Seneca
Seneca
desires fears king
He is a king who fears nothing, he is a king who desires nothing!
close either god openly placed whatever
Whatever is to make us better and happy, God has placed either openly before us or close to us.
bounds due security state whatever
Whatever has overstepped its due bounds is always in a state of instability.
genius mixture
There is no genius without a mixture of madness.
avarice evil promise promises purple rewards robe varied vices
There is no evil that does not promise inducements. Avarice promises money; luxury, a varied assortment of pleasures; ambition, a purple robe and applause. Vices tempt you by the rewards they offer.
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.
powerful
He is the most powerful who has himself, in his power.
almost sinned
He who repents of having sinned is almost innocent.
ancestry boasts deed praises
He who boasts of his descent, praises the deed of another.
compelling enter equal fortune freedom lists means slave
Freedom is not being a slave to any circumstance, to any constraint, to any chance; it means compelling Fortune to enter the lists on equal terms.
friend friends-or-friendship sure themselves
Those that are a friend to themselves are sure to be a friend to all.
cannot escape overcome
You cannot escape necessities, but you can overcome them.
equal strive
To strive with an equal is dangerous; with a superior, mad; with an inferior, degrading.
age age-and-aging despicable lived man offer proof
There is nothing more despicable than an old man who has no other proof than his age to offer of his having lived long in the world.