Top 995 Quotes & Sayings by Seneca the Younger

He that does good to another does good also to himself, not only in the consequence but in the very act. For the consciousness of well-doing is in itself ample reward.

There is no easy way from the earth to the stars.

The great thing is to know when to speak and when to keep quiet.

The greatest man is he who chooses right with the most invincible resolution; who resists to sorest temptation from within and without; who bears the heaviest burdens cheerfully; who is calmest in storms, and most fearless under menaces and frowns; whose reliance on truth, on virtue, and on God is most unfaltering.

To be feared is to fear. No one has been able to strike terror into others and at the same time enjoy peace of mind.

Humanity is fortunate, because no man is unhappy except by his own fault.

We are born to lose and to perish, to hope and to fear, to vex ourselves and others; and there is no antidote against a common calamity but virtue; for the foundation of true joy is in the conscience.

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 greatest 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.

A sword by itself does not slay; it is merely the weapon used by the slayer.

What's the good of dragging up sufferings which are over, of being unhappy now just because you were then.

As the mother's womb holds us for ten months, making us ready, not for the womb itself, but for life, just so, through our lives, we are making ourselves ready for another birth...Therefore look forward without fear to that appointed hour- the last hour of the body, but not of the soul...That day, which you fear as being the end of all things, is the birthday of your eternity.

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

The primary sign of a well-ordered mind is a man's ability to remain in one place and linger in his own company

Wealth is the slave of a wise man. The master of a fool.

Time discovers truth. Time heals what reason cannot.

The largest part of goodness is the will to become good.

The thing that matters is not what you bear, but how you bear it

Human affairs are like a chess-game: only those who do not take it seriously can be called good players. Life is like an earthen pot: only when it is shattered, does it manifest its emptiness.

Fire proves gold, adversity proves men.

Men can be divided into 2 groups: one that goes ahead and achieves something, and one that comes after and criticizes.

Begin at once to live, and count each day as a separate life.

The evil which assails us is not in the localities we inhabit but in ourselves. We lack strength to endure the least task, being incapable of suffering pain, powerless to enjoy pleasure, impatient with everything. How many invoke death when, after having tried every sort of change, they find themselves reverting to the same sensations, unable to discover any new experience.

If you don't know, ask. You will be a fool for the moment, but a wise man for the rest of your life.

Rehearse death. To say this is to tell a person to rehearse his freedom. A person who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave. He is above, or at any rate, beyond the reach of, all political powers.

No tree becomes rooted and sturdy unless many a wind assails it. For by its very tossing it tightens its grip and plants its roots more securely; the fragile trees are those that have grown in a sunny valley.

Go on and increase in valor, O boy! this is the path to immortality.

He who asks with timidity invites a refusal.

A man is as unhappy as he has convinced himself he is.

The greatest loss of time is delay and expectation, which depend upon the future. We let go the present, which we have in our power, and look forward to that which depends upon chance, and so relinquish a certainty for an uncertainty.

Associate with people who are likely to improve you.

Be not dazzled by beauty, but look for those inward qualities which are lasting.

No one can long hide behind a mask; the pretense soon lapses into the true character.

No one can keep a mask on long.

It is never too late to learn what is always necessary to know.

It's all in your headJ you have the power to make things seem hard or easy or even amusing. The choice is yours.

He is most powerful who governs himself.

No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself.

What should a wise person do when given a blow? Same as Cato when he was attacked; not fire up or revenge the insult., or even return the blow, but simply ignore it.

It is man's duty to live in conformity with the divine will, and this means, firstly, bringing his life into line with 'nature's laws', and secondly, resigning himself completely and uncomplainingly to whatever fate may send him. Only by living thus, and not setting too high a value on things which can at any moment be taken away from him, can he discover that true, unshakeable peace and contentment to which ambition, luxury and above all avarice are among the greatest obstacles.

The kind of solace that arises from having company in misery is spiteful.

Be silent as to services you have rendered, but speak of favours you have received.

The true felicity of life is to be free from anxieties and pertubations; to understand and do our duties to God and man, and to enjoy the present without any serious dependence on the future.

The Best sign of Wisdom is the consistency between the words and deeds.

Don't stumble over something behind you.

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

We suffer more in imagination than in reality.

We all sorely complain of the shortness of time, and yet have much more than we know what to do with. Our lives are either spent in doing nothing at all, or in doing nothing to the purpose, or in doing nothing that we ought to do. We are always complaining that our days are few, and acting as though there would be no end of them.

There is nothing wrong with changing a plan when the situation has changed.

The greatest hindrance to living is expectancy, which depends upon tomorrow and wastes today

You are your choices.

He, who decides a case without hearing the other side, though he decides justly, cannot be considered just.

If you wish another to keep your secret, first keep it to yourself.

He who seeks wisdom is a wise man; he who thinks he has found it is mad.

Laugh at your problems; everybody else does.

No one can lead a happy life, or even one that is bearable, without the pursuit of wisdom, and that the perfection of wisdom is what makes the happy life, although even the beginnings of wisdom make life bearable. Yet this conviction, clear as it is, needs to be strengthened and given deeper roots through daily reflection; making noble resolutions is not a important as keeping the resolutions you have made already.

The important thing about a problem is not its solution, but the strength we gain in finding the solution

Retire into yourself as much as possible. Associate with people who are likely to improve you. Welcome those whom you are capable of improving. The process is a mutual one. People learn as they teach.

Find a path or make one.

The path of increase is slow, but the road to ruin is rapid.

Nothing is more disgraceful than that an old man should have nothing to show to prove that he has lived long, except his years.