Seneca Quotes
115 quotes
Seneca
Roman Stoic Philosopher, Playwright, and Statesman.
115 Quotes
Time discovers truth
— On Anger, Book 2, Section 22
The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today
— On the Shortness of Life, Section 9
The wise man is content with himself
— On the Happy Life, Chapter 7
We learn not in the school, but in life
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 106
To wish to be well is a part of becoming well
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 78
Every crime is born of necessity or anger or desire
— On Mercy, Book I, Section 21
As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter XCIII
Constant exposure to dangers will give contempt for danger
— Moral Letters, Letter LXXVIII
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 104
The part of life we really live is small. For all the rest of existence is not life, but merely time
— On the Shortness of Life, Chapter 2
Cease to hope, and you will cease to fear
— Letter 5, Letters to Lucilius
A wise man is safe, not because he guards himself, but because he lives in such a way that he need not fear any enemy
— On the Shortness of Life, Section XVIII
To be everywhere is to be nowhere
— Moral Letters, Letter II, On Discursiveness in Reading
It is not that we are given a short life, but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it
— On the Shortness of Life, Chapter I
The fiercest anger of all, the most incurable, is that which rages in the place of the most unpolluted happiness.
— On Anger, Book II, Section 36
No man is crushed by misfortune unless he has first been deceived by prosperity
— On Providence, Section 4
No wind is favorable to the sailor who has no destination
— Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter LXXI
He who receives a benefit with gratitude repays the first installment on his debt
— On Benefits, Book II, Section 22
No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself
— Moral Letters, Letter XIII
It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable
— Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 78
He who fears death will never do anything worthy of a living man.
— Moral Letters, Letter IV
He suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it is necessary
— Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 98
To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden
— On Providence, Section V
No one confines his unhappiness to himself; it spreads, as if all our neighbors were stricken by the same misfortune
— On Anger, Book II, Section 5
The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately
— Epistles, Letter 1
No man is despised by another unless he is first despised by himself
— Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 105
Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 9
He who does good to another does good also to himself, not only in the consequence, but in the very act
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter LXXIX
There is no genius without a tincture of madness
— On Tranquility of Mind, Section 17
Death is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all.
— Thyestes, line 400
We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter XIII
It is more fitting to laugh at life than to lament over it
— On Tranquility of Mind, 15.3
The mind that is anxious about future events is miserable
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 5
The yielding of the will to the teasing of fortune is the real cause of our misery
— On the Constancy of the Wise Man, V
Whatever can happen at any time can happen today
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter XCI
If you live in harmony with nature you will never be poor; if you live according to what others think, you will never be rich
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 16
A large part of mankind is angry with the truth, because the truth does not make allowance for self-deception.
— Moral Letters, Letter LXXIX
The best indication of a balanced mind is a man's ability to remain in his own company
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter II
Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 63
If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 71
There is no easy way from the earth to the stars
— Hercules Furens (Chorus)
What necessity forces, it dissolves the fear of what it compels
— On Providence, Section V
If you wish to be rid of your vices, you must flee far from the examples of them
— Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 7
All cruelty springs from weakness
— On Clemency, Book II, Section 4
It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen; that is the common right of humanity
— On Mercy, I.6
True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter XXIII
He who is brave is free
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 37
What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears
— On Consolation to Marcia, Section 19
He who is everywhere is nowhere
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 2
Fate leads the willing, and drags along the reluctant
— Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 107
It is more civilized to make fun of life than to bewail it
— On Tranquility of Mind, Section 15
There are more things to alarm us than to harm us, and we suffer more often in apprehension than reality
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 13
Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it
— On Anger, Book I, Section 19
If you would judge, investigate thoroughly
— Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter XLVIII
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful
— On Superstition, Letters to Lucilius 123
Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 101
No man was ever wise by chance
— On the Shortness of Life, Chapter 2
No one can be despised by another until he has learned to despise himself
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 80
Friendship always benefits; love sometimes injures
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter IX
For what prevents us from saying the truth? Habitual silence about the truth.
— Moral Letters, Letter XCVII
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer’s hand
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter LXXXII
The willing soul serves fate; the unwilling, fate subdues
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter CVII
Nothing is ours, except time
— Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter I
What fortune has made yours is not your own
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter LXXVIII
A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials
— On Providence, Section 5
A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer
— On Benefits, Book I, Section 6
No evil is honorable; but death is honorable; therefore death is not evil
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 70
Nothing, to my way of thinking, is better proof of a well-ordered mind than a man's ability to stop just where he is and pass some time in his own company
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter II
If you wish to be loved, love
— Epistles, Letter 9
It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter LXXXIV
What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself
— Letter 6, Letters to Lucilius
It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing
— Epistulae Morales, Letter 88
Where fear is, happiness is not
— On Tranquility of Mind
Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 7
It is not the last drop that empties the water-clock, but all that which previously has flowed out
— Epistles, Letter 24
Nothing is so honorable as a grateful heart
— Epistulae Morales, Letter 81
Associate with people who are likely to improve you
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 7
Just as the eye by seeing certain colors is sharpened for others, so, too, our judgment, by exercising itself on trivial things, is prepared for weightier matters
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter LXXI
Fire tests gold, adversity tests strong men
— On Providence, Section 5
Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it
— On Anger, Book III
The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity
— On Providence, 2.6
No one can live a happy life if he cares only for himself and turns everything to his own advantage; you must live for your neighbor if you would live for yourself
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 48
The greatest wealth is a poverty of desires
— Moral Letters, Letter IX
No man was ever wise by chance
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 76
Nothing is burdensome if taken lightly, and nothing need arouse one's ire so long as one doesn't make it bigger than it is by getting angry
— Letter 85, Letters to Lucilius
To be everywhere is to be nowhere
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 2
No man can have a peaceful life who thinks too much about lengthening it, or believes that living many years is a great blessing
— On the Shortness of Life, Chapter XI
We suffer more often in imagination than in reality
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 13
Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can. Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself can improve. The process is mutual; for men learn while they teach
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter VII
Every night before going to sleep, we must ask ourselves: What infirmity have I mastered today? What passions opposed? What temptation resisted? What virtue acquired?
— On Anger, Book III, Chapter 36
What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others
— Epistles, Letter 94
Sometimes even to live is an act of courage
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 78
It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it
— On the Shortness of Life, Chapter 1
It is the sign of a great mind to dislike greatness, and to prefer things in measure to things in excess
— Epistles, Letter 76
All cruelty springs from weakness
— On Mercy, Book II, Section 4
If you wish to be loved, love
— Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 9
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 76
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 78
While we wait for life, life passes
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 1
Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 78
The wish for healing has always been half of health
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter LXXVIII
No one can live happily who has regard to himself alone and transforms everything into a question of his own utility
— On the Happy Life, Chapter 16
He who has made a fair compact with poverty is rich
— Moral Letters, Letter XLIV
It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 2
Nothing deters a good man from doing what is honorable
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 67
It is a great thing to know the season for speech and the season for silence
— On Anger, Book II, Section 15
Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants
— Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 2
Our lives are more like wrestling than dancing
— Epistles, Letter 78
Expecting is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter I
There is no enjoying the possession of anything valuable unless one has someone to share it with
— Epistulae Morales, Letter 6
No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself
— On Providence, Section 4
He who has made a fair compact with poverty is rich
— Epistles, Letter 110
Often a very old man has no other proof of his long life than his age
— On the Shortness of Life, Chapter III
Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness
— On the Shortness of Life, Section 7
Life is long if you know how to use it
— On the Shortness of Life