Seneca's Letters from a Stoic

by Seneca

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.

Even bad fortune is fickle. Perhaps it will come, perhaps not; in the meantime it is not. So look forward to better things.

the wise man regards the reason for all his actions, but not the results.

At last, then, away with all these treacherous goods! They look better to those who hope for them than to those who have attained them.

“If you live according to nature, you will never be poor; if you live according to opinion, you will never be rich.” Nature’s wants are slight; the demands of opinion are boundless.

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

If, however, his means of existence are

meagre and scanty, he will make the best of them, without being anxious or worried about anything more than the bare necessities;

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

In days of peace the soldier performs manoeuvres, throws up earthworks with no enemy in sight, and wearies himself by gratuitous toil, in order that he may be equal to unavoidable toil.

let us become intimate with poverty, so that Fortune may not catch us off our guard. We shall be rich with all the more comfort, if we once learn how far poverty is from being a burden.

Would you rather be poor and sated, or rich and hungry? Prosperity is not only greedy, but it also lies exposed to the greed of others. 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.