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
both fear help meanest none power stand
There is none made so great, but he may both need the help and service, and stand in fear of the power and unkindness, even of the meanest of mortals.
fear fears lighter
A person's fears are lighter when the danger is at hand.
birthday death fear last
The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity.
desires fears king
He is a king who fears nothing, he is a king who desires nothing!
amuse anxious blessings content dependence either enjoy fears great happiness hopes mankind ourselves rest satisfied true wants whatever wise wishing within
True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The great blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.
fear frightened imagination
We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.
bottom economy economy-and-economics late
Economy is too late when you are at the bottom of your purse.
drag fate fates lead
The fates lead the willing, and drag the unwilling.
sentiments
Nothing is so contemptible as the sentiments of the mob.
men
It is the superfluous things for which men sweat.
dislike great measure mind prefer sign
It is the sign of a great mind to dislike greatness, and prefer things in measure to things in excess.
quality quantity rather
It is the quality rather than the quantity that matters.
enjoy mar pleasure pleasures present
So enjoy present pleasures as to not mar those to come.
abandoned both desires limits moderation nature resources restricted sign utter
That moderation which nature prescribes, which limits our desires by resources restricted to our needs, has abandoned the field; it has now come to this - that to want only what is enough is a sign both of boorishness and of utter destitution.