be deceived whosoever he be that shall have any such opinion of thee. For all this doth depend of thee. For…
- Marcus Aurelius Let it be thy perpetual meditation, how many physicians who once looked so grim, and so theatrically shrunk their…
- Marcus Aurelius Let not things future trouble thee. For if necessity so require that they come to pass, thou shalt (whensoever that…
- Marcus Aurelius Let that of Heraclitus never be out of thy mind, that the death of earth, is water, and the death of water, is air;…
- Marcus Aurelius Let the several deaths of men of all sorts, and of all sorts of professions, and of all sort of nations, be a…
- Marcus Aurelius Let them behold and see a man, that is a man indeed, living according to the true nature of man. If they cannot bear…
- Marcus Aurelius Let thy course ever be the most compendious way. The most compendious, is that which is according to nature: that is,…
- Marcus Aurelius Let us do our best endeavours to persuade them; but however, if reason and justice lead thee to it, do it, though they…
- Marcus Aurelius Living resembles wrestling more than dancing, for it demands readiness to meet and withstand sudden, unforeseen attacks.
- Marcus Aurelius Loss and corruption, is in very deed nothing else but change and alteration; and that is it, which the nature of the…
- Marcus Aurelius 'My heart smiled within me.' 'They will accuse even virtue herself; with heinous and opprobrious words.'
- Marcus Aurelius Nature gives rational beings the power to turn obstacles and opposition toward their purpose; each person can make a…
- Marcus Aurelius Nature hath its end as well in the end and final consummation of anything that is, as in the begin-nine and…
- Marcus Aurelius Never esteem of anything as profitable, which shall ever constrain thee either to break thy faith, or to lose thy…
- Marcus Aurelius No man can hinder thee to live as thy nature doth require. Nothing can happen unto thee, but what the common good of…
- Marcus Aurelius Not as though thou hadst thousands of years to live. Death hangs over thee: whilst yet thou livest, whilst thou…
- Marcus Aurelius Nothing can block the purposes of your mind. Fire, weapons, rulers, insults, and every other threat leave it untouched.
- Marcus Aurelius Nothing can happen unto thee, which is not incidental unto thee, as thou art a man. As nothing can happen either to an…
- Marcus Aurelius O man! as a citizen thou hast lived, and conversed in this great city the world. Whether just for so many years, or…
- Marcus Aurelius Of others, even that which was fabulous, is now long since forgotten. This thereafter thou must remember, that…
- Marcus Aurelius Out of Antisthenes. 'It is a princely thing to do well, and to be ill-spoken of. It is a shameful thing that the face…
- Marcus Aurelius Out of Plato. 'He then whose mind is endowed with true magnanimity, who hath accustomed himself to the contemplation…
- Marcus Aurelius People may oppose your rational path but cannot prevent sound action. Do not let them drive away your goodwill; keep…
- Marcus Aurelius Pray in another way: not to possess what you crave, but to be free of the craving; not for another's ruin, but for…
- Marcus Aurelius Receive temporal blessings without ostentation, when they are sent and thou shalt be able to part with them with all…
- Marcus Aurelius Remember how long thou hast already put off these things, and how often a certain day and hour as it were, having been…
- Marcus Aurelius Remember that thy mind is of that nature as that it becometh altogether unconquerable, when once recollected in…
- Marcus Aurelius Remember, that to change thy mind upon occasion, and to follow him that is able to rectify thee, is equally ingenuous,…
- Marcus Aurelius Sift their minds and understandings, and behold what men they be, whom thou dost stand in fear of what they shall…
- Marcus Aurelius Socrates was wont to call the common conceits and opinions of men, the common bugbears of the world: the proper terror…
- Marcus Aurelius Some things hasten to be, and others to be no more. And even whatsoever now is, some part thereof hath already…
