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Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius

Book by Seneca · 9 quotes · Courage To Believe, Trust, All Consuming Wrath

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AllCourage To BelieveTrustAll Consuming WrathAngerAnxietiesBiasesFearFreedom To ExistFriendshipFriendship And LoveHolding To The Pains Of The PastHuman NatureInfluencesLiving In The PresentLoveLoyaltyMadnessMemoriesMiseryNostalgia

Letters From A Stoic | Moral Letters To Lucilius Quotes

“Ponder for a long time whether you shall admit a given person to your friendship, but when you have decided to admit him, welcome him with all your heart and soul. Speak boldly with him as with yourself. As to yourself, although you should live in such a way that you trust your own self with nothing which you could not entrust even your enemy, yet, since certain matters occur which convention keeps secret, you should share at least all your worries and reflections. Regard him as loyal, and you will make him loyal. Some, for example, fearing to be deceived, have taught men to deceive; by their suspicions, they have given their friend the right to do wrong.”

TrustLoyaltyCourage To BelieveFreedom To Exist
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“You wander hither and yon, to rid yourself of the burden that rests upon you, though it becomes more troublesome by reason of your very restlessness, just as in a ship the cargo when stationary makes no trouble, but when it shifts to this side or that, it causes the vessel to heel more quickly in the direction where it has settles. Anything you do tells against you, and you hurt yourself by your very unrest; for you are shaking up a sick man.”

Restlessness
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“But the chief cause of both of these ills is that we do not adapt ourselves to the present. but send our thoughts a long way ahead. And so foresight, the noblest blessing of the human race, becomes perverted. Beasts avoid the dangers which they see, and when they have escaped them are free from care; but we men torment ourselves over that which is to come as well as over that which is past. Many of our blessings bring bane to us; for memory recalls the tortures of fear, while foresight anticipates them. The present alone can make no man wretched.”

MemoriesMiseryNostalgiaLiving In The PresentAnxietiesHolding To The Pains Of The Past
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“Therefore, you should note the following saying, taken from my reading in Pomponius: "Some men shrink into dark corners, to such a degree that they see darkly by day." No, men should combine these tendencies, and he who reposes should act, and he who acts should repose. Discuss the problem with Nature; she will tell you that she created both day and night.”

SubjectivityBiasesRealization Of Truth
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“Beyond question the feeling of a loves has in it something akin to friendship; one might call it friendship run mad. But, though this is true, does anyone love for the sake of gain, or promotion, or renown? Pure love, regardless of all other things, kindles the soul with the desire for the beautiful object, not without the hope of a return of affection.”

LoveSincerity Of HeartStoic Love
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