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Seneca Quotes and Words of Wisdom

Seneca Quotes

A collection of Seneca quotes and wise words about life, time, wisdom and other various topics.

Who was Seneca?
Seneca the Younger, usually known as Seneca, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist from the Silver Age of Latin literature. His full name was Lucius Annaeus Seneca.

As a writer, Seneca is known for his philosophical works and for his plays. His prose works include essays and letters dealing with moral issues.

Seneca was born in 4 BC in Cordoba in Hispania and raised in Rome, where he was trained in rhetoric and philosophy. He died in AD 65.

What did Seneca say?

Seneca was a major philosophical figure of the Roman Imperial Period. As a Stoic philosopher, he made a lasting contribution to Stoicism.

He had held a central position in the literature on Stoicism at the time and shaped the understanding of Stoic thought. Most of Seneca’s notable works came in the form of letters he wrote in which he gave advice to friends.

In one of his works, “Letters from a Stoic”, Seneca gave great advice to his friends. These letters guide us through problems, wealth, anger, poverty, success, failure, education, and in many other matters.

Seneca Quotes and Sayings

I have collected on this page some of the famous and also the less-known Seneca quotes. I hope you will like them and find them useful in your life.

Luck - Opportunity

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

“Every night before going to sleep, we must ask ourselves, what weakness did I overcome today? What virtue did I acquire?”

“If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable.”

“Only time can heal what reason cannot.”

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

“As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, that is what matters.”

Associate with People

“Associate with people who are likely to improve you.”

“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”

“You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire.”

“He who suffers more than necessary, suffers before it is necessary.”

“It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable.”

“The whole future lies in uncertainty: so live immediately.”

“Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.”

“The greatest remedy for anger is delay.”

“The man who has anticipated the coming of troubles takes away their power when they arrive.”

“It does not matter what you bear, but how you bear it.”

More of Seneca Quotes and Philosophy

“We should always allow some time to elapse, for time discloses the truth.”

It is the Quality that Matters

“It is the quality rather than the quantity that matters.”

“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness.”

“He who indulges in empty fears, earns himself real fears.”

“Ignorance is the cause of fear.”

“Cease to hope and you will cease to fear.”

“The mind that is anxious about future events is miserable.”

“The sun also shines on the wicked.”

Merely time - Seneca Quote

“The part of life we really live is small. For all the rest of existence is not life, but merely time.”

“There is no enjoying the possession of anything valuable unless one has someone to share it with.”

“It is not that we have so little time but that we lose so much. The life we receive is not short, but we make it so; we are not ill provided but use what we have wastefully.”

“Man is affected not by events but by the view he takes of them.”

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

Seneca Quotes and Words of Wisdom

Genius with Touch of Madness

“There is no genius without a touch of madness.”

“While we are postponing, life speeds by.”

“He who is brave is free.”

“While we wait for life, life passes.”

“Time heals what reason cannot.”

“Life is never incomplete if it is an honorable one. At whatever point you leave life, if you leave it in the right way, it is whole.”

“Let us train our minds to desire what the situation demands.”

“The less we deserve good fortune, the more we hope for it.”

“He who spares the wicked injures the good.”

“Enjoy present pleasures in such a way as not to injure future ones.”

Heights of Greatness Quote

“It is the rough road, which leads to the heights of greatness.”

“It is better to know useless things than to know nothing.”

You might also like reading: Stoic Quotes.

“Whatever can happen at any time can happen today.”

“Difficulty comes from our lack of confidence.”

“It is a great thing to know the season for speech and the season for silence.”

“Death is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all.”

Seneca Quotes on Time and Happiness

Doing Good - Seneca Quote

“He who does good to another does good also to himself.”

“To err is human, but to persist in the mistake is diabolical.”

“As long as you live, keep learning how to live.”

“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.”

“Until we have begun to go without them, we fail to realize how unnecessary many things are. We have been using them not because we needed them but because we had them.”

“It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it.”

“Time heals what reason cannot.”

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.”

“Hang on to your youthful enthusiasms – you’ll be able to use them better when you’re older.”

“The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so, wants nothing.”

The Quotes of Seneca Impart Timeless Wisdom

Seneca, the Stoic philosopher, imparted timeless wisdom through his quotes that continue to resonate with those seeking guidance in navigating life’s challenges.

His teachings emphasize the importance of self-awareness, resilience, and the pursuit of virtue. Seneca quotes encourage us to cultivate inner strength, embrace adversity as a means of growth, and live with purpose and integrity.

By internalizing these principles, we can strive for a more meaningful and fulfilling existence.

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