Release year: 2017 (Originally c. 65 AD)

Review

On a faithful day, I was scrolling on YouTube, possible looking for book suggestions, when I came across this video about a user starting a philosophy book club. I was intrigued. I became influenced. And I ended up buying the book in question: Letters on Ethics, from the Roman philosopher Seneca.

I don’t know how to feel about that. I guess I now realize I am easily being influenced because I look for answers to age old problems: Who am I? What is my purpose? How should I live my life?

The reason I chose to read this book is because I was influenced into it by someone who seemed to have his life in order. The stranger on the video said that this book greatly influenced his life and pushed him in the right direction. Thus, I couldn’t resist. I had to know what kind of wisdom philosophers from 2,000 years could teach me. I had yet to read a true philosophy book in my adult life. What is timeless wisdom? What could I learn from that?

Seneca is a philosopher from the Stoic school of thought, which is making a comeback in 2024 thanks to popular authors like Ryan Holiday. I suppose that the existential crisis my generation is going through has a lot to do with that. We are despaired because the faith of the world seems uncertain, we have financial stress, and we seem to have forgotten how to relate with one another. Many of us are looking for easy answers where there are none, and thus when someone tells us “Death awaits you, here is how to prepare for it,” we tend to listen. At least, that’s the case for me. Here is a quote from this book that in my view summarize Seneca’s philosophy:

One who makes light of death, opens his home to poverty, reins in pleasure and rehearses the endurance of pain will experience joy that cannot be run out of.

So this is indeed a big book, written over 500 pages. It is a lengthy read, but it is surprisingly easy to get into. The core innovation Seneca made when writing this was brilliant: he would write letters to his friend Lucilius, and these would become the chapters of his book. The concept works because the letters are written as much for Lucilius as they are for the reader of the book, i.e. me. When Seneca tells that he is proud of Lucilius because of the progress he is making in his way of thinking, it feels like Seneca is praising the reader directly. It is quite touching.

In the star quotes below, I did my best to highlight what subjects are being discussed in the book using hashtags, and here are the top 20 subjects I could identify:

virtue
fortune
fear
wealth
death
courage
happiness
wisdom
poverty
learning
time
pleasure
loss
life
joy
freedom
desire
will
study
self

As you can see, these are indeed timeless topics that apply to the human condition, no matter your age, your sex, your ethnicity, your social status, etc. Virtue tops this list, as it is a concept that Seneca comes back to time and time again. According to him, virtue is the only way to achieve true lasting happiness. I must admit that he argues his point pretty well for someone from 2,000 years ago, better than I ever could, anyway!

So, what did I learn from this read? I feel like I learned a lot, actually. Seneca’s attitude transcends the pages and give an example of how to traverse hardships courageously. Quote,

“To instill a mind with honorable ideas, nothing is more effective than good men’s company. One can get some benefit from a great man even if he is silent.”

Seneca is a man of his time, and thus has the annoying tendency of refering to “humans” as “men.”

I couldn’t help but laugh on the rare occasion when Seneca explicitely referred to women in his letters to share some opinions that have not aged well at all:

“Born to play the passive role, [some women] practice an utterly perverted type of obscenity (may the gods and goddesses destroy them!) and straddle men.” (p. 371)

This minor flaw is something the modern reader has to accept not to get distracted from the legitimately beautiful insights Seneca is teaching. It really does feel like Seneca is present with the reader and talking directly to them. I think I will keep from this read many star quotes (see below), or as Seneca might put them, precepts, which will help me guide my decisions or my emotions.

While the biggest problem of the Stoic doctrine is that it has the capacity to support the status quo, it is still a useful frame of mind to traverse all these things over which we truly have no control.

Before I finish this review, here are some quotes I found interesting with my thoughts attached to them:

“I will send you the books themselves, and I will annotate them too, so that you need not expend much effort hunting through them for the profitable bits, but can get right away to what I endorse and am impressed with.”

This is something I have been doing as well with the books I read. Seneca was 2,000 years ahead of me! I love giving annotated books to my friends, because I feel it will help them find the golden nuggets faster and thus profit more quickly from the book.

(p. 178) “Dying well is dying willingly”

Seneca often says things like this, but I believe there is danger for misinterpretation. I believe that is a dangerous thing to say in a society where suicide is very present. It is important to keep in mind that when Seneca says it is virtuous to die courageously, he is implying that death is the only option. In my opinion, death is very rarely the only option. I believe Seneca had in mind someone on their deathbed succumbing to sickness, or an actual gladiator who has fallen to the ground and can’t get up. Indeed, here are quotes where Seneca makes it very clear that a courageous death is built on a foundation of willing to live:

(p. 214) “It is wrong to steal the means of living, but very fine to steal the means of dying [because this could prevent a murder or a suicide].”
(p. 251) “There are times when just continuous to live is a courageous action.”
(p. 468) “Nothing seems more shameful than to pray for death.”

