Seneca
Seneca
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.
desires fears king
He is a king who fears nothing, he is a king who desires nothing!
fashion vices
What were once vices are the fashion of the day.
corrupted speakers-and-speaking speech
When ever the speech is corrupted so is the mind.
deal egyptian palate pleasures strangle whom
The pleasures of the palate deal with us like the Egyptian thieves, who strangle those whom they embrace.
man suffering
A man who suffers before it is necessary, suffers more than is necessary.
actions firmness itself life mastery mind precept teaches wisdom words
Wisdom does not show itself so much in precept as in life - in firmness of mind and a mastery of appetite. It teaches us to do as well as to talk; and to make our words and actions all of a color.
few great hand life maxims precepts produce useful volumes
Precepts or maxims are of great weight; and a few useful ones on hand do more to produce a happy life than the volumes we can't find.
reign
Every reign must submit to a greater reign.
laughter
No one is laughable who laughs at himself.
large mankind sin
A large part of mankind is angry not with the sins, but with the sinners.