Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius Quotes

“Philosophy is no trick to catch the public; it is not devised for show. It is a matter, not of words, but of facts. It is not pursued in order that the day may yield some amusement before it is spent, or that our leisure may be relieved of a tedium that irks us. It moulds and constructs the soul; it orders our life, guides our conduct, shows us what we should do and what we should leave undone; it sits at the helm and directs our course as we waver amid uncertainties. Without it, no one can live fearlessly or in peace of mind.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“Beyond question the feeling of a lover has in it something akin to friendship; one might call it friendship run mad. But, though this is true, does anyone love for the sake of gain, or promotion, or renown? Pure love, regardless of all other things, kindles the soul with the desire for the beautiful object, not without the hope of a return of affection.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“Democritus says: "One man means as much to me as multitude, and a multitude only as much as one man." The following also as nobly spoken by someone or other, for it is doubtful who the author was; they asked him what was the object of all this study applied to an art that would reach but very few. He replied: "I am content with a few, content with one, content with none at all." The third saying- and a noteworthy one, too- is by Epicurus, written to one of the partners of his studies: "I write this not for the many, but for you; each of us is enough of an audience for the other.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“You may say: "For what purpose did I learn all these things?" But you need not fear that you have wasted your efforts; it was for yourself that you learned them.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“Others, again, fear to confide in their closest intimates; and if it were possible, they would not trust even themselves, burying their secrets deep in their hearts. But we should do neither. It is equally faulty to trust everyone and to trust no one.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“Everywhere means nowhere.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“Pleasure is a poor and petty thing. No value should be set on it.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“Beyond question the feeling of a loves has in it something akin to friendship; one might call it friendship run mad. But, though this is true, does anyone love for the sake of gain, or promotion, or renown? Pure love, regardless of all other things, kindles the soul with the desire for the beautiful object, not without the hope of a return of affection.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“These are the so-called "fair-weather" friendships, one who is chosen for the sake of utility will be satisfactory only so long as he is useful. Hence prosperous mean are blockaded by troops of friends; but those who have failed stand amid vast loneliness their friends fleeing from the very crisis which is to test their worth.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“I mean that I come home more greedy, more ambitious, more ambitious, more voluptuous, and even more cruel and inhuman, because I have been among human beings.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“But the chief cause of both of these ills is that we do not adapt ourselves to the present. but send our thoughts a long way ahead. And so foresight, the noblest blessing of the human race, becomes perverted. Beasts avoid the dangers which they see, and when they have escaped them are free from care; but we men torment ourselves over that which is to come as well as over that which is past. Many of our blessings bring bane to us; for memory recalls the tortures of fear, while foresight anticipates them. The present alone can make no man wretched.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“Therefore, you should note the following saying, taken from my reading in Pomponius: "Some men shrink into dark corners, to such a degree that they see darkly by day." No, men should combine these tendencies, and he who reposes should act, and he who acts should repose. Discuss the problem with Nature; she will tell you that she created both day and night.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“Ponder for a long time whether you shall admit a given person to your friendship, but when you have decided to admit him, welcome him with all your heart and soul. Speak boldly with him as with yourself. As to yourself, although you should live in such a way that you trust your own self with nothing which you could not entrust even your enemy, yet, since certain matters occur which convention keeps secret, you should share at least all your worries and reflections. Regard him as loyal, and you will make him loyal. Some, for example, fearing to be deceived, have taught men to deceive; by their suspicions, they have given their friend the right to do wrong.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“When men have begun to desire all things in opposition to the ways of nature, they end up by entirely abandoning the ways of nature”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“It is time to stop, but not before I have paid duty. "The knowledge of sin is the beginning of salvation." This saying of Epicurus seems to me to be a noble one. For he who does not know that he has sinned does not desire correction; you must discover yourself in the wrong before you can reform yourself. Some boasts of their faults. Do you think that the man has any thought of mending his ways who counts over his vices as if they were virtues? Therefore, as far as possible, prove yourself guilty, hunt up charges against yourself; play the part, first of accuser, then of judge, last of intercessor. At times be harsh with yourself.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“You wander hither and yon, to rid yourself of the burden that rests upon you, though it becomes more troublesome by reason of your very restlessness, just as in a ship the cargo when stationary makes no trouble, but when it shifts to this side or that, it causes the vessel to heel more quickly in the direction where it has settles. Anything you do tells against you, and you hurt yourself by your very unrest; for you are shaking up a sick man.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“So it is with anger, my dear Lucilius; the outcome of a mighty anger is madness, and hence anger should be avoided, not merely that we may escape excess, but that we may have a healthy mind. Farewell.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

“When friendship is settled, you must trust; before friendship is formed, you must pass judgement.”
― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius