Seneca Quotes

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

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

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

Don't stumble over something behind you.

Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness.

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

We become wiser by adversity; prosperity destroys our appreciation of the right.

Great men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.

There in no one more unfortunate than the man who has never been unfortunate. for it has never been in his power to try himself.

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

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

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

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

One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.

There is nothing in the world so much admired as a man who knows how to bear unhappiness with courage.

You want to live-but do you know how to live? You are scared of dying-and, tell me, is the kind of life you lead really any different from being dead?

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

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

We suffer more in imagination than in reality.

It's not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.

Life is long if you know how to use it.

The intellect must not be kept at consistent tension, but diverted by pastimes.... The mind must have relaxation, and will rise stronger and keener after recreation.

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

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Poverty with joy isn't poverty at all. The poor man is not one who has little, but one who hankers after more.

To strive with an equal is dangerous; with a superior, mad; with an inferior, degrading.

We are members of one great body. Nature planted in us a mutual love, and fitted us for a social life. We must consider that we were born for the good of the whole.

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

The Fates guide those who go willingly. Those who do not, they drag.

He who asks with timidity invites a refusal.

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

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

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

It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness. As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.

Do the best you can . . . enjoy the present . . . rest satisfied with what you have.

To err is human. To repeat error is of the Devil.

We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.

You are your choices.

A good character is the only guarantee of everlasting, carefree happiness.

Men do not care how nobly they live, but only how long, although it is within the reach of every man to live nobly, but within no man's power to live long.

Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.

We should every night call ourselves to an account: What infirmity have I mastered today? What passions opposed! What temptation resisted? What virtue acquired?

We are always complaining that our days are few, and acting as though there would be no end to them.

Happy is the man who can endure the highest and lowest fortune. He who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity has deprived misfortune of its power.

There is no evil that does not promise inducements. Avarice promises money; luxury, a varied assortment of pleasures; ambition, a purple robe and applause. Vices tempt you by the rewards they offer.

Life without the courage to die is slavery.

Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.

While you teach, you learn.

There is no person so severely punished, as those who subject themselves to the whip of their own remorse.