Lucius Annaeus Seneca Quotes

"The greatest empire is to rule oneself."

"No one can live happily who has regard to himself alone."

"The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity."

"He who has made a fair compact with poverty is rich."

"Philosophy teaches us to act, not to speak."

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they ...

"The mind makes a man noble, not his ancestry."

"Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness."

"Life is neither a good nor an evil; it is the place where good and evil are found."

"Hang on to your youthful enthusiasms—you’ll be able to use them better when you’re older."

"The greatest wealth is a poverty of desires."

"The life of man is of no greater duration than the breath of his nostrils."

"He who fears death will never do anything worthy of a living man."

"All things are inconstant except the faith in you, which you must always keep close to you."

"You live as if you were destined to live forever."

"The best ideas are common property."

"All cruelty springs from weakness."

"To wish to be well is a part of becoming well."

"People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time ...

"Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart."

"There is nothing the wise man does reluctantly."

"A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer’s hand."

"The first step towards wisdom is to know that you are ignorant."

"Life’s like a play: it’s not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters."

"Wealth is the slave of a wise man and the master of a fool."

"No one is laughable who laughs at himself."

"The mind must be exercised both day and night, for it is nourished by moderate labor."

"Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it."

"Let us train our minds to desire what the situation demands."

"You should make a man ashamed of doing wrong, rather than punish him."

"The sun shines on the wicked too."

"It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness."

"Nothing, to my way of thinking, is a better proof of a well-ordered mind than a man's ability to st...

"A man is as miserable as he thinks he is."

"They lose the day in expectation of the night, and the night in fear of the dawn."

"Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for,...

"Sometimes even to live is an act of courage."

"Men learn while they teach."

"Death is the release from all pains."

"He who has injured you was either stronger or weaker: if weaker, spare him; if stronger, spare your...

"What fortune has made yours is not your own."

"Many men have been harmed by their own good fortune."

"The wise man will not be angry with sinners."

"Nothing becomes so offensive so quickly as grief."

"There is no genius without a touch of madness."

"You must change your mind, not your sky."

"How nice it is to have out-worn one's desires and left them behind.”

“Besides, a man who follows someone else not only does not find anything, he is not even looking.”

"To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden."

"Fire tests gold, misfortune brave men."

"No one loves his country for its size, but for its character."

"The wise man regards the reason for all his actions, not the results."

"A favor is not a favor unless it is given freely."

"Death is a punishment to some, to some a gift, and to many a favor."

“It does not matter what you bear, but how you bear it.”

"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as usefu...

"If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable."

"The wish for healing has always been half of health."

"Love in its essence is spiritual fire."

"For greed all nature is too little."

"The first and greatest punishment of the sinner is the conscience of sin."

"A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer."

"A kingdom founded on injustice never lasts."

"Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power."

"Death is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all."

"I have less than I hoped for but perhaps I hoped for more than I deserve"

"The part of life we really live is small."

"A man is as miserable as he thinks he is."

"To have begun is half the job; persist and thou shalt finish."

"Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness."

"Associate with men who will improve you. Welcome those whom you are capable of improving. The proce...

"The shortest way to wealth is through contempt for wealth."

"Wealth does not bring about virtue, but virtue brings about wealth."

"No one can wear a mask for very long."

"A punishment to some, to some a gift, and to many a favor."

"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."

"We cease to be so angry once we cease to be so hopeful."

"The point is not how long you live, but how nobly you live."

"Life, if well lived, is long enough."

"The day which you fear as your last is the birthday of eternity."

"Even while they teach, men learn."

"Ignorance is the cause of fear."

"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."

"It is a great man that can treat his earthenware as if it were silver, and a man no less great who ...

"What once delighted us now weighs us down."

"The wise man lacks nothing that he can accept as a gift."

"To err is human, but to persist in error is diabolical."

"There is no enjoying the possession of anything valuable unless one has someone to share it with."

"Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body."

"True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future."

"The mind, when distracted, loses sight of any purpose."

"He that does good to another does good also to himself."

"It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor."

"The best revenge is not to be like your enemy."

"To wish to be well is a part of becoming well."

"The path of duty was to be his guide, and he was to follow it regardless of whither it might lead h...

"The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately."

"The mind that is anxious about the future is miserable."

"Nothing is more damaging to a man's character than the perception that he has been purchased."

"It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor."

"To win true praise, one must do things worthy of praise."