Thread by @WhatIsStoicism

30 short Stoic lessons

from Seneca's first 30 letters.

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Lay hold of today's task, and you will not need to depend so much upon tomorrow's.

While we are postponing, life speeds by.

(Letter I)

The primary indication of a well-ordered mind is a man's ability

to remain in one place and linger in his own company.

(Letter II)

Discuss everything with a friend; but first of all discuss the man himself.

When friendship is settled, you must trust;

before friendship is formed, you must pass judgment.

(Letter III)

It is the superfluous things for which men sweat...

That which is enough is ready to our hands.

He who has made a fair compact with poverty is rich.

(Letter IV)

The first thing which philosophy undertakes to give is fellow-feeling with all men;

in other words, sympathy and sociability.

(Letter V)

If wisdom were given me under the express condition that it must be kept hidden and not uttered, I should refuse it.

No good thing is pleasant to possess, without friends to share it.

(Letter VI)

The greater the mob with which we mingle,

the greater the danger.

(Letter VII)

Indulge the body only so far as is needful for good health.

The body should be treated more rigorously, that it may not be disobedient to the mind.

(Letter VIII)

The wise man is sufficient unto himself for a happy existence, but not for mere existence.

For he needs many helps towards mere existence;

but for a happy existence he needs only a sound and upright soul, one that despises Fortune.

(Letter IX)

Speak, and live, in this way; see to it that nothing keeps you down.

(Letter X)

Cherish some man of high character, and keep him ever before your eyes,

living as if he were watching you, and ordering all your actions as if he beheld them.

(Letter XI)

Let us cherish and love old age; for it is full of pleasure if one knows how to use it.

Fruits are most welcome when almost over; youth is most charming at its close.

(Letter XII)

Some things torment us more than they ought; some torment us before they ought;

and some torment us when they ought not to torment us at all.

We are in the habit of exaggerating, or imagining, or anticipating, sorrow.

(Letter XIII)

He who craves riches feels fear on their account.

No man, however, enjoys a blessing that brings anxiety; he is always trying to add a little more.

While he puzzles over increasing his wealth, he forgets how to use it.

(Letter XIV)

The mind must be exercised both day and night, for it is nourished by moderate labour;

and this form of exercise need not be hampered by cold or hot weather, or even by old age.

(Letter XV)

Natural desires are limited;

but those which spring from false opinion can have no stopping-point.

The false has no limits.

(Letter XVI)

The acquisition of riches has been for many men, not an end, but a change, of troubles.

(Letter XVII)

It is in times of immunity from care that the soul should toughen itself beforehand for occasions of greater stress,

and it is while Fortune is kind that it should fortify itself against her violence.

(Letter XVIII)

As long as nothing satisfies you, you yourself cannot satisfy others.

(Letter XIX)

This is the highest duty and the highest proof of wisdom – that deed and word should be in accord,

that a man should be equal to himself under all conditions, and always the same.

(Letter XX)

Your greatest difficulty is with yourself;

for you are your own stumbling-block.

(Letter XXI)

Men do not care how nobly they live, but only how long,

although it is within the reach of every man to live nobly, but within no man's power to live long.

(Letter XXII)

Pleasure, unless it has been kept within bounds, tends to rush headlong into the abyss of sorrow.

(Letter XXIII)

Strip things of all that disturbs and confuses, and see what each is at bottom;

you will then comprehend that they contain nothing fearful except the actual fear.

(Letter XXIV)

The things which we actually need are free for all, or else cheap;

nature craves only bread and water. No one is poor according to this standard.

(Letter XXV)

Put aside the opinion of the world; it is always wavering and always takes both sides.

(Letter XXVI)

Let your faults die before you die.

(Letter XXVII)

You need a change of soul rather than a change of climate...

You must lay aside the burdens of the mind; until you do this, no place will satisfy you.

(Letter XXVIII)

What you think of yourself is much more to the point than what others think of you.

(Letter XXIX)

Philosophy bestows this boon upon us; it makes us joyful in the very sight of death,

strong and brave no matter in what state the body may be, cheerful and never failing though the body fail us.

(Letter XXX)