Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Lucius Annaeus Senecawas a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature...
NationalityRoman
ProfessionStatesman
Lucius Annaeus Seneca quotes about
creature fellow hold remember whenever
Whenever you hold a fellow creature in distress, remember that he is a man.
cases envy estimate evil less loss troubles
No evil is without its compensation. The less money, the less trouble; the less favor, the less envy. Even in those cases which put us out of wits, it is not the loss itself, but the estimate of the loss that troubles us.
building carried drudgery equally form inventing inventions lessons lies lowest men object office pace parts perfection philosophy rapid teach time warmth windows writer
In my own time there have been inventions of this sort, transparent windows tubes for diffusing warmth equally through all parts of a building short-hand, which has been carried to such a perfection that a writer can keep pace with the most rapid speaker. But the inventing of such things is drudgery for the lowest slaves; philosophy lies deeper. It is not her office to teach men how to use their hands. The object of her lessons is to form the soul.
despised hate learned until
No one can be despised by another until he has learned to despise himself.
beautiful friendship friends-or-friendship qualities understand
One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.
fools-and-foolishness hatred inflicted
A foolishness is inflicted with a hatred of itself.
cringe defiance face ought shall surrender
Shall I tell you what the real evil is? To cringe to the things that are called evils, to surrender to them our freedom, in defiance of which we ought to face any suffering.
favorable man port wind
If a man does not know what port he is steering for, no wind is favorable to him.
ancestry boasts deed praises
He who boasts of his descent, praises the deed of another.
desires fears king
He is a king who fears nothing, he is a king who desires nothing!
contentment deprived endure endured happy highest lowest man misfortune
Happy the man who can endure the highest and the lowest fortune. He, who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity, has deprived misfortune of its power.
age-and-aging among declining embrace extreme gradually love maintain pleasure reached sweetest
As for old age, embrace and love it. It abounds with pleasure if you know how to use it. The gradually declining years are among the sweetest in a man's life, and I maintain that, even when they have reached the extreme limit, they have their pleasure still.
leaders-and-leadership
He who dreads hostility too much is unfit to rule.
amiable ancestry born unless
No one is better born than another, unless they are born with better abilities and a more amiable disposition.