- Marcus Aurelius Spectacle, strife, fright, dullness, and servility destroy our principles whenever the mind receives them without…
- Marcus Aurelius Stir up thy mind, and recall thy wits again from thy natural dreams, and visions, and when thou art perfectly awoken,…
- Marcus Aurelius Tell yourself: you are no longer to be ruled like a slave by every urge. Do not be jerked about by each impulse; stop…
- Marcus Aurelius That which the nature of the universe doth busy herself about, is; that which is here, to transfer it thither, to…
- Marcus Aurelius The Chaldeans and Astrologians having foretold the deaths of divers, were afterwards themselves surprised by the…
- Marcus Aurelius The gods will do thee no hurt, thou mayest be sure. But if it be so that there be no gods, or that they take no care…
- Marcus Aurelius The life of such an one, death can never surprise as imperfect; as of an actor, that should die before he had ended,…
- Marcus Aurelius The matter itself, of which the universe doth consist, is of itself very tractable and pliable. That rational essence…
- Marcus Aurelius The nature of the universe, of the common substance of all things as it were of so much wax hath now perchance formed…
- Marcus Aurelius The time of a man's life is as a point; the substance of it ever flowing, the sense obscure; and the whole composition…
- Marcus Aurelius There is, who without so much as a coat; and there is, who without so much as a book, doth put philosophy in practice.…
- Marcus Aurelius Think thyself fit and worthy to speak, or to do anything that is according to nature, and let not the reproach, or…
- Marcus Aurelius Thou art now ready to die, and yet hast thou not attained to that perfect simplicity: thou art yet subject to many…
- Marcus Aurelius Thou must be like a promontory of the sea, against which though the waves beat continually, yet it both itself stands,…
- Marcus Aurelius Thou must comfort thyself in the expectation of thy natural dissolution, and in the meantime not grieve at the delay;…
- Marcus Aurelius Thou must not in matter of death carry thyself scornfully, but as one that is well pleased with it, as being one of…
- Marcus Aurelius To righteousness, in speaking the truth freely, and without ambiguity; and in doing all things justly and discreetly.…
- Marcus Aurelius To the stone that is cast up, when it comes down it is no hurt unto it; as neither benefit, when it doth ascend.
- Marcus Aurelius Turn it over and inspect it: see what it becomes with age, sickness, or disgrace. Brief are praise and fame, memory…
- Marcus Aurelius Under, above, and about, are the motions of the elements; but the motion of virtue, is none of those motions, but is…
- Marcus Aurelius Use thyself even unto those things that thou doest at first despair of. For the left hand we see, which for the most…
- Marcus Aurelius Use thyself therefore often to meditate upon this, that the nature of the universe delights in nothing more, than in…
- Marcus Aurelius What art and profession soever thou hast learned, endeavour to affect it, and comfort thyself in it; and pass the…
- Marcus Aurelius What art thou, that better and divine part excepted, but as Epictetus said well, a wretched soul, appointed to carry a…
- Marcus Aurelius What is it then that should be dear unto us? to hear a clattering noise? if not that, then neither to be applauded by…
- Marcus Aurelius What? To enjoy the operations of a sensitive soul; or of the appetitive faculty? or wouldst thou grow, and then…
- Marcus Aurelius Whatsoever dieth and falleth, however and wheresoever it die and fall, it cannot fall out of the world, here it have…
- Marcus Aurelius Whatsoever doth happen unto thee, thou art naturally by thy natural constitution either able, or not able to bear. If…
- Marcus Aurelius Whatsoever it is that thou goest about, consider of it by thyself, and ask thyself, What? because I shall do this no…
- Marcus Aurelius When something seems hard for you, do not judge it impossible. What is possible and fitting for another person is…
- Marcus Aurelius Wherever one is able to live, one can live well; even in the business of the courts, a good life is possible.
