Statesman · Roman · 179 quotes
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Statesman · Roman
Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.
The heart is great which shows moderation in the midst of prosperity.
The mind that is anxious about the future is miserable.
As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.
If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind.
God is the universal substance in existing things. He comprises all things. He is the fountain of all being. In Him exists everything that is.
We become wiser by adversity; prosperity destroys our appreciation of the right.
Our care should not be to have lived long as to have lived enough.
Death is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all.
It's not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It's because we dare not venture that they are difficult.
The first step in a person's salvation is knowledge of their sin.
The way is long if one follows precepts, but short... if one follows patterns.
Whatever fortune has raised to a height, she has raised only to cast it down.
True praise comes often even to the lowly; false praise only to the strong.
See how many are better off than you are, but consider how many are worse.
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.
Let us train our minds to desire what the situation demands.
The first and greatest punishment of the sinner is the conscience of sin.
A large part of mankind is angry not with the sins, but with the sinners.
The mind unlearns with difficulty what it has long learned.
If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.
The less we deserve good fortune, the more we hope for it.
Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.
It is the failing of youth not to be able to restrain its own violence.
That is never too often repeated, which is never sufficiently learned.
Poverty wants some, luxury many, and avarice all things.
A well governed appetite is the greater part of liberty.
It is the quality rather than the quantity that matters.
It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing.
I shall never be ashamed of citing a bad author if the line is good.
Anger is like those ruins which smash themselves on what they fall.
Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.
We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.
Those who boast of their descent, brag on what they owe to others.
The wish for healing has always been half of health.
Great grief does not of itself put an end to itself.
When we are well, we all have good advice for those who are ill.
Light troubles speak; the weighty are struck dumb.
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.
No one can be happy who has been thrust outside the pale of truth. And there are two ways that one can be removed from this realm: by lying, or by being lied to.
Successful and fortunate crime is called virtue.
Whenever the speech is corrupted so is the mind.
It is quality rather than quantity that matters.
As long as you live, keep learning how to live.
Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.
Success consecrates the most offensive crimes.
Shame may restrain what law does not prohibit.
