Seneca
Seneca
hard suffer suffering sweet
What was hard to suffer is sweet to remember.
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.
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.
act action considered unless
No action will be considered blameless, unless the will was so, for by the will the act was dictated.
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.
flow flowing inward peace tears
Let tears flow of their own accord: their flowing is not inconsistent with inward peace and harmony.
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.
appearance general greater people whom
There are no greater wretches in the world than many of those whom people in general take to be happy.
remove restraint severe
Remove severe restraint and what will become of virtue?