Thus, Seneca invites us to use the finiteness of our lives and the certainty of our end to motivate us to live virtuously, so that we can experience lasting joy from within ourselves.

(p. 259) “Dearest Lucilius, how glad I am that we are doing this [exchange of letters] – that we are pressing on in this direction with all our strength, even if a few people ever know; even if no one knows.”

I find this quote quite touching. Seneca is expressing his joy towards his project of exchanging letters to his friend. He knew this would eventually become a book, and yet he had no idea if people would read his works. He wasn’t doing this for the praise. He embarked on this writing journey because it filled him with joy: that was his motivation! This inspires me to retrieve the same sentiment in my own writings: writing for joy, for myself, my own benefit. We still read Seneca’s letters 2,000 years after they were written, and probably will for as long as humanity is alive. The fact that he didn’t care at all whether this would happen surely contributed to making his work great and timeless.

“Precepts are only useful if we know why they are true.”

This is a reminder for myself. My Star Quotes are essentially a list of precepts I gathered from the books I read. However, we cannot simply take precepts at face value. We have to know why they are true so we can apply them correctly. Otherwise, we might take one of the quotes above, “Dying well is dying willingly,” and make a regrettable choice due to misunderstanding what the precept really meant.

As Seneca says, (p. 360) “Good precepts, if they are often with you, will be as helpful as good role models.” That is what I am hoping for myself. By keeping a record of my favorite precepts, I hope they will come to mind when I face hardships and guide me toward making the best decision.

This book is filled with majestic, eternal precepts that very possibly might have been written for the first time by Seneca himself. This read motivated me to keep exploring ancient writings to better appreciate where our collective wisdom comes from.

To the curious reader, I strongly recommend this book, and give it the highest ratings. Sometimes, being influenced can be a good thing!

Félix rating:
👍👍

⭐ Star Quotes

(p. xiv) The most precious thing of all, and the only truly precious thing, is #self-control.
(p. xv) Internal #freedom is true freedom.
(p. xviii) #logic – Carrying logical precision to excess is futile: it does not make a person any better.
(p. xxiii) #Tragedy is what happens when chance events befall fools.
(p. 13) #wisdom – The wise person’s most characteristic affective response is a deep and heartfelt sensation of #joy.
(p. 26) #poverty – A person is not poor, as long as what little he has left is enough for him.
(p. 26) The first sign of a settled mind is that it can stay in one place and spend time with itself.
(p. 27) #poverty – The pauper (extremely poor) is not the person who has too little but the one who desires more.
(p. 28) #admission ⭐ Live in such a way that anything you would admit to yourself could be admitted even to an enemy. With a friend, though, share all your concerns, all your thoughts. If you believe him loyal, you will make him so.
(p. 30) No good thing benefits us while we have it unless we are mentally prepared for the #loss of it.
(p. 30) No one has ever reached a point where the #power #fortune granted was greater than the #risk.
(p. 31) ⭐ Anyone who is on good terms with #poverty is rich.
(p. 32) Our way of life should be one that everyone can admire without finding it unrecognizable.
(p. 32) Limiting one’s #desires is beneficial also as a remedy for fear. Where #hope goes, #fear follows.
(p. 34) #company – No good is enjoyable to possess without a companion.
(p. 34) #independance – The man who has begun to be a friend to himself will never be alone.
(p. 34) ⭐ Spend your #time with those who will improve you; extend a welcome to those you can improve.
(p. 39) What #fortune makes your own is not your own. The good that can be given can be taken.
(p. 44) #enough – Anyone who does not think that he has plenty is miserable, even if he is ruler of the entire world.
(p. 46) #freedom – You are free of all #desires when you get to the point that you no longer ask God for anything except what you could ask for openly.
(p. 46) Live with humans as if God may be watching; Speak with God as if humans may be listening.
(p. 46) We need a person who can set the standard for our conduct. You will never straighten what is crooked unless you have a ruler.
(p. 52) All the things that make people sigh and groan are minor matters and not worth thinking about.
(p. 52, 85) ⭐ Don’t be #miserable before it is #time. It is foolish to be miserable now just because you are going to be miserable later on. The things you #fear as if they were impending may never happen; certainly they have not happened yet.
(p. 55) One of the evils of #foolishness is always beginning. (#dunning-kruger). What is more shameful than an old man making a beginning on life?
(p. 57) ⭐ The wise person will never provoke the #anger of those in #power, but will steer clear of it, just as one steers clear of a storm at sea.
(p. 57) #ownership – Do not possess anything worth stealing.
(p. 57) Being considered superior is just as harmful as being despised.
(p. 58) The wise person will not disturb the customs of the public, and neither will he draw attention by a strange manner of living.
(p. 59) ⭐ The wise person considers #intention, rather than outcome, in every situation.
(p. 59) #wealth – He enjoys riches most who has least need of riches.
(p. 61) #progress – When you see how many people are out ahead of you, think of how many are behind, and remember how you have surpassed yourself.
(p. 61) Set a #goal that you could not exceed even if you wanted to.
(p. 62, 73) #Philosophy consists not in words but in actions. It will teach you to follow God and to cope with chance. Philosophy teaches us to act, not to speak.
(p. 63) ⭐ If you live according to nature, you will never be poor; if according to opinions, you will never be rich.
(p. 64) From possessions and #wealth, you will learn only how to desire more.
(p. 65) Even if something prevents you from having a good living, nothing prevents you from having a good #death.
(p. 66) ⭐ ⭐ What is #enough is the same in every age.
(p. 67) Test #poverty and say to yourself, “Is this what I was afraid of?”
(p. 67) #preparation ⭐ A time when the mind of free of anxieties is the very time when it should prepare itself for adversity, otherwise it will be alarmed in a crisis.
(p. 71) As long as nothing is #enough for you, you will not be enough for anyone else.
(p. 71) It is the high places that get struck by lightning. The more you achieve, the more you will have to #fear.
(p. 72) #company – Look to your dinner companions rather than your dinner, for feeding without a friend is the life of a lion or a wolf.
(p. 73) ⭐ #Wisdom is always wanting the same thing and always rejecting the same thing.
(p. 74) #Poverty will show you who your friends are.
(p. 77) #wealth – To make someone rich, do not add to his money; subtract from his desires.
(p. 80) No one has to run after #prosperity.
(p. 81) #letting-go – As long as you hang on to the suitcase, you cannot swim to safety.
(p. 83) ⭐ One who makes light of #death, opens his home to #poverty, reins in #pleasure and rehearses the endurance of #pain will experience #joy that cannot be run out of.
(p. 89) The #death we fear is our last one, but not our only one.
(p. 91, 92) Let everything you do be done as if watched by someone while you go about making yourself the person in whose company you would not dare to do wrong.
(p. 92) #solitude – The time to be by yourself is especially when you are compelled to be in a crowd.
(p. 98) ⭐ #Awareness of wrongdoing is the starting point of healing, for he who does not know that he is doing wrong does not wish to be set right.
(p. 100) ⭐ “Never have I wished to please the populace, for it does not approve of my knowledge and I have no knowledge of what it does approve.
(p. 101) ⭐ What matters is not how you seem to others but how you seem to yourself.
(p. 104) ⭐ It is #uncertainty that frightens us.
(p. 105) If you want never to be afraid of #death, think about it always.
(p. 106) #life-goal – There is no reason for you to choose your wish, your aim, from among the things your parents prayed long ago for you to have.
(p. 107) #wisdom – The truly wise man does not fear the things he avoids nor admire the things he chooses.
(p. 107) #work – A real man is not afraid of sweat.
(p. 107) #ownership – #Money will not make you equal to a god: God owns nothing.
(p. 109) ⭐ Once one possesses #happiness, duration does not make it any happier.
(p. 122, 123) #speak #speech You will be right to disregard those who care about how much they say rather than how well, and to prefer, if you must, to speak haltingly. Just as a man of wisdom should be modest in his manner of walking, so should his speech be restrained, not impetuous. Speak slowly.
(p. 124) ⭐ A golden bridle does not improve the horse.
(p. 128) Once a person possesses himself, then nothing is ever lost to him.
(p. 129) ⭐ A good conscience welcomes a crowd; a bad one is racked with anxiety even in solitude.
(p. 129) #family Philosophy has no regard for the family tree. No ancestor lived his life just for us to brag about him. What happened before our time does not belong to us.
(p. 132)
- A charming enemy comes as a friend
- Faults creep in calling themselves virtues
- Temerity cloaks itself with the name of courage
- Cowardice gets called moderation
- Timidity passes itself off as caution
(p. 137) #opportunity Good materials often go to waste for lack of a skilled craftsman.
(p. 137) No servitude is more shameful than the kind we take on willingly (lust, greed, ambition, hope, fear).
(p. 138) Not everything that offends us is harmful to us.
(p. 139) ⭐ If you want to live for yourself, you must live for another.
(p. 144) ⭐ Straightforward is the speech of truth.
(p. 145) #introspection What you think are flaws in your situation are in fact flaws in yourself.
(p. 146) It is characteristic of a mind that is weak and ill to fear what it has not yet experienced.
(p. 148) “If I yield to pleasure, I must yield to pain, to toil, to poverty.”
(p. 149) Pleasures embrace us just to throttle us. Make them your worst enemies.
(p. 150) #grit There is no shame in overcoming the shortcomings of your own nature and making your way toward wisdom by dragging yourself there.
(p. 151) Nothing could be more shameful than philosophy that hungers for applause.
(p. 151) #praise Be glad to be praised by people only if you are able to praise them in return.
(p. 154) #mental-health With infirmities that affect the mind, the worse one is afflicted, the less he is aware of it.
(p. 154) #mental-health Admitting to one’s faults is a sign of health.
(p. 157) Soft living punishes us with #weakness: after refusing to do a thing for some time, we cease to be able to do it.
(p. 157) ⭐ #Fear looks to the cause rather than the effect.
(p. 169) Every moment is the #death of our previous condition.
(p. 175) Flattery makes a fool of every one of us.
(p. 175) ⭐ The result of #wisdom is steadiness of #joy.
(p. 175) Seeking #pleasure everywhere is not #wise and brings no #joy.
(p. 176) A person is not capable of #joy unless he is brave, just, and temperate.
(p. 176) What #fortune did not grant, fortune does not take away.
(p. 177) A person is #alive when he is of use to many and to himself.
(p. 178) Make an effort never to do anything against your #will.
(p. 178) If you can follow an order gladly, you keep your sense of #freedom.
(p. 178) ⭐ When makes people miserable is acting against their #will (it is not acting under orders).
(p. 190) ⭐ Nature made some people as they are just to prove that there is nowhere #virtue cannot be born.
(p. ?) You will not feel #loss if you accept it before it happens.
(p. ?) Your dead #friends live inside you.
(p. 195) No one loves his homeland because it is great, but only because it is his.
(p. 201) ⭐ It’s not the #discomforts that are #desirable but the #virtue with which you bear those discomforts.
(p. 202) ⭐ If #courage is #desirable, then enduring #torture patiently is desirable, for that is part of courage.
(p. ?) A life free of #challenges is not tranquility, it is #enfeeblement.
(p. ?) Pride in #leisure is vain.
(p. 206) “I’d rather have your forgiveness for my #leisure than your envy.”
(p. 208) #death When you die, what you leave behind is not your own.
(p. 210) #death #Fortune can do nothing to a person as long as he knows how to die.
(p. ?) #Retirement is a period for self-introspection.
(p. ?) #time A good life is not always long, and a long life is not always good.
(p. 213) The great man is not the one who merely commands his own death but the one who actually finds a death for himself.
(p. 214) It is wrong to steal the means of living, but very fine to steal the means of dying. That could prevent a suicide or a murder.
(p. 217) That which is, will not be. (The only constant is #change.)
(p. 219) #Virtue is straight; it does not admit of curvature.
(p. ?) A bad event becomes good it it teaches us to rise above it.
(p. ?) #despise Accepting being despised is a pre-requisite to #happiness.
(p. 220) The man of #wisdom knows his own #strength; he knows that he exists for the bearing of #burdens.
(p. 220) ⭐ The truly happy person of accomplished virtue loves himself most when he has met some challenge with exceptional courage.
- “What good work!” > “What good fortune!”
(p. 221) #imperfection What is #imperfect cannot but stumble.
(p. ?) The #fault lies with us, not #circumstances.
(p. ?) If we mistake a person making progress for a sage, the fault is ours.
