Seneca
Seneca
hard suffer suffering sweet
What was hard to suffer is sweet to remember.
discipline evil heart human powerful propensity subdued
No evil propensity of the human heart is so powerful that it may mot be subdued by discipline.
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.
poverty-and-the-poor whose wishes
Not he who has little, but he whose wishes more, is poor.
philosophers-and-philosophy philosophy plato received regard
Philosophy does not regard pedigree, she received Plato not as a noble, but she made him one.
flow flowing inward peace tears
Let tears flow of their own accord: their flowing is not inconsistent with inward peace and harmony.
act action considered unless
No action will be considered blameless, unless the will was so, for by the will the act was dictated.
dry eyes merely observe shed tears
Many shed tears merely for show, and have dry eyes when no one's around to observe them.
creature fellow hold remember whenever
Whenever you hold a fellow creature in distress, remember that he is a man.
amiable ancestry born unless
No one is better born than another, unless they are born with better abilities and a more amiable disposition.
despised hate learned until
No one can be despised by another until he has learned to despise himself.
behind self-knowledge sins
Other men's sins are before our eyes; our own are behind our backs.
body disease
Disease is not of the body but of the place.
charm charming conversation insidious love secrets
Conversation has a kind of charm about it, an insuating and insidious something that elicits secrets from us just like love or liquor.