Complete Works of Seneca the Younger Quotes

“Let us see to it that the recollection of those whom we have lost becomes a pleasant memory to us. No man reverts with pleasure to any subject which he will not be able to reflect upon without pain. So too it cannot but be that the names of those whom we have loved and lost come back to us with a sort of sting; but there is a pleasure even in this sting. 5. For, as my friend Attalus used to say: “The remembrance of lost friends is pleasant in the same way that certain fruits have an agreeably acid taste, or as in extremely old wines it is their very bitterness that pleases us. Indeed, after a certain lapse of time, every thought that gave pain is quenched, and the pleasure comes to us unalloyed.” 6. If we take the word of Attalus for it, “to think of friends who are alive and well is like enjoying a meal of cakes and honey; the recollection of friends who have passed away gives a pleasure that is not without a touch of bitterness. Yet who will deny that even these things, which are bitter and contain an element of sourness, do serve to arouse the stomach?” 7. For my part, I do not agree with him. To me, the thought of my dead friends is sweet and appealing. For I have had them as if I should one day lose them; I have lost them as if I have them still. Therefore, Lucilius, act as befits your own serenity of mind, and cease to put a wrong interpretation on the gifts of Fortune. Fortune has taken away, but Fortune has given. 8. Let us greedily enjoy our friends, because we do not know how long this privilege will be ours.”
― Seneca, Complete Works of Seneca the Younger

“Harmony makes small things grow; lack of harmony makes great things decay.”
― Seneca, Complete Works of Seneca

“Here the savage Stygian dog frightens the shades; tossing back and forth his triple heads, with huge bayings he guards the realm. Around his head, foul with corruption, serpents lap, his shaggy man bristles with vipers, and in his twisted tail a long snake hisses. His rage matches his shape. Soon as he feels the stir of feet he raises his head, rough with darting snakes, and with ears erect catches at the onsped sound, wont as he is to hear even the shades.”
― Seneca, Complete Works of Seneca the Younger

“As oft-times the waves sweep on unwilling ships, so does the downward breeze drive, and the greedy void, and never do the clutching shades permit a backward step.”
― Seneca, Complete Works of Seneca the Younger

“Bisogna affrettarsi a vivere, c’incalza alle spalle il destino: presto questa compagnia sarà dispersa, questo gruppo sarà spazzato via in mezzo a un nugolo di grida, la vita è tutta una rapina, e in questa eterna fuga la vita stessa vi sfugge, o miseri mortali!”
― Seneca, Tutte le opere. Testo latino a fronte. Ediz. integrali

“Celui qui a vu couler son sang, dont les dents ont craqué sous le ceste, qui, renversé, a supporté le poids de l'adversaire étendu sur lui, que l'on a pu abattre sans abattre son courage, qui à chaque chute s'est relevé plus opiniâtre, celui-là descend plein d'espoir dans l'arène.”
― Seneca, Sénèque : Oeuvres complètes illustrées (31 titres annotés et complétés)

“la multitude, comme ces objets qui suivent le courant des fleuves, ne marche pas, mais est entraînée. Les”
― Seneca, Sénèque : Oeuvres complètes illustrées (31 titres annotés et complétés)