- Marcus Aurelius Whether of those things that happened unto him by God's appointment, he neither did wonder at any when it did happen,…
- Marcus Aurelius 'With meats and drinks and divers charms, they seek to divert the channel, that they might not die. Yet must we needs…
- Marcus Aurelius Within a while the earth shall cover us all, and then she herself shall have her change. And then the course will be,…
- Marcus Aurelius Within ten days, if so happen, thou shalt be esteemed a god of them, who now if thou shalt return to the dogmata and…
- Marcus Aurelius You consist of body, breath, and mind. The first two are entrusted to your care; only the mind is truly your own.
- Marcus Aurelius You do not resent having a given weight rather than twice it; why resent receiving a given span of life rather than…
- Marcus Aurelius Your long wandering proves that the art of living was not found in logic, wealth, reputation, or pleasure. It lies in…
- Musonius Rufus A worthy ruler is necessarily philosophical, and the true philosopher has a kingly character from the beginning.
- Musonius Rufus How could banishment prevent a person from cultivating themselves or attaining virtue, when exile has never barred…
- Seneca A king may be killed by a slave, or a serpent, or an arrow: but no one can be saved except by some one who is greater…
- Seneca A tyrant differs from a king in deeds, not in title: for the elder Dionysius deserves to be preferred before many…
- Seneca A very small amount of it, therefore, is abundantly sufficient, and so, when his last day arrives, the wise man will…
- Seneca Accustom yourself to meals without display, fewer attendants, clothing for use, and a humbler home.
- Seneca Anger is of use to lions, timidity to stags, boldness 92to hawks, flight to doves. What if I declare that it is not…
- Seneca Anger makes many men cripples, or invalids, even when it meets with an unresisting victim: and besides this, no…
- Seneca “Anger,” says Aristotle, “is necessary, nor can any fight be won without it, unless it fills the mind, and kindles up…
- Seneca As Cicero observed, we dislike fighters who cling to life by any means and admire those who meet danger without…
- Seneca Atreus: Who would refuse fortune's overflowing gifts? Thyestes: One who knows how swiftly they can be withdrawn.
- Seneca Be assured that the same thing would be the case if no one’s offence is pardoned: it will quickly be discovered how…
- Seneca Believe me: true joy is a weighty matter. Can anyone face death, poverty, restrained pleasure, and pain with ease…
- Seneca “But how is it that this man studies philosophy and nevertheless lives the life of a rich man? Why does he say that…
- Seneca “But the way by which we are asked to climb is steep and uneven.” What then? Can heights be reached by a level path?…
- Seneca Call this security from loss poverty, want, necessity, or any contemptuous name you please: I shall consider such a…
- Seneca Clemency, then, makes princes safer as well as more respected, and is a glory to empires besides being their most…
- Seneca Death is a release from and an end of all pains: beyond it our sufferings cannot extend: it restores us to the…
- Seneca Demochares, who was surnamed Parrhesiastes on account of his unbridled and impudent tongue, came on an embassy to him…
- Seneca Disaster weighs more when it surprises us; the unexpected always deepens pain. Let nothing be wholly unforeseen:…
- Seneca Do not, then, make any mistake: riches belong to the class of desirable things. “Why then,” say you, “do you laugh at…
- Seneca Even quiet times can give the anxious mind new material for fear. Once the mind has learned to panic blindly, safety…
- Seneca Fear itself harms many people; many meet the fate they dread because they lived in dread of it.
- Seneca Finally, the other passions seize upon individuals; anger is the only one which sometimes possesses a whole state. No…
- Seneca Fire will burn all people equally, male and female, of every rank and every age: steel will exhibit its cutting power…
- Seneca For this reason we say that nothing comes upon the wise contrary to expectation.
- Seneca Fortune overwhelms no one who has not first trusted her too much. The person who remains modest in prosperity is not…
- Seneca Fortune strikes hardest when it catches us unprepared; the person who expects change bears it more easily.
- Seneca Fortune's reach is shorter than we imagine; it besieges only those who cling to it. Let us withdraw from her as far as…
- Seneca Give up hope and you will give up fear; both arise because we send our thoughts too far beyond the present.