(p. 323) ⭐ There is no time that is not well suited to #study, yet there are many who fail to study when caught up in the problems that give one reason to study.
(p. 224) #Health of body is a temporary condition. But when the mind is healed, it is once and for all.
(p. 224) ⭐ That to which any addition can be made is not #complete, and that which can suffer diminution is not #eternal.
(p. 230) To preserve #values, one must endure many things that are regarded as bad and forgo many #indulgences that are regarded as good.
(p. 232) ⭐ Everything #courage has won, #intemperance has destroyed.
(p. 235) ⭐ Both the #past and the #future are absent; we have no sensation of either. And where you have no sensation, there is no source of pain.
(p. ?) We expose ourself to fortune (chance) when we forget that #virtue is the highest good.
(p. 236) #speaking ⭐ Our words should provide benefit rather than delight.
(p. 237) The happy person is not the one who knows but the one who performs.
(p. 239) Just being one’s own person is #wealth beyond measure.
(p. 239) #learning ⭐ What could be more foolish than failing to learn a thing simply because you haven’t learned it earlier?
(p. 240) #living You should keep #learning how to live for as long as you live.
(p. 240) #ignorance ⭐ The #criticism of ignorant people is not something to get upset about.
(p. 240) No one attains #wisdom merely by chance. #Virtue will not just happen to you.
(p. 243) The sole good is that by which the #mind is made better.
(p. ?) #Virtue persists if it is the end goal.
(p. 250) #time #Life is like a play: what matters is not how long the show goes on but how well it is acted.
(p. 251) #courage There are times when just continuing to live is a courageous action.
(p. 253) #loss ⭐ There is no bitterness in being deprived of what you no longer want.
(p. 256) #privation ⭐ Everything that comes after a period of privation is received with more #delight.
(p. 257) #learning #education A single day gives more time to the educated than the longest of lives for the untutored.
(p. 259) ⭐ #Glory is the shadow of #virtue; it accompanies it even when it is not wanted.
(p. 262, 263) #poverty #wealth – The #poor person laughs often and from the heart. The #happiness of those fashionable people carried above the heads of the crowd is just them playing a part.
(p. 268) #help – Everyone who helps another person helps himself.
(p. 268) ⭐ No one values #virtue more or is more devoted to it than who has lost their good #reputation in order to keep a good #conscience.
(p. ?) ⭐ The #reward for #right action is having acted rightly.
(p. ?) ⭐ Undying #delight is not in #receiving but in having received.
(p. 271) Be #calm, but not soft.
(p. 271) #Leisure without #study is like being buried alive.
(p. 275) #Death is not evil. It is indifferent.
(p. 275) #fear – #Virtue is not afraid of what it is doing.
(p. 281) #Drunkenness does not create faults – it brings out faults that already exists. Those who could never be defeated in battle have been vanquished by drink.
(p. 286) #Wealth is a danger or a buried to those who have it.
(p. 286) #pleasure – Bodily pleasures make a person soft and flabby.
(p. 286) #Ambition has no ending.
(p. 291) #happiness – A happy person prefers his own life to any other.
(p. 291) #happiness – He whom you call “less happy” is not happy: that is not a word that can be scaled back.
(p. 292) #courage #happiness – Anyone who is courageous is without #fear. Anyone who is without fear is without #sadness. Anyone who is without sadness is happy.
(p. 292) #courage – The courageous person won’t fear dangers, but he will avoid them. He exercises caution, but is not afraid.
(p. 294) ⭐ In fair weather, anyone can be a helmsman.
(p. ?, 402) #day ⭐ Make every day the start of a new year. Treat each day as a #life in itself.
(p. ?) The wise man skillfully handles misfortune.
(p. ?) #fear #desire – Fearing nothing brings #peace; Desiring nothing brings #wealth.
(p. ?) Anything can happen, but nothing is certain to happen. Expect the best and prepare for the worst.
(p. 314) #virtue – ⭐ Virtues (a non-exhaustive list):
- #courage
- #loyalty: “The harder pain presses me for my secrets, the deeper I shall hide them.”
- #self-control: The best limit on the objects of desire is to take what you need, not what you want.
- #kindness: think of every misfortune as your own, and welcome good fortune to share it with another.
- #honesty
- #temperance and #moderation
- #frugality and #thrift
- #clemency: never forget the value of another human being
(p. 316) #knowledge – Wanting to know more than enough is a form of #intemperance. By #learning what you do not need to know, you fail to learn what you do need.
(p. 316) #learning – It’s better to learn superfluous things than nothing at all.
(p. 320) #Philosophy and its subdivisions:
- #Ethics: Regulates the mind
  - Assigning value to things
  - Controlling impulses
  - Harmonized actions and impulses
  - Consistent behavior
- #Physics: The nature of things
  - Cause & effect
- #Logic: The meaning of words and preventing falsehood from masquerading as truth
- Rhetoric
  - expressions
  - thoughts
  - organization
- Dialectic
  - words
  - meanings
(p. 324) ⭐ In your #study, make it your aim not to know more, but to know better.
(p. ?) #ownership ⭐ Any place you do not occupy is not really yours.
(p. ?) #becoming – We are not born wise. We become good.
(p. 340) #despise – It’s the height of madness to #worry about being despised by the despicable
(p. 343) ⭐ #Goodness is present not in the things but in the quality of the selection.
(p. 352) #acceptance ⭐ We must bravely accept everything necessity ordains.
(p. 352) #shame ⭐ Shameful conduct is the only #bad.
(p. 352) #Wealth, #status, good #health, #strength and high office are intermediate and not to be counted as either good or bