Seneca Moral essays
Seneca: When hurrying to besiege Babylon, since in…
When hurrying to besiege Babylon, since in making war it is above all things important to seize one’s opportunity, he tried to ford the wide-spread river Gyndes, which it is hardly safe to 140attempt even when the river has been dried up by the summer heat and is at its lowest.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Seneca’s moral essays. The reading beside it is ours.
Urgency makes us overestimate what force can accomplish. When there is a deadline, an opportunity, or a competitor moving first, we are tempted to charge into conditions we have not properly assessed. We launch before testing, make the investment without reading the terms, or push through exhaustion because stopping feels like falling behind. But timing matters only when joined to judgment. A river does not become safe to cross because your goal is important. Before acting fast, ask what is actually under your control: do you have the information, resources, and margin to take this risk? Sometimes the disciplined move is to wait, prepare, or find another route. Patience is not passivity when it prevents a reckless decision. A good opportunity does not require you to abandon common sense in order to seize it.
Related passages
- Seneca Fear itself harms many people; many meet the fate they dread because they lived in dread of it.
- 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…
- Marcus Aurelius Living resembles wrestling more than dancing, for it demands readiness to meet and withstand sudden, unforeseen attacks.