- Seneca Good fortune can reach even the humble and untalented. Greatness belongs to the one who overcomes the shocks and…
- Seneca Greed has no point of enough, while nature is satisfied with little. Exile is therefore no calamity: no land is so…
- Seneca He best knows the time at which he ought to show favour to each man: I will use my utmost efforts to prevent his…
- Seneca He who says that the wise man can bear this and cannot bear that, and restrains his magnanimity within certain limits,…
- Seneca He who strives with a man makes himself that man’s rival, and must be on equal terms with him before he can overcome…
- Seneca He who, trusting to 33reason, passes through human affairs with godlike mind, has no quarter from which he can receive…
- Seneca However, to pass by all other instances, not to speak of the other deaths which have occurred in my own house. Fortune…
- Seneca I call you unfortunate because you have met no adversity. You have gone through life without a rival, so neither you…
- Seneca I do not wish for pain, war, or illness; but if they come, I wish to meet them bravely and honorably. Seek not…
- Seneca I was wrecked before I sailed; the voyage taught me how much is unnecessary and how readily we can release it when…
- Seneca If trained to do so, they are just as able to endure sorrow or labour. Ye good gods, do I say this in that very city…
- Seneca If you choose to have children, they may be handsome, or they may be deformed; perhaps they will be born dumb. One of…
- Seneca In this very same instance I will give you an example of a good prince, which you may compare with a good father.
- Seneca It is too late to school the mind to endurance of peril after peril has come. “I did not think this would happen,” and…
- Seneca It is your duty to imitate their constancy in enduring and triumphing over suffering, as far as it is permitted to a…
- Seneca It ruins the soul to fear the future and suffer before suffering arrives. Longing to keep things forever steals the…
- Seneca King Cambyses was excessively addicted to wine. Praexaspes was the only one of his closest friends who advised him to…
- Seneca Let them no longer, then, join incongruous matters together, or connect pleasure with 218virtue, a mistake whereby…
- Seneca Let us accomplish something courageous ourselves and take our place among those worthy of imitation.
- Seneca Let us praise one who deserves such constant praises, and say, “The braver you are the happier you are!
- Seneca Let us take examples for great kingdoms from smaller ones. There are many forms of royalty: a prince reigns over his…
- Seneca Life has no sound direction, and misery has no end, when we allow fear to rule.
- Seneca Men deserve praise for engaging in profitable studies, even though they stop short of producing any results. Why need…
- Seneca Men therefore love their own safety, when they draw up vast legions in battle on behalf of one man, when they rush to…
- Seneca Morning can find someone exalted and evening find them low. Do not rely too much on success or despair of hardship;…
- Seneca No vice begins without an excuse, and at first it is modest and easy to restrain. Left alone, it spreads. Every…
- Seneca Nothing can be imagined which is more becoming to a sovereign than clemency, by whatever title and right he may be set…
- Seneca Of all these propositions that which I have stated first appears the most difficult to prove. I mean, that the things…
- Seneca Philosophy is no performance for display. It deals in deeds, orders the soul and life, directs action, and guides us…
- Seneca Plato, Zeno, Chrysippus, and many other Stoics spoke well. People make such words their own by doing what they have…
- Seneca Pray, Alexander, what is the difference between your throwing Lysimachus into a lion’s den and tearing his flesh with…
- Seneca So, too, anger is in itself hideous and by no means to be feared; yet it is feared by many, just as a hideous mask is…
- Seneca Tantalus: What is the greatest power? Thyestes: To need nothing from it.
- Seneca Test your spirit by sometimes accepting scant food and plain clothing, then ask whether this is the evil you feared.…
- Seneca The cruelty even of private men has sometimes been revenged by their slaves in spite of the certainty that they will…
- Seneca The former belongs to an over-weak mind, the latter to an over-hard one. Let the wise man be moderate, and when things…
- Seneca The good person does what is honorable despite labor, injury, or danger, and refuses what is shameful despite profit,…
- Seneca The greatest teachers divide philosophy into moral, natural, and rational study. Moral study orders the soul; natural…
- Seneca The hardness of flint is known to none so well as to those who strike it. I offer myself to all attacks, like some…
- Seneca The philosopher may own ample wealth, but will not own wealth that which has been torn from another, or which is…
- Seneca The reasoning soul is stronger than every turn of fortune. From within itself it directs its life and makes it happy…
- Seneca The same girl, who would have shrunk from the remedy if he had applied it openly, bore the pain because she did not…
- Seneca The seven wonders of the world, and any even greater wonders which the ambition of later ages has constructed, will be…
- Seneca The wise person loses nothing, for all that is truly theirs is stored in themselves. Their goods rest in virtue,…
- Seneca The wretched man did not lose his readiness of speech; his face did not change. “Every kind of dinner,” said he, “is…
- Seneca The wrongs of the powerful must not only be borne, but borne with a cheerful countenance: they will repeat the wrong…
- Seneca This is perhaps the very worst quality of cruelty: a man must go on exercising it, and it is impossible for him to…
- Seneca Virtue is the sole good, and no secure good exists apart from it. Virtue belongs to our rational part: firm, truthful…
- Seneca Whatever he meant, it was a magnanimous answer. Some one may say, “After this Gaius might have let him live.” Kanus…
- Seneca When as they proceeded neither roots nor herbs were to be found in the sand, and they found a wilderness destitute…
- Seneca When Fortune has unjustly divided the common stock, and has given over one man to another, though they were born with…
- Seneca When hurrying to besiege Babylon, since in making war it is above all things important to seize one’s opportunity, he…
- Seneca When men employ anger as the most powerful of agents, consider it to be a proof of power, and reckon a speedy revenge…
- Seneca When sponges were not forthcoming, he ordered the wretched men’s clothes to be torn up, and the rags stuffed into…
- Seneca Why be indignant? Why protest? This is the task for which we are made.
- Seneca Will you follow your predecessors? Certainly—but if I discover a path shorter and smoother, I will make use of it.…
- Seneca Work through your troubles: difficult times can be eased, narrow passages opened, and heavy burdens lightened by…
- Seneca You accustom yourself to them and cling to them as if somebody had promised that they should be yours for ever, but a…
- Seneca You are indignant at being answered back by your slave, your freedman, your wife, or your client: and then you…
- Seneca You are mistaken, therefore, when you ask me what it is on account of which I seek after virtue: for you are seeking…
- Seneca You are mistaken! your brother has not lost the light of day, but has obtained a more enduring light: whither he has…
- Seneca You are not traveling but drifting from place to place, though the good life you seek is available everywhere. Even…
- Seneca You do not afford virtue a solid immoveable base if you bid it stand on what is unsteady: and what can be so unsteady…
- Seneca You fear dying—but what is this life of yours if it is not already a kind of death?
- Seneca You have coveted a glory which is most rare, and which has been obtained by no emperor before you, that of innocence.…
- Seneca You may as well say—“What then? When a good man sees his father or his son being cut down, I suppose he will not weep…
- Seneca You may make this simile apply to your whole entrance into life. I have explained to you what attractions and what…
- Seneca You must now show a virtue equal to hers, recall your mind from grief, and take care that no one may think that you…
- Seneca You need not think, because sometimes they call for death, that their lives are long: their folly torments them with…
- Seneca You, therefore, who allow them to trouble you to an unreasonable extent ought especially to restrain yourselves, and…
- Seneca You will more easily correct the men themselves by a slight punishment, for he who has some part of his fortune…
- Seneca Your great-great-grandfather spared the vanquished: for whom could he have ruled over, had he not spared them? He…
- Zeno You may seize my body by force, but my mind remains with Stilpo.