Seneca The Younger Quotes

Seneca the Younger, born around 4 BC in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba, Spain), was a Roman statesman, dramatist, and Stoic philosopher. As a prominent figure in the early Roman Empire, Seneca served as an advisor to Emperor Nero, but his enduring legacy lies in his philosophical writings, which articulate the principles of Stoicism.

Central to Seneca's Stoicism is the belief that true happiness is found not in external wealth or status, but in living in accordance with nature and reason. He taught that by mastering one's desires and fears, one could achieve a tranquil mind, regardless of external circumstances. His eloquent and accessible writings have made him one of the most influential Stoic philosophers, whose ideas continue to resonate with those seeking to cultivate inner peace and resilience in the face of life's challenges.

Seneca was forced to commit suicide in 65 AD after being implicated in a conspiracy against Nero, but his philosophical legacy endures, offering timeless wisdom on how to navigate the complexities of human existence.

• "Sometimes even to live is an act of courage."
  
  

• "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
  
  

• "Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body."
  
  

• "True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future."
  
  

• "It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor."
  
  

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

• "He who is brave is free."
  
  

• "We suffer more often in imagination than in reality."
  
  

• "No man was ever wise by chance."
  
  

• "As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters."
  
  

• "A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials."
  
  

• "If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person."
  
  

• "It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult."
  
  

• "He who has great power should use it lightly."
  
  

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

• "The greatest remedy for anger is delay."
  
  

• "It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable."
  
  

• "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end."
  
  

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

• "The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity."
  
  

• "Time heals what reason cannot."
  
  

• "Associate with people who are likely to improve you."
  
  

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

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

• "Life, if well lived, is long enough."
  
  

• "The mind that is anxious about the future is miserable."
  
  

• "To be everywhere is to be nowhere."
  
  

• "He who fears death will never do anything worth of a man who is alive."
  
  

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

• "Throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack."
  
  

• "It is quality rather than quantity that matters."
  
  

• "He who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave."
  
  

• "Silence is a lesson learned through life’s many sufferings."
  
  

• "A man who suffers before it is necessary, suffers more than is necessary."
  
  

• "Consult your friend on all things, especially on those which respect yourself. His counsel may then be useful where your own self-love might impair your judgment."
  
  

• "A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand."
  
  

• "Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness."
  
  

• "While we are postponing, life speeds by."
  
  

• "A man’s as miserable as he thinks he is."
  
  

• "You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire."