Seneca Quotes

It is within the power of every man to live his life nobly, but of no man to live forever. Yet so many of us hope that life will go on forever, and so few aspire to live nobly.

Who shrinks from knowledge of his calamities but aggravates his fear; troubles half seen, shall torture all the more.

The declaration of love may come sooner than expected. Take time before you reciprocate as this may simply be a statement of what they expect from you.

No man is born wise; but wisdom and virtue require a tutor; though we can easily learn to be vicious without a master.

The fortune of war is always doubtful.

Anger is like those ruins which smash themselves on what they fall.

The man who spends his time choosing one resort after another in a hunt for peace and quiet will in every place he visits find something to prevent him from relaxing.

Desultory reading is delightful, but to be beneficial, our reading must be carefully directed.

No untroubled day has ever dawned for me.

What a great blessing is a friend with a heart so trusty you may safely bury all your secrets in it.

Live for thy neighbor if thou wouldst live for thyself.

It is for the superfluous things of life that men sweat.

It is not manly to turn one's back on fortune.

Speech is the index of the mind.

Fortune reveres the brave, and overwhelms the cowardly.

Men love their vices and hate them at the same time.

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

That which has been endured with difficulty is remedied with delight.

Human nature is so constituted that insults sink deeper than kindnesses; the remembrance of the latter soon passes away, while that of the former is treasured in the memory.

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

Nothing is so contemptible as the sentiments of the mob.

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

The mind makes the nobleman, and uplifts the lowly to high degree.

If we desire to judge justly, we must persuade ourselves that none of us is without sin.

If virtue precede us every step will be safe.

It takes the whole of life to learn how to live, and - even more surprising - it takes the whole of life to learn how to die.

Let us cherish and love old age; for it is full of pleasure, if you know how to use it. The best morsel is reserved for last.

Time hath often cured the wound which reason failed to heal.

Demand not that I am the equal of the greatest, only that I am better than the wicked.

You have to persevere and fortify your pertinacity until the will to good becomes a disposition to good.

You will die not because you're ill, but because you're alive.

How much does great prosperity overspread the mind with darkness.

As long as you live, learn how to live.

Every journey has an end.

Not a soul takes thought how well he may live- only how long: yet a good life might be everybody's, a long one can be nobody's.

Before old age I took care to live well; in old age I take care to die well; but to die well is to die willingly.

Our posterity will wonder about our ignorance of things so plain.

Nature does not bestow virtue; to be good is an art.

We are taught for the schoolroom, not for life.

Whatever begins, also ends.

In whatever direction you turn, you will see God coming to meet you; nothing is void of him, he himself fills all his work.

While we teach, we learn.

Our (the Stoic) motto, as you know, is live according to nature.

Life is a gift of the immortal Gods, but living well is the gift of philosophy.

As the world leads we follow.

We are sure to get the better of fortune if we do but grapple with her.

Precepts or maxims are of great weight; and a few useful ones at hand do more toward a happy life than whole volumes that we know not where to find.

Good sides to adversity are best admired at a distance.

The point is, not how long you live, but how nobly you live.

The hour which gives us life begins to take it away.