Seneca the Younger
Often known simply as Seneca, or Seneca the Younger, was a Roman philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and humorist.
[Seneca’s] tremendous faith in philosophy … was grounded on a belief that her end was the practical one of curing souls, of bringing peace and order to the feverish minds of men pursuing the wrong aims in life.
Omnis enim ex infirmitate feritas est.
We are taught for the schoolroom, not for life. (translator unknown).
Vis tu cogitare istum quem servum tuum vocas ex isdem seminibus ortum eodem frui caelo, aeque spirare, aeque vivere, aeque mori! tam tu illum videre ingenuum potes quam ille te servum.
Not lost, but gone before.
quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit: occidentis telum est.
He who does not prevent a crime, when he can, encourages it. (translator unknown).
nemo autem regere potest nisi qui et regi.
Virtue runs no risk of becoming contemptible by being exposed to view, and it is better to be despised for simplicity than to be tormented by continual hypocrisy.
Plus tamen tibi et viva vox et convictus quam oratio proderit; in rem praesentem venias oportet, primum quia homines amplius oculis quam auribus credunt, deinde quia longum iter est per praecepta, breve et efficax per exempla.
Tanta stultitia mortalium est.
Contra primus itaque causas pugnare debemus; causa autem iracundiae opinio iniuriae est, cui non facile credendum est. Ne apertis quidem manifestisque statim accedendum; quaedam enim falsa ueri speciem ferunt. Dandum semper est tempus: ueritatem dies aperit.
quae fuit durum pati, meminisse dulce est.
Hope not without despair, despair not without hope. (translated by Zachariah Rush).
Qui grate beneficium accipit, primam eius pensionem solvit.
Might makes right. (translator unknown).
Nemo quam bene vivat sed quam diu curat, cum omnibus possit contingere ut bene vivant, ut diu nulli.
Teaching by precept is a long road, but short and beneficial is the way by example.
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.
Our minds must have relaxation: rested, they will rise up better and keener. Just as we must not force fertile fields (for uninterrupted production will quickly exhaust them), so continual labor will break the power of our minds. They will recover their strength, however, after they have had a little freedom and relaxation.