“You want to know your biggest fault? You don’t keep true accounts: you put a high value on what you’ve given, a low value on what you’ve received.”
– Seneca, On Anger 3.31.3
#stoicism #anger #gratefulness
“not wanting is just as good as having”
“not wanting is just as good as having”
– Seneca, Letters 119.2
#stoicism #happiness #striving
One of the most important part of stoicism – and the entire Socratic tradition – is that we constantly strive to…
One of the most important part of stoicism – and the entire Socratic tradition – is that we constantly strive to become aware of and to correct our flaws. A very real challenge in that endeavour is to stand our ground when we know we did the right thing but everyone blames us for doing so.
“you will often have to combine being just with being disgraced. And then if you are wise, you should take delight in the bad reputation you have won by your good behavior.”
Seneca.Letters 113.32
#stoicism #reputation
“We ought not to wait for our spare time to practice philosophy; rather, we should neglect other occupations to…
“We ought not to wait for our spare time to practice philosophy; rather, we should neglect other occupations to pursue this one task for which no amount of time would be sufficient, even if our lives were prolonged to the greatest extent of the human lifespan. You might as well not bother with philosophy if you are going to practice it intermittently. For it does not stay in one place during an interruption. No, it is like some object that springs back after being compressed: once you let up, you revert to where you were before. You have to take a stand against occupations. Rather than reducing your encumbrances, you should get rid of them altogether. There is no time that is not well suited to these healing studies, yet there are many who fail to study when caught up in the problems that give one reason to study”
– Seneca, Letters 72.3
#stoicism #progress #mindfulness
“Now I will tell you how you may know that you are not wise. The wise person is filled with joy, cheerful and calm,…
“Now I will tell you how you may know that you are not wise. The wise person is filled with joy, cheerful and calm, unalarmed; he lives on equal terms with gods. Now look at yourself. If you are never downcast; if your mind is not bothered by any hopes concerning the future; if your mental state is even and consistent night and day, upright and content with itself, then you have indeed attained the fullness of the human good. But if you seek pleasure in every direction and of every kind, then be aware that you are as far removed from wisdom as you are from joy. Joy is your aim, but you are off course: you think that you will get there amid riches and accolades; in other words, you seek joy in the midst of anxiety! You go after those things on grounds that they will bestow happiness and pleasure, but in reality they are causes of pain”.
– Seneca, Letters 59.1
#stoicism #wisdom