"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult"
"As Lucretius says: 'Thus ever from himself doth each man flee.' But what does he gain if he does not escape from himself? He ever follows himself and weighs upon himself as his own most burdensome companion. And so we ought to understand that what we struggle with is the fault, not of the places, but of ourselves"
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Source: Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucilius). Book by Seneca the Younger (letter CI), circa 65 AD.
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"A sword by itself does not slay; it is merely the weapon used by the slayer."
"The important thing about a problem is not its solution, but the strength we gain in finding the solution"
"No one can lead a happy life, or even one that is bearable, without the pursuit of wisdom, and that the perfection of wisdom is what makes the happy life, although even the beginnings of wisdom make life bearable. Yet this conviction, clear as it is, needs to be strengthened and given deeper roots through daily reflection; making noble resolutions is not a important as keeping the resolutions you have made already."
"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 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."
"Don't stumble over something behind you."