Theme
Temperance
281 passages
- Diogenes Laertius Diogenes of Sinope said that we exchange what is precious for what is cheap, and sometimes the cheap for the precious.
- Diogenes Laertius When a young man spoke foolishly, Zeno told him: ‘We have two ears and one mouth so that we may listen twice as much…
- Diogenes Laertius Zeno said nothing was less fitting than arrogance, especially in the young.
- Epictetus A fine and good person neither quarrels nor, as far as possible, permits quarrelling. Education teaches what belongs…
- Epictetus Begin therefore from little things. Is a little oil spilt? A little wine stolen? Say to yourself, "This is the price…
- Epictetus Consider when, on a voyage, your ship is anchored; if you go on shore to get water you may along the way amuse…
- Epictetus Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own. If a horse should be prideful and say, " I am handsome,"…
- Epictetus Don't stop it. Is it not yet come? Don't stretch your desire towards it, but wait till it reaches you. Do this with…
- Epictetus Don't wish to be thought to know anything; and even if you appear to be somebody important to others, distrust…
- Epictetus Every capacity is strengthened by the actions that match it: walking by walking, running by running. Anger likewise…
- Epictetus Every matter has two handles: one by which it can be carried, another by which it cannot. When a brother wrongs you,…
- Epictetus Every strong capacity is risky for the beginner; use such powers only as you can, and in accord with nature.
- Epictetus For a time, do not advertise your philosophy. Let it grow like seed hidden in the soil until it is mature; fruit shown…
- Epictetus Free is the one who lives without compulsion or obstruction in their choices, whose aims are sound and whose aversions…
- 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 If you are able, then, by your own conversation bring over that of your company to proper subjects; but, if you happen…
- Epictetus If you are struck by the appearance of any promised pleasure, guard yourself against being hurried away by it; but let…
- Epictetus If you do not want to be quick-tempered, stop feeding the practice. Begin by staying calm and counting the days; as…
- Epictetus If you have assumed any character above your strength, you have both made an ill figure in that and quitted one which…
- Epictetus If you want to improve, accept appearing uninformed or foolish in matters that do not concern you. Do not seek the…
- Epictetus In company, do not dwell too often or at length on your achievements and misfortunes; your own stories delight you…
- Epictetus It is a mark of want of genius to spend much time in things relating to the body, as to be long in our exercises, in…
- Epictetus It is not only longing for money or rank that makes us dependent. Longing for quiet, leisure, travel, or learning can…
- Epictetus It is not the person who insults or strikes that injures you, but your judgment that you have been injured. When anger…
- Epictetus It is sold for praise; it is sold for attendance. Give him then the value, if it is for your advantage. But if you…
- Epictetus Keep death, exile, and every feared thing before you daily; then you will avoid base thoughts and excessive desire.
- 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 Never call yourself a philosopher, nor talk a great deal among the unlearned about theorems, but act conformably to…
- Epictetus People who take in doctrines and immediately recite them resemble an ill stomach returning its food. Let teachings be…
- Epictetus Remember that following desire promises the attainment of that of which you are desirous; and aversion promises the…
- Epictetus Stop accusing gods and people. Govern your desires, avoid only what your judgment can govern, and release anger,…
- Epictetus The body is to everyone the measure of the possessions proper for it, just as the foot is of the shoe. If, therefore,…
- Epictetus The good person is unconquerable because they do not enter contests where they are weak. Others may take possessions,…
- Epictetus What aid is there against a habit? Practice its opposite.
- Epictetus What makes a person beautiful is human excellence. If you would be beautiful, cultivate justice, composure, and…
- Epictetus When a child grips too many sweets in a narrow jar, the fist cannot come out and the child cries. Let go of a few, and…
- Epictetus When anyone shows himself overly confident in ability to understand and interpret the works of Chrysippus, say to…
- Epictetus When pleasure presents itself, do not be swept away. Delay your response. Consider both the enjoyment now and the…
- Epictetus When you have brought yourself to supply the necessities of your body at a small price, don't pique yourself upon it;…
- Epictetus With every accident, ask yourself what abilities you have for making a proper use of it. If you see an attractive…
- Epictetus You must conform to rules, submit to a diet, refrain from dainties; exercise your body, whether you choose it or not,…
- Marcus Aurelius A lamp keeps giving light until its oil is gone. Why should your truthfulness, justice, and self-command not shine…
- Marcus Aurelius Accept what comes without pride; release what leaves without clinging.
- 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 doing well and helping another, why seek a third reward—praise for the act or a favor returned?
- Marcus Aurelius Again, how he was no backbiter, nor easily frightened, nor suspicious, and in his language free from all affectation…
- Marcus Aurelius All worldly things thou must behold and consider, dividing them into matter, form, and reference, or their proper end.
- Marcus Aurelius And lastly, which beareth me that tread upon it, and beareth with me that so many ways do abuse it, or so freely make…
- Marcus Aurelius And that as often as thou shalt behold them, thou shalt still see the same: as the same things, so the same shortness…
- Marcus Aurelius And that I gave over the study of rhetoric and poetry, and of elegant neat language. That I did not use to walk about…
- Marcus Aurelius Anger and grief often harm us more than the events that first stirred them.
- 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 one who is altogether governed by nature, let it be thy care to observe what it is that thy nature in general doth…
- Marcus Aurelius As the ordinary shows of the theatre and of other such places, when thou art presented with them, affect thee; as the…
- Marcus Aurelius Be it so: yet there be many other good things, for the want of which thou canst not plead the want or natural ability.…
- 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 By one action judge of the rest: this bathing which usually takes up so much of our time, what is it? Oil, sweat,…
- Marcus Aurelius Children's anger, mere babels; wretched souls bearing up dead bodies, that they may not have their fall so soon: even…
- Marcus Aurelius Consider them through all actions and occupations, of their lives: as when they eat, and when they sleep: when they…
- 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 delay in action, muddle speech, scatter thought, make your soul either passive or hostile, or fill life…
- Marcus Aurelius Do not let yourself become an emperor in spirit; remain simple, upright, kind, just, and strong in your proper work.
- 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 Do nothing against thy will, nor contrary to the community, nor without due examination, nor with reluctancy. Affect…
- Marcus Aurelius Do nothing grudgingly or selfishly; avoid needless display, excess speech, and dependence on another's support.
- Marcus Aurelius Every soul lacks truth unwillingly; the same is true of justice, moderation, and goodwill. Keep this in mind, and you…
- Marcus Aurelius Everything depends on the judgment you attach to it, and that judgment is yours. Remove it when you choose, and you…
- Marcus Aurelius For all these things, if once though but for a while, they begin to please, they presently prevail, and pervert a…
- Marcus Aurelius For peace, do not merely do fewer things; do what a rational, social being must do, and do it well. Restrain needless…
- Marcus Aurelius For these also, these famous soldiers and warlike men, if thou dost look into their minds and opinions, what do they…
- Marcus Aurelius Getting what you wanted might feel pleasant, but that is why pleasure can mislead. Consider instead the greater goods:…
- Marcus Aurelius Give each action attention in proportion to its value. Then you will not grow weary by spending more effort than…
- Marcus Aurelius He hath a stronger body, and is a better wrestler than I. What then? Is he more bountiful? is he more modest? Doth he…
- Marcus Aurelius How base and putrid, every common matter is! Water, dust, and from the mixture of these bones, and all that loathsome…
- Marcus Aurelius How Socrates looked, when he was fain to gird himself with a skin, Xanthippe his wife having taken away his clothes,…
- Marcus Aurelius I have often wondered how it should come to pass, that every man loving himself best, should more regard other men's…
- Marcus Aurelius If someone scorns me, that is their concern. Mine is to do and say nothing shameful. If someone hates me, I will…
- 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 morning as soon as thou art awaked, when thy judgment, before either thy affections, or external objects have…
- Marcus Aurelius In the whole constitution of man, I see not any virtue contrary to justice, whereby it may be resisted and opposed.…
- 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 it not for that respect especially, that pleasure itself is to so many men's hurt and overthrow, most prevalent,…
- Marcus Aurelius Is this then a thing of that worth, that for it my soul should suffer, and become worse than it was? as either basely…
- Marcus Aurelius It is not about ordinary petty matters, believe it, that all our strife and contention is, but whether, with the…
- Marcus Aurelius It is not by way of any suspicious indignation, but by way of gentle and friendly declination. Keep the same mind and…
- Marcus Aurelius Know at last that within you is something stronger and more divine than the forces that stir bodily passions and tug…
- Marcus Aurelius Labour not as one to whom it is appointed to be wretched, nor as one that either would be pitied, or admired; but let…
- Marcus Aurelius Learn the art of assent, and keep impulses reserved, directed toward the common good, and measured by true value.
- Marcus Aurelius Let not that chief commanding part of thy soul be ever subject to any variation through any corporal either pain or…
- Marcus Aurelius Look carefully at the supposed pleasures of thieves, predators, murderers, and tyrants.
- Marcus Aurelius Nature hath of that also, as well as of eating and drinking, allowed thee a certain stint. But thou guest beyond thy…
- Marcus Aurelius Never wont to use the baths at unseasonable hours; no builder; never curious, or solicitous, either about his meat, or…
- Marcus Aurelius Not to be slack and negligent; or loose, and wanton in thy actions; nor contentious, and troublesome in thy…
- Marcus Aurelius O my soul, the time I trust will be, when thou shalt be good, simple, single, more open and visible, than that body by…
- Marcus Aurelius Of Diognetus, not to busy myself about vain things, and not easily to believe those things, which are commonly spoken,…
- Marcus Aurelius Of him that brought me up, not to be fondly addicted to either of the two great factions of the coursers in the…
- Marcus Aurelius One person helps and demands repayment; another remembers the debt; a third does good like a vine bears fruit—then…
- Marcus Aurelius People may oppose your rational path but cannot prevent sound action. Do not let them drive away your goodwill; keep…
- Marcus Aurelius People neglect the praise of those whose lives they share, yet hunger for applause from generations they will never…
- Marcus Aurelius Plato spoke well: when considering human affairs, look down from above and take in crowds, armies, fields, unions and…
- 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 Remember the fable of the country mouse and the city mouse, and the great fright and terror that this was put into.
- Marcus Aurelius Repentance is an inward and self-reprehension for the neglect or omission of somewhat that was profitable. Now…
- Marcus Aurelius Sayest thou unto that rational part, Thou art dead; corruption hath taken hold on thee? Doth it then also void…
- Marcus Aurelius Secondly, when she either is averse from any man, or led by contrary desires or affections, tending to his hurt and…
- Marcus Aurelius Set your mind first on unquestioned goods—wisdom, self-command, justice, courage—and the crowd's claims will lose…
- Marcus Aurelius She cannot be dyed or infected by it. What then must I do, that I may have within myself an overflowing fountain, and…
- Marcus Aurelius Sincere kindness cannot be overcome. What can a malicious person do when you remain kind and gently correct them, if…
- Marcus Aurelius Skill at defeating an opponent does not make someone more civic-minded, modest, prepared for hardship, or patient with…
- Marcus Aurelius Strip appearances down: fine food, wine, clothing, and desire become ordinary matter when seen without embellishment.
- Marcus Aurelius That soul which is ever ready, even now presently (if need be) from the body, whether by way of extinction, or…
- Marcus Aurelius The ambitious supposeth another man's act, praise and applause, to be his own happiness; the voluptuous his own sense…
- Marcus Aurelius The finest revenge is refusing to become like the one who wronged you.
- Marcus Aurelius The Lacedæmonians at their public spectacles were wont to appoint seats and forms for their strangers in the shadow,…
- Marcus Aurelius The most weighty and serious, if rightly esteemed, but as puppies, biting one another: or untoward children, now…
- Marcus Aurelius The second is, that he yield not to any lusts and motions of the flesh. For it is the part and privilege of the…
- Marcus Aurelius The sun seemeth to be shed abroad. And indeed it is diffused but not effused. For that diffusion of it is a τάσις or…
- Marcus Aurelius Then hath a man attained to the estate of perfection in his life and conversation, when he so spends every day, as if…
- Marcus Aurelius Then is the soul as Empedocles doth liken it, like unto a sphere or globe, when she is all of one form and figure:…
- Marcus Aurelius Theophrastus, where he compares sin with sin (as after a vulgar sense such things I grant may be compared:) says well…
- Marcus Aurelius They contemn one another, and yet they seek to please one another: and whilest they seek to surpass one another in…
- Marcus Aurelius They will say commonly, Meddle not with many things, if thou wilt live cheerfully. Certainly there is nothing better,…
- Marcus Aurelius Things pursued or avoided do not rush at you; in a sense you move toward them. Keep your judgment steady, and they too…
- Marcus Aurelius This purple robe, but sheep's hairs, dyed with the blood of a shellfish. So for coitus, it is but the attrition of an…
- Marcus Aurelius Those things which the common sort of people do admire, are most of them such things as are very general, and may be…
- Marcus Aurelius Thou hast no time nor opportunity to read. What then? Hast thou not time and opportunity to exercise thyself, not to…
- 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 To be capable of fancies and imaginations, is common to man and beast. To be violently drawn and moved by the lusts…
- Marcus Aurelius To steal, to sow, to buy, to be at rest, to see what is to be done (which is not seen by the eyes, but by another kind…
- Marcus Aurelius To which end it was, that Diogenes took also the same liberty. After these, what were either the Middle, or New Comedy…
- Marcus Aurelius To wipe away fancy, to use deliberation, to quench concupiscence, to keep the mind free to herself.
- 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 What does my soul serve? Ask this often. Whose soul do I possess now: a child’s, a tyrant’s, a tame animal’s, or a…
- Marcus Aurelius What is that that is slow, and yet quick? merry, and yet grave? He that in all things doth follow reason for his guide.
- Marcus Aurelius What remains worth valuing? To restrict action and restraint to what accords with the discipline that shapes us. This…
- Marcus Aurelius When anger begins to rise, remember: fury is not strength. Kindness and courtesy are more truly human, and thus more…
- Marcus Aurelius When another's fault provokes you, turn at once to your own related errors—your attachment to gain, pleasure, or…
- Marcus Aurelius When thou art offended with any man's transgression, presently reflect upon thyself; and consider what thou thyself…
- Marcus Aurelius Whoever commits injustice injures themselves. The unjust person makes their own character worse.
- Marcus Aurelius Why rage at bad breath or body odor? Such a body produces such effects. If someone can understand their impact, use…
- Marcus Aurelius You can humble your pride, master pleasure and pain, set ambition aside, and meet foolish, thankless people without…
- Marcus Aurelius Your long wandering proves that the art of living was not found in logic, wealth, reputation, or pleasure. It lies in…
- Marcus Aurelius Your ruling mind is unconquerable when it relies on itself and refuses what it judges contrary to its will. With…
- Musonius Rufus I would rather be ill than live in luxury: illness harms the body, but luxury weakens body and soul, breeding greed,…
- Musonius Rufus In most matters we respond to circumstances not from sound principles but from miserable habit. Since this is so, the…
- Musonius Rufus When asked whether virtue comes better through teaching or habit—teaching being sound principles and habit being…
- Seneca A prince generally inflicts punishment for one of two reasons: he wishes either to assert his own rights or those of…
- Seneca Accustom yourself to meals without display, fewer attendants, clothing for use, and a humbler home.
- Seneca Among these and in the first place must be ranked that thrill of the mind which seizes us at the thought of…
- 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 must not merely move, but break out of bounds, being an impulse: now, no impulse can take place without the…
- Seneca “Anger,” says Aristotle, “is necessary, nor can any fight be won without it, unless it fills the mind, and kindles up…
- Seneca Anger, then, must never become a habit with us, but we may sometimes affect to be angry when we wish to rouse up the…
- Seneca Anger, therefore, is not useful even in wars or battles: for it is prone to rashness, and while trying to bring others…
- Seneca Anger tramples self-restraint underfoot, steeps its hands in slaughter, scatters abroad the limbs of its children: it…
- 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 But come! let virtue lead the way: then every step will be safe. Too much pleasure is hurtful: but with virtue we need…
- 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 Consider the truly wealthy: how often they resemble the poor. When traveling, they limit their baggage; when speed is…
- Seneca Consider what we chase so fiercely: little of it is useful; much is needless, and much else is worth far less than it…
- Seneca Demochares, who was surnamed Parrhesiastes on account of his unbridled and impudent tongue, came on an embassy to him…
- Seneca Do not attempt to quell it all at once, for its first impulses are fierce; by plucking away its parts we shall remove…
- Seneca Do not envy the person always displaying rank or fame; such prizes are purchased with life, and many reach the summit…
- 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 Fortune overwhelms no one who has not first trusted her too much. The person who remains modest in prosperity is not…
- Seneca Give the mind rest: after a break it returns stronger and sharper. Constant labor dulls and weakens the rational soul.
- 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 restrains himself within the limits prescribed by 338nature, will not feel poverty; he who exceeds them will…
- Seneca Hence it is that we call some regions wet or dry, warm or cold. The same distinctions apply likewise to animals and…
- Seneca Heraclitus wept at public life, while Democritus laughed at it. We should bear human affairs lightly; it is more…
- Seneca How few magistrates are there who ought not to be condemned by the very same laws which they administer? How few…
- Seneca How shameful when an aged advocate dies in court, still pleading for strangers and chasing the praise of an uninformed…
- Seneca How will he endure the tumult of the world, and make head against so many most active foes, if he be conquered by so…
- Seneca I do not praise those who rush into life's torrent and wrestle daily with hardship by choice. A wise person can endure…
- Seneca I know, however, that there are some who imagine that clemency only saves the life of every villain, because clemency…
- 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 man, as they argue, seeks for quiet and repose, what virtue is there which is more agreeable to his nature than…
- Seneca If you consider sexual passion to have been bestowed on mankind not for the sake of pleasure, but for 341the…
- Seneca If you think fit, my Serenus, let us distinguish between injury and insult. The former is naturally the more grievous,…
- Seneca In the same spirit in which we deal with boys, the wise man deals with all those whose childhood still endures after…
- Seneca In the same way cheerful pursuits soothe unhealthy minds. We must avoid law courts, pleadings, verdicts, and…
- Seneca Indeed he shut up 136Lysimachus, who was no less his friend than Clitus, in a cage with a lion; yet did this make…
- Seneca Is it then desirable that the gods should show no mercy upon sins and mistakes, and that they should harshly pursue us…
- Seneca It is a womanish thing to rage with passion; it is the part of wild beasts, and that, too, not of the most noble ones,…
- Seneca It is like a wild animal whose struggles only pull the noose by which it is caught tighter; or like birds who, while…
- Seneca It is like Homer’s Achilles, 258lying first upon its face, then upon its back, placing itself in various attitudes,…
- Seneca It is possible to discover certain inconsistencies in the definition which comes nearer the truth than all the rest,…
- 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 that of good parents, who sometimes scold their children goodnaturedly, sometimes threaten them, and sometimes…
- Seneca It is, therefore, most commonly 419found in the worst people; there are old women and girls who are affected by the…
- Seneca It ruins the soul to fear the future and suffer before suffering arrives. Longing to keep things forever steals the…
- Seneca Let a man, then, obtain as many books as he wants, but none for show. “It is more respectable,” say you, “to spend…
- Seneca Let different qualities in different people keep us from quarrelling with them: let us fear to be angry with some,…
- 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 him rise in the presence of his elders. Let him obtain nothing by flying into a passion: let him be given when he…
- 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 conceal its symptoms, and as far as possible keep it secret and hidden. It will give us great trouble to do…
- Seneca Let us differ inwardly in every way, while outwardly our appearance remains in harmony with those around us.
- Seneca Let us now enquire whether anger be in accordance with nature, and whether it be useful and worth entertaining in some…
- Seneca Let virtue lead the way and bear the standard: we shall have pleasure for all that, but we shall be her masters and…
- Seneca Life's many hardships teach the lesson of silence.
- Seneca May it not be that, although anger be not natural, it may be right to adopt it, because it often proves useful? It…
- Seneca Men who are in this condition are never allowed to come to themselves: if ever by chance they obtain any rest, they…
- Seneca Morning can find someone exalted and evening find them low. Do not rely too much on success or despair of hardship;…
- Seneca No creature is more self-willed, requires more careful management, or ought to be treated with greater indulgence than…
- 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 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 Nothing, however, will be of so much service as to consider, first, the hideousness, and, secondly, the danger of…
- Seneca Nothing is more maddening than anger or more eager to display its force. When it succeeds it grows proud; when blocked…
- 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 is sufficient for covetous desire, but Nature can be satisfied even with scant measure. The poverty of an…
- Seneca Of these wrongs which drive you frantic, some will grow lighter after an interval, not of a day, but even of an hour:…
- Seneca Philosophy asks for a simple life, not a punishing one; simplicity need not be harsh or crude.
- Seneca Pray, Alexander, what is the difference between your throwing Lysimachus into a lion’s den and tearing his flesh with…
- Seneca Readiness to believe what we hear causes very great mischief; we ought often not even to listen, because in some cases…
- Seneca Revenge takes up much time, and throws itself in the way of many injuries while it is smarting under one. We all…
- Seneca Show me one who is not enslaved: one serves lust, another money, another rank, and all serve fear. No bondage is more…
- Seneca Show why the wise avoid drunkenness by its ugly results, not by speeches alone. Pleasures that exceed measure readily…
- 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 Some are brought into this condition by disease or bodily injury, others by hard work, long watching, nights of…
- Seneca Some one has offered you an insult? Not a greater one, probably, than was offered to the Stoic philosopher Diogenes,…
- Seneca Some one who did not know Marcus Cato struck him in the public bath in his ignorance, for who would knowingly have…
- Seneca Some stories may be so construed as to appear to be insults: wherefore it is best to put some aside, to laugh at…
- Seneca Take unhurried walks outdoors, so the open air and deep breath may restore and feed the mind.
- 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 better a man is, the more frequently he is wont to suffer from your indiscriminate rage, you who are to be feared…
- Seneca The difference between it and irascibility is evident: it is the same as that between a drunken man and a drunkard;…
- 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 great Gaius Caesar, who proved such a merciful conqueror in the civil war, did the same thing; he burned a packet…
- Seneca The great Socrates would say the same thing to you. “Make me,” he would say, “the conqueror of all nations: let the…
- Seneca The increase which disease produces in bodies swollen with morbid humours is not healthy growth, but bloated…
- Seneca The inventor of wine is called Liber, not from the licence which he gives to our tongues, but because he liberates the…
- Seneca The maker of the world gave us what is needed to live well, not to live lavishly. What serves us is close at hand;…
- Seneca The mind can find no safe repose there, it must needs be shaken and tempest-tossed if it be safe only because of its…
- Seneca The next step is to see whether an alteration in their amount will be of service. If neither alteration of the order…
- Seneca The rational soul's chronic diseases are hardened faults such as greed and ambition: they twist judgment until mildly…
- Seneca The services of a good citizen are never thrown away: he does good by being heard and seen, by his expression, his…
- Seneca The sinner ought, therefore, to be corrected both by warning and by force, both by gentle and harsh means, and may be…
- Seneca The soul may be a ruler or a tyrant. When it honors what is good, it cares for the body and gives no shameful…
- Seneca The two sects of Epicureans and Stoics differ widely in most respects, and on this point among the rest, nevertheless,…
- Seneca The unlearned think that its opposite is strictness: but no virtue is the opposite of another virtue. What, then, is…
- Seneca The whole house mourned for the leisure of its old master, and did not lay aside its mourning until his work was…
- Seneca The wise man knows that all those who strut about in purple-edged togas, healthy and embrowned, are brain-sick people,…
- Seneca There is a lesser form of injury, which we must complain of rather than avenge, which the laws also have considered…
- 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 therefore nothing great or noble in anger, even when it seems to be powerful and to contemn both gods and men…
- Seneca These should be regarded as examples to be avoided, and what I am about to relate, on the contrary, to be followed,…
- Seneca This is not anger, it is ferocity: for it does not do hurt because it has received injury: but is even willing to…
- Seneca To rejoice and be glad is the proper and natural function of virtue: it is as much beneath her dignity to be angry, as…
- Seneca We are angry, either with those who can, or with those who cannot do us an injury. To the latter class belong some…
- Seneca We are born to a comfortable position enough, if we 324do not afterwards lose it: the aim of Nature has been to enable…
- Seneca We must abandon many things we call good but have become dependent on. Otherwise courage withers, for it needs…
- Seneca What are we to say to the argument that, if anger were a good thing it would attach itself to all the best men? Yet…
- 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 When they are on a journey their baggage is cut down, whenever they are obliged to travel fast their train of…
- Seneca Why make misfortune heavier by lamenting it? It is the stronger course to meet adversity directly. The more precarious…
- Seneca Why, wherefore is the people angry with gladiators, and so unjust as to think itself wronged if they do not die…
- Seneca You 158should approach him in different ways and in a compliant fashion, unless perchance you be so great a personage…
- Seneca You ask me, whither does all this tend? To prove, I answer, that no one should imagine himself to be safe from anger,…
- Seneca You ask what difference there is between them? All that there is between two very brave gladiators, one of whom…
- Seneca You cannot tell whether this vice is more execrable or more disgusting. Other vices can be concealed and cherished in…
- Seneca You know the taste of wine and spirits. Whether hundreds or thousands of bottles pass through you, you are only a…
- Seneca “You purposely misunderstand what I say,” says he, “for I too say that no one can live pleasantly unless he lives…
- 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 you do not believe that any one was ever scared out of anger by a mirror: and why not? Because when he…
- Seneca You see how free from any mental disturbance a man ought to be who has to weigh and consider all this, when he deals…
- Seneca You waste your pains: you want to do what is certain to be done. You say, “I do not wish necessarily to kill him, but…
- Seneca You will find that the most powerful and highly-placed men let fall phrases in which they long for leisure, praise it,…
- Zeno Better to stumble on your feet than to stumble with your speech.