Seneca's Letters from a Stoic

by Seneca

One who seeks friendship for favourable occasions, strips it of all its nobility.

Natural promptings, and not his own selfish needs, draw him into Friendships.

Unblest is he who thinks himself unblest.

happy?" It matters not what one says, but what one feels;

"Know that thou art freed from all desires when thou hast reached such a point that thou prayest to God for nothing except what thou canst pray for openly."

"Live among men as if God beheld you; speak with God as if men were listening"?

Each pleasure reserves to the end the greatest delights which it contains.

I have lived; the course which Fortune set for me Is finished.

the best ideas are common property.

we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.

What I advise you to do is, not to be unhappy before the crisis comes; since it may be that the dangers before which you paled as if they were threatening you, will never come upon you;

Accordingly, some things torment us more than they ought; some torment us before they ought; and some torment us when they ought not to torment us at all. We are in the habit of exaggerating, or imagining, or anticipating, sorrow.

Do me the favour, when men surround you and try to talk you into believing that you are unhappy, to consider not what you hear but what you yourself feel, and to take counsel with your feelings and question yourself independently, because you know your own affairs better than anyone else does.

we agree too quickly with what people say. We do not put to the test those things which cause our fear; we do not examine into them; we blench and retreat just like soldiers who are forced to abandon their camp because of a dust-cloud raised by stampeding cattle, or are thrown into a panic by the spreading of some unauthenticated rumour.

The mind at times fashions for itself false shapes of evil when there are no signs that point to any evil; it twists into the worst construction some word of doubtful meaning; or it fancies some personal grudge to be more serious than it really is, considering not how angry the enemy is, but to what lengths he may go if he is angry.

Accordingly, weigh carefully your hopes as well as your fears, and whenever all the elements are in doubt, decide in your own favour; believe what you prefer.

we are frightened at uncertainties, just as if they were certain.

"The fool, with all his other faults, has this also, he is always getting ready to live."

And what is baser than getting ready to live when you are already old? I

I do not maintain that the body is not to be indulged at all; but I maintain that we must not be slaves to it.

He will have many masters who makes his body his master, who is over-fearful in its behalf, who judges everything according to the body.

We should conduct ourselves not as if we ought to live for the body, but as if we c...

Virtue is held too cheap by the man who counts his body too dear.

there are three main classes of these: we fear want, we fear sickness, and we fear the troubles which result from the violence of the stronger.

for what one avoids, one condemns,

One must therefore take refuge in philosophy; this pursuit, not only in the eyes of good men, but also in the eyes of those who are even moderately bad, is a sort of protecting emblem.

A soldier's skill is not at fault if he receives the death-blow through his armour.

"He who needs riches least, enjoys riches most."

He who craves riches feels fear on their account. No man, however, enjoys a blessing that brings anxiety; he is always trying to add a little more. While he puzzles over increasing his wealth, he forgets how to use it. He collects his accounts, he wears out the pavement in the forum, he turns over his ledger, – in short, he ceases to be master and becomes a steward.

"If you are studying philosophy, it is well." For this is just what "being well" means.

Now there are short and simple exercises which tire the body rapidly, and so save our time; and time is something of which we ought to keep strict account. These exercises are running, brandishing weights, and jumping, – high-jumping or broad-jumping, or the kind which I may call, "the Priest's dance," or, in slighting terms, "the clothes-cleaner's jump." Select for practice any one of these, and you will find it plain and easy.

But whatever you do, come back soon from body to mind.

"The fool's life is empty of gratitude and full of fears; its course lies wholly toward the future."

Therefore continually remind yourself, Lucilius, how many ambitions you have attained. When you see many ahead of you, think how many are behind!

philosophy ought to be our defence. She will encourage us to obey God cheerfully, but Fortune defiantly; she will teach us to follow God and endure Chance.

"If you live according to nature, you will never be poor; if you live according to opinion, you will never be rich."

strive toward a sound mind at top speed and with your whole strength.

If you wish to have leisure for your mind, either be a poor man, or resemble a poor man.

Away, then, with all excuses like: "I have not yet enough; when I have gained the desired amount, then I shall devote myself wholly to philosophy."

Therefore one should not seek to lay up riches first; one may attain to philosophy, however, even without money for the journey.

your plan should be this: be a philosopher now, whether you have anything or not, – for if you have anything, how do you know that you have not too much already? – but if you have nothing, seek understanding first, before anything else.

"Why of your own accord postpone your real life to the distant future?

Change the age in which you live, and you have too much. But in every age, what is enough remains the same.

"The acquisition of riches has been for many men, not an end, but a change, of troubles."

thus neither making oneself conspicuous nor becoming one of the crowd. For one may keep holiday without extravagance.

Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: "Is this the condition that I feared?"

one's retirement should neither be paraded nor concealed.

And as long as nothing satisfies you, you yourself cannot satisfy others.

consider that it is more important who receives a thing, than what it is he receives.

Prove your words by your deeds.