Seneca's Quotes “Don't stumble over something behind you”

Seneca's Quotes “Don't stumble over something behind you”

Seneca is a major philosophical figure of the Roman Imperial Period. As a Stoic philosopher writing in Latin, Seneca makes a lasting contribution to Stoicism. He occupies a central place in the literature on Stoicism at the time and shapes the understanding of Stoic thought that later generations were to have. Seneca’s philosophical works played a large role in the revival of Stoic ideas in the Renaissance. Until today, many readers approach Stoic philosophy through Seneca, rather than through the more fragmentary evidence we have for earlier Stoics. Seneca’s writings are stunningly diverse in their generic range. More than that, Seneca developed further and shapes several philosophical genres, most important, the letter and so-called “consolations”; his essay On Mercy is considered the first example of what came to be known as the “mirror of the prince” literature.

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

“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”

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

“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”

“We suffer more in imagination than in reality”

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

“Be wary of the man who urges an action in which he himself incurs no risk”

“The great thing is to know when to speak and when to keep quiet”

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

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

“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”

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

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

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

“It is never too late to learn what is always necessary to know”

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

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

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

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

“A man is as unhappy as he has convinced himself he is”

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

“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body”

“There is no easy way from the earth to the stars”
“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”

“It is never too late to turn from the errors of our ways: He who repents of his sins is almost innocent”

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

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

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

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

“If you live according to nature, you never will be poor; if according to the world's caprice, you will never be rich”