Theme
Acceptance
324 passages
- Chrysippus A good is not enlarged by duration. One wise moment makes a person no less happy than a lifetime spent wisely.
- Chrysippus A happy, well-ordered life comes from bringing one's own guiding spirit into harmony with the will that governs the…
- Cleanthes In every difficulty keep these words ready: Lead me, God and Fate, toward the end appointed for me. I will follow;…
- Epictetus A philosopher brings the will into accord with events, so that nothing arrives wholly against it and no wish is…
- Epictetus A public platform and a cell are both places, one elevated and one lowly; yet in either your power of choice can…
- Epictetus Be assured that the essential property of piety towards the gods is to form right opinions concerning them, as…
- Epictetus Begin therefore from little things. Is a little oil spilt? A little wine stolen? Say to yourself, "This is the price…
- Epictetus Do not demand events follow your preference; prefer events as they occur, and life will go more smoothly.
- Epictetus Don't demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well.
- Epictetus Freedom is gained not by satisfying every desire, but by diminishing desire itself.
- Epictetus Guard the good that is yours in every action. With all else, use what comes as reason allows; otherwise you will be…
- Epictetus Happiness cannot live with craving what is absent. The happy person has what is needed, like one well fed, without…
- Epictetus He was imprisoned; the claim that he suffered evil is something you added.
- Epictetus If you call what is servile free, or claim as yours what belongs to another, you will be frustrated and accusing.…
- 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 It is not only longing for money or rank that makes us dependent. Longing for quiet, leisure, travel, or learning can…
- Epictetus Keep this ready at dawn, by day, and at night: the road to contentment is to release everything outside your choice,…
- Epictetus Keep two rules ready: nothing is good or bad except our reasoned choice, and we should follow events rather than try…
- Epictetus Life's foremost work is this: distinguish matters clearly, so I can tell myself which are external and beyond my…
- Epictetus Live as though at a shared feast. When something comes to you, take a modest portion. If it passes, do not grab after…
- Epictetus Misfortune, quarrels, blame, and agitation are judgments outside our choice. Restrict judgment to choice, and peace…
- Epictetus My will has not been blocked or compelled, because I have joined my choices to the will of the divine. If it wills…
- 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 Nothing outside my chosen judgment can obstruct or injure it; only it can damage itself. When we fail, blame no one…
- 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 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 Remember that you are an actor in a drama, assigned a role by another. Your task is to play it well, whether it is…
- 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 Some things depend on us and others do not. Our judgments, choices, desires, aversions, and actions are ours. Body,…
- Epictetus Stop accusing gods and people. Govern your desires, avoid only what your judgment can govern, and release anger,…
- Epictetus The gods left us the ruling power: the ability to use appearances well, which governs all else. They gave no more, not…
- Epictetus The soul is like water and impressions like light upon it. When water is stirred, the light seems to move, though it…
- Epictetus The will of nature may be learned from those things in which we don't distinguish from each other. For example, when…
- Epictetus True education is learning to apply our natural ideas properly, and to distinguish what depends on us from what does…
- Epictetus Upon all occasions we ought to have these maxims ready at hand: "Conduct me, Jove, and you, 0 Destiny, Wherever your…
- Epictetus We govern our rational choice and whatever follows from that moral will. Beyond our control are the body and its…
- Epictetus What can be stopped, seized, or compelled is not truly one’s own; what cannot be hindered belongs to us.
- Epictetus When a painful impression comes, say: you are only an impression, not necessarily what you seem. Test whether it…
- Epictetus When caution is directed toward one's own judgments and actions, one also gains the power to avoid harm. But when…
- Epictetus When I encounter someone anxious, I ask what they are seeking. If they sought nothing beyond their own power, what…
- Epictetus When loss stings, remember that what you love is fragile and lent, not a possession. Hold child, sibling, and friend…
- Epictetus When troubling news reaches you, remember that no report can damage your power of choice. It may tell you of death;…
- Epictetus When you are going about any action, remind yourself what nature the action is. If you are going to bathe, picture to…
- Epictetus Whenever you accuse providence, reconsider the matter and you may find that what occurred accords with reason.
- Marcus Aurelius A black or malign disposition, an effeminate disposition; an hard inexorable disposition, a wild inhuman disposition,…
- Marcus Aurelius A branch is cut off by another, but he that hates and is averse, cuts himself off from his neighbour, and knows not…
- Marcus Aurelius Accept then, and be pleased with whatsoever doth happen, though otherwise harsh and un-pleasing, as tending to that…
- Marcus Aurelius Accept what comes without pride; release what leaves without clinging.
- Marcus Aurelius After thou shalt rightly have considered these things with thyself; fancy not anything else in the world any more to…
- 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 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, petty things; all things that are soon altered, soon perished. And all things come from one beginning; either all…
- 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 those things, for matter of experience are usual and ordinary; for their continuance but for a day; and for their…
- Marcus Aurelius And indeed we must needs commit many evils, if we incline to any of these things, more or less, with an opinion of any…
- Marcus Aurelius Another cause succeedeth, and undertakes the work, and in time brings a child (that wonderful effect from such a…
- 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 a physician's prescription aims at healing, so nature may prescribe illness, disability, or hardship for the work…
- Marcus Aurelius As a pig that cries and flings when his throat is cut, fancy to thyself every one to be, that grieves for any worldly…
- Marcus Aurelius As for thy body, which as a vessel, or a case, compasseth thee about, and the many and curious instruments that it…
- 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 one that tosseth up a ball. And what is a ball the better, if the motion of it be upwards; or the worse if it be…
- Marcus Aurelius As one who had lived, and were now to die by right, whatsoever is yet remaining, bestow that wholly as a gracious…
- 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 they that long after figs in winter when they cannot be had; so are they that long after children, before they be…
- Marcus Aurelius As thou dost purpose to live, when thou hast retired thyself to some such place, where neither roarer nor harlot is:…
- 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 angry neither with him whose breath, neither with him whose arm holes, are offensive. What can he do? such is…
- Marcus Aurelius Begin yet higher, even from this: if atoms be not the beginning of all things, than which to believe nothing can be…
- Marcus Aurelius Build your life deed by deed, satisfied when each reaches its proper end. If an outward obstacle appears, it cannot…
- Marcus Aurelius But this thou mayest be sure of, that this (if it be so indeed) would never have been so ordered by the Gods, had it…
- Marcus Aurelius Change contains no evil, just as remaining in a new condition contains no good.
- Marcus Aurelius Changing your view and accepting correction are acts of free will. The action remains yours, guided by your purpose,…
- Marcus Aurelius Consider how many different things, whether they concern our bodies, or our souls, in a moment of time come to pass in…
- Marcus Aurelius Consider how quickly all things are dissolved and resolved: the bodies and substances themselves, into the matter and…
- 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 Do not approach philosophy like a strict overseer. Go to it as the sick go for treatment: for sore eyes, a burn, or a…
- Marcus Aurelius Do not be ashamed to need assistance. You have a duty like a soldier at the wall; if you are hurt and cannot climb…
- Marcus Aurelius Do not grant circumstances the power to awaken your anger; they take no notice of it.
- Marcus Aurelius Do not grieve over it, and do not let yourself be thrown into turmoil.
- Marcus Aurelius Do not let the whole course of your life overwhelm you. Stay with the present hardship and ask why it is truly…
- Marcus Aurelius Do not treat what you lack as already yours. Value the things you have by imagining their absence, but do not cling so…
- 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 all things by the providence of reason happen unto every particular, as a part of one general body; and then it…
- Marcus Aurelius Either fate, (and that either an absolute necessity, and unavoidable decree; or a placable and flexible Providence) or…
- 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 Ever to mind and consider with thyself; how all things that now are, have been heretofore much after the same sort,…
- Marcus Aurelius Ever to represent unto thyself; and to set before thee, both the general age and time of the world, and the whole…
- Marcus Aurelius First; let it not trouble thee. For all things both good and evil: come to pass according to the nature and general…
- Marcus Aurelius Fit and accommodate thyself to that estate and to those occurrences, which by the destinies have been annexed unto…
- 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 Forbear henceforth to complain of the trouble of a courtly life, either in public before others, or in private by…
- Marcus Aurelius Give what thou wilt, and take away what thou wilt, saith he that is well taught and truly modest, to Him that gives,…
- Marcus Aurelius Has another done wrong to me? That is for him to consider; he has his own character and concerns. I have what…
- Marcus Aurelius He therefore that forsakes the law, is a fugitive. So is he, whosoever he be, that is either sorry, angry, or afraid,…
- Marcus Aurelius How clearly doth it appear unto thee, that no other course of thy life could fit a true philosopher's practice better,…
- Marcus Aurelius How happy is man in this his power that hath been granted unto him: that he needs not do anything but what God shall…
- Marcus Aurelius How ridiculous and strange is he, that wonders at anything that happens in this life in the ordinary course of nature!
- Marcus Aurelius I consist of body and soul. Unto my body all things are indifferent, for of itself it cannot affect one thing more…
- Marcus Aurelius If a cucumber is bitter, discard it. If thorns block the way, go around them. Why ask why such irritations exist?…
- Marcus Aurelius If it were thine act and in thine own power, wouldest thou do it? If it were not, whom dost tin accuse? the atoms, or…
- Marcus Aurelius If my present apprehension of the object be right, and my present action charitable, and this, towards whatsoever doth…
- 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 the first, why should I desire to continue any longer in this fortuit confusion and commixtion? or why should I…
- Marcus Aurelius If this neither be my wicked act, nor an act anyways depending from any wickedness of mine, and that by it the public…
- Marcus Aurelius In another man's mind and understanding thy evil Cannot subsist, nor in any proper temper or distemper of the natural…
- Marcus Aurelius 'In my sickness' (saith Epicurus of himself:) 'my discourses were not concerning the nature of my disease, neither was…
- Marcus Aurelius In sum, either there is a God, and then all is well; or if all things go by chance and fortune, yet mayest thou use…
- Marcus Aurelius In the morning as soon as thou art awaked, when thy judgment, before either thy affections, or external objects have…
- Marcus Aurelius Infinite are the troubles and miseries, that thou hast already been put to, by reason of this only, because that for…
- 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 not a cruel thing to forbid men to affect those things, which they conceive to agree best with their own…
- Marcus Aurelius It is against himself that he doth offend: why should it trouble thee? Hath anything happened unto thee? It is well,…
- Marcus Aurelius It is in my power concerning this thing that is happened, what soever it be, to conceit that which is right and true.…
- Marcus Aurelius It is in thy power absolutely to exclude all manner of conceit and opinion, as concerning this matter; and by the same…
- Marcus Aurelius It is not possible that any nature should be inferior unto art, since that all arts imitate nature. If this be so;…
- 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 that which many time and often thou hast already seen and known in the world. And so oft as anything doth happen…
- Marcus Aurelius 'It will but little avail thee, to turn thine anger and indignation upon the things themselves that have fallen across…
- 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 before your mind those consumed by anger, resentment, success, disaster, wrongdoing, or distinction. Ask where it…
- 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 this suffice. Add not presently speaking unto thyself, What serve these things for in the world? For, this, one…
- Marcus Aurelius Let thy mind penetrate both into the effects, and into the causes. Rejoice thyself with true simplicity, and modesty;…
- 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 Love the modest craft you have learned and find rest in it. Entrust the rest to the gods, making yourself neither…
- Marcus Aurelius My reasoned choice is independent of my neighbor’s, as of their body or breath. Though made for cooperation, each…
- 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 No operation whatsoever it he, ceasing for a while, can be truly said to suffer any evil, because it is at an end.…
- 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 Observe the stars in their courses as though you moved with them; reflect on nature's changes, for this clears away…
- Marcus Aurelius Of an operation and of a purpose there is an ending, or of an action and of a purpose we say commonly, that it is at…
- Marcus Aurelius Of everything therefore thou must use thyself to say, This immediately comes from God, this by that fatal connection,…
- Marcus Aurelius Of the same nature is sickness and death; slander, and lying in wait, and whatsoever else ordinarily doth unto fools…
- Marcus Aurelius Of these the two former, are so far forth thine, as that thou art bound to take care for them. But the third alone is…
- Marcus Aurelius Of things that are external, happen what will to that which can suffer by external accidents. Those things that suffer…
- Marcus Aurelius On waking, remind yourself that you will meet intrusive, ungrateful, vain, deceitful, jealous, and irritable people;…
- Marcus Aurelius One who follows reason in everything is both at ease and ready for action—cheerful and composed together.
- Marcus Aurelius Others may block an act, but not your purpose or disposition. The mind can adapt, making a barrier serve its aim: what…
- 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 Pursuing what cannot be achieved is folly; yet the ignoble person pursues nothing else.
- Marcus Aurelius Put aside what is past, leave the future to the larger order, and direct the present toward reverence and justice:…
- Marcus Aurelius Reason moves freely when it accepts no falsehood, aims only at the common good, desires only what it can govern, and…
- Marcus Aurelius Receive temporal blessings without ostentation, when they are sent and thou shalt be able to part with them with all…
- Marcus Aurelius Regard the life already lived as finished; receive what remains as a gift, and live it in accord with nature. Love the…
- Marcus Aurelius Remember, that as it is a shame for any man to wonder that a fig tree should bear figs, so also to wonder that the…
- Marcus Aurelius Remove the belief that you have been harmed, and the harm is removed; remove the sense of injury, and injury vanishes.
- Marcus Aurelius Shall I do it? I will; so the end of my action be to do good unto men. Doth anything by way of cross or adversity…
- Marcus Aurelius So figs are accounted fairest and ripest then, when they begin to shrink, and wither as it were. So ripe olives, when…
- Marcus Aurelius So may every reasonable creature, what crosses and impediments soever it meets with in the course of this mortal life,…
- 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 Stir up thy mind, and recall thy wits again from thy natural dreams, and visions, and when thou art perfectly awoken,…
- Marcus Aurelius Take me and throw me where thou wilt: I am indifferent. For there also I shall have that spirit which is within me…
- 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 inward mistress part of man if it be in its own true natural temper, is towards all worldly chances and events…
- Marcus Aurelius That is best for every one, that the common nature of all doth send unto every one, and then is it best, when she doth…
- Marcus Aurelius That which is a hindrance of the appetitive and prosecutive faculty, is an evil to the sensitive nature. As of the…
- 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 art of true living in this world is more like a wrestler's, than a dancer's practice. For in this they both agree,…
- Marcus Aurelius The earth, saith the poet, doth often long after the rain. So is the glorious sky often as desirous to fall upon the…
- Marcus Aurelius The end and object of a rational constitution is, to do nothing rashly, to be kindly affected towards men, and in all…
- 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 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 did once certainly before it was created, whatsoever it hath done since, deliberate and so…
- 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 next, that all these things, which now thou seest, shall within a very little while be changed, and be no more:…
- Marcus Aurelius The rational commanding part, as it alone can stir up and turn itself; so it maketh both itself to be, and everything…
- Marcus Aurelius The Second to the first original cause, God, from whom originally proceeds whatsoever doth happen in the world. The…
- 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 The universe is transformation; our life is shaped by judgment.
- Marcus Aurelius The whole space of any man's life, is but little; and as little as it is, with what troubles, with what manner of…
- Marcus Aurelius These are enough: sound judgment in the present, action for the shared good in the present, and grateful acceptance in…
- Marcus Aurelius Those things that are his own, and in his own power, he himself takes order, for that they be good: and as for those…
- 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 desire things impossible is the part of a mad man. But it is a thing impossible, that wicked man should not commit…
- Marcus Aurelius To find out, and set to thyself some certain way and method of contemplation, whereby thou mayest clearly discern and…
- Marcus Aurelius To live with the Gods. He liveth with the Gods, who at all times affords unto them the spectacle of a soul, both…
- Marcus Aurelius To look about, and with the eyes to follow the course of the stars and planets as though thou wouldst run with them;…
- Marcus Aurelius To suffer change can be no hurt; as no benefit it is, by change to attain to being. The age and time of the world is…
- 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 To them that are sick of the jaundice, honey seems bitter; and to them that are bitten by a mad dog, the water…
- 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 a subject, and what a course of life is it, that thou doest so much desire to be rid of. For all these things,…
- 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 pain soever thou art in, let this presently come to thy mind, that it is not a thing whereof thou needest to be…
- 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 in the ordinary course and consequence of natural events, neither the Gods, (for it is not…
- 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 in any kind doth happen to any one, is expedient to the whole. And thus much to content us might suffice,…
- Marcus Aurelius Whatsoever is expedient unto thee, O World, is expedient unto me; nothing can either be 'unseasonable unto me, or out…
- Marcus Aurelius Whatsoever is material, doth soon vanish away into the common substance of the whole; and whatsoever is formal, or,…
- Marcus Aurelius Whatsoever it be that happens unto thee, it is that which from all time was appointed unto thee. For by the same…
- Marcus Aurelius When another wrongs you, ask at once what they thought good or bad in doing it. Seeing this, you will pity rather than…
- Marcus Aurelius When at any time thou art offended with any one's impudency, put presently this question to thyself: 'What? Is it then…
- Marcus Aurelius When circumstances throw you into confusion, recover yourself quickly. Do not remain out of rhythm longer than needed;…
- Marcus Aurelius When pain comes, remember it is no disgrace and cannot corrupt your ruling mind or prevent rational, social action. Do…
- Marcus Aurelius Where the matter may be effected agreeably to that reason, which both unto the Gods and men is common, there can be no…
- 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 Whoever has seen the present has seen all things: what has happened from the beginning and what will continue forever,…
- Marcus Aurelius Why then should that rather be an unhappiness, than this a happiness? But however, canst thou, O man! term that…
- Marcus Aurelius Will either passengers, or patients, find fault and complain, either the one if they be well carried, or the others if…
- 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 You consist of body, breath, and mind. The first two are entrusted to your care; only the mind is truly your own.
- Musonius Rufus How could banishment prevent a person from cultivating themselves or attaining virtue, when exile has never barred…
- Musonius Rufus Some minds are quicker and some slower; some receive better formation than others. Those with poorer habits need more…
- Seneca A calm mind in adversity strips misfortune of much of its force and weight.
- 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 All life is slavery: let each man therefore reconcile himself to his lot, complain of it as little as possible, and…
- 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 Call this security from loss poverty, want, necessity, or any contemptuous name you please: I shall consider such a…
- Seneca Death is a release from and an end of all pains: beyond it our sufferings cannot extend: it restores us to the…
- Seneca Disaster weighs more when it surprises us; the unexpected always deepens pain. Let nothing be wholly unforeseen:…
- Seneca “Do you ask,” writes he, “what I am doing here? I am living in my Tusculan villa almost as a prisoner.” He adds more…
- Seneca Finally, having traversed every one of the realms below, it soars to the highest heaven, enjoys the noblest of all…
- 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's reach is shorter than we imagine; it besieges only those who cling to it. Let us withdraw from her as far as…
- Seneca Greed has no point of enough, while nature is satisfied with little. Exile is therefore no calamity: no land is so…
- Seneca He who restrains himself within the limits prescribed by 338nature, will not feel poverty; he who exceeds them will…
- Seneca Heraclitus wept at public life, while Democritus laughed at it. We should bear human affairs lightly; it is more…
- Seneca Hold in your bosom Novatilla, who soon will present you with great-grandchildren, she whom I had so entirely adopted…
- 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 I will effect this cure, if possible, with your goodwill: if you disapprove of my efforts, or dislike them, then you…
- Seneca I will set sail unless anything happens to prevent me, I shall 279be praetor, if nothing hinders me, my financial…
- 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 It appears as though this plague moved in a regular orbit, and spread ruin and desolation among us all without…
- Seneca It is better, therefore, to conquer it than to cheat it; for a grief which has been deceived and driven away either by…
- Seneca It is better to overcome grief than to trick it.
- Seneca It is hard, no doubt, for a mind which has received so rude a shock to betake itself so quickly to these livelier…
- Seneca It is, I repeat, the setting a great value on trifles that is the cause of your anger and madness. This 153man wanted…
- Seneca It is said that there was one Mindyrides, a citizen of Sybaris, who one day seeing a man digging and vigorously…
- Seneca It is to guarantee the safety of all these that Fortune has struck you in this quarter: you have many left in whom you…
- Seneca It is your trouble, Marcia, which has been dealt with here: it is beside your couch of mourning that Areus has been…
- Seneca It ruins the soul to fear the future and suffer before suffering arrives. Longing to keep things forever steals the…
- Seneca Lay aside lamentations and wailings, and all the usual noisy manifestations of female sorrow: you have gained nothing…
- Seneca Let every one, then, say to himself, whenever he is provoked, “Am I more powerful than Philip? yet he allowed a man to…
- Seneca Let Fate meet us ready and at work. Greatness belongs to the soul that yields to the world's order; weakness complains…
- Seneca Let us add, if you please, to these grounds of complaint the disposition of the youth himself, cut off in the midst of…
- Seneca Let us be free from this evil, let us clear our minds of it, and extirpate root and branch a passion which grows again…
- Seneca Let us therefore briskly and cheerfully hasten with undaunted steps whithersoever circumstances call us: let us wander…
- Seneca Look at your father and your grandfather: the former fell into the hands of a foreign murderer: I allowed no man to…
- Seneca Men deserve praise for engaging in profitable studies, even though they stop short of producing any results. Why need…
- Seneca Morning can find someone exalted and evening find them low. Do not rely too much on success or despair of hardship;…
- Seneca Nature demands from us a certain amount of grief, our imagination adds some more to it; but I will never forbid you to…
- Seneca Nature gave him to you, as she gives others to other brothers, not as an absolute property, but as a loan: afterwards…
- Seneca Nevertheless Bibulus, who during the whole of his year of office had remained hidden in his house, to cast reproach…
- Seneca No one can obtain every object of desire. But each of us can decline to crave what is absent and gladly use what is…
- Seneca No one therefore could console you as well as he: when he speaks his words have greater weight, as though they were…
- Seneca Nothing is more unjust than that any one should inherit the quarrels of his father. Whenever we are loth to pardon any…
- Seneca Nothing will happen that I cannot receive without bitterness. The burdens that provoke complaint are part of life's due.
- Seneca Revenge takes up much time, and throws itself in the way of many injuries while it is smarting under one. We all…
- Seneca See, on the other hand, how 210evil and guilty a slavery the man is forced to serve who is dominated in turn by…
- Seneca Some gifted minds grasp virtue quickly or generate it themselves. Others, dulled by poor habits, need persistent…
- Seneca Some one who did not know Marcus Cato struck him in the public bath in his ignorance, for who would knowingly have…
- Seneca Suppose that we are being punished; let us think not only of what we suffer, but of what we have done: let us sit in…
- Seneca The Emperor Augustus lost his darling sister Octavia, and though Nature destined him for heaven, yet she did not relax…
- Seneca The first of these I shall only touch upon lightly, for I know that your heart loves nothing belonging to your…
- Seneca The foundations of new cities are laid, new names of nations arise, while the former ones die out, or become absorbed…
- Seneca The great Gaius Caesar, who proved such a merciful conqueror in the civil war, did the same thing; he burned a packet…
- Seneca The happy man, therefore, is he who can make a right judgment in all things: he is happy who in his present…
- 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 latter of these, whenever be 282appeared in public, used to weep, the former to laugh: the one thought all human…
- Seneca The position of all busy men is unhappy, but most unhappy of all is that of those who do not even labour at their own…
- Seneca The reasoning soul is stronger than every turn of fortune. From within itself it directs its life and makes it happy…
- 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 man will never cease to be angry, if he once begins, so full is every place of vices and crimes. More evil is…
- 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 There is no passion that is more frantic, more destructive to its own self; it is arrogant if successful, and frantic…
- Seneca There is no reason for you to suppose me conquered and yourself my conqueror. It is your fortune which has overcome…
- Seneca There is, therefore, no reason for a service which is useless if it is not felt by him who is the object of it, and…
- Seneca Think of your son’s handsome person, which you had guarded in perfect purity among all the temptations of a voluptuous…
- 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 Unable to serve in one public role, serve in another. If speech is denied, offer a quiet example. If civic duties are…
- Seneca We might go on blaming fate much longer, but we cannot alter it: it stands harsh and inexorable: no one can move it by…
- Seneca Whatever gift Fortune bestows upon a man, let him think while he enjoys it, that it will prove as fickle as the…
- Seneca Whatever has arrived at perfection, is ripe for dissolution. Consummate virtue flees away and betakes itself out of…
- Seneca Whatever he meant, it was a magnanimous answer. Some one may say, “After this Gaius might have let him live.” Kanus…
- Seneca When he was in the act of holding the doorpost and dedicating the Capitol the news of his son’s death was brought to…
- Seneca When you are especially enjoying yourself, be especially on your guard: when everything seems to you to be peaceful,…
- Seneca Whenever you are engaged in other pursuits your mind will be relieved from its burden: at present you keep watch over…
- Seneca Why be indignant? Why protest? This is the task for which we are made.
- 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 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 cannot even say that you have been specially marked by the gods for misfortune because you have had no pleasure in…
- Seneca You cannot stray away from your position; it besets you, and follows you with mighty pomp wherever you go. This…
- 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 have asked me, Lucilius, why, if the world be ruled by providence, so many evils befall good men?
- Seneca You have grieved at the only grief so good a son could cause you: all else is beyond the power of fortune to harm, and…
- Seneca You have no grounds for excusing yourself on the ground of being a woman, who has a sort of right to weep without…
- Seneca You lost your most affectionate uncle, a brave and excellent man, just when you were awaiting his return: and, lest…
- 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 believe what others say about me: that you may not be puzzled by any uncertainty as to what to think, I…
- Seneca You need not, therefore, hasten to the burial-place of your son: that which lies there is but the worst part of him…
- Seneca You need not think, because sometimes they call for death, that their lives are long: their folly torments them with…
- Seneca You never would deny me anything, and I hope, though all grief is obstinate, that you will surely not refuse me this…
- Seneca You say, “I am deprived of the embraces of my darling son, I cannot enjoy the pleasure of seeing him and of hearing…
- Seneca You say, 'I am in terrible pain.' Does bearing it badly lessen the pain at all?
- Seneca You say, “I cannot endure it: injuries are hard to bear.” You lie; for how can any one not be able to bear injury, if…
- Seneca You say that the wise man is not mad, yet you admit that he sometimes loses his reason, talks nonsense, and is driven…
- Seneca You should know that good men ought to act in like manner, so as not to fear troubles and difficulties, nor to lament…
- Seneca You, therefore, who allow them to trouble you to an unreasonable extent ought especially to restrain yourselves, and…
- Seneca You will show more respect for the youth himself, who well deserves that it should make you glad to speak and think of…
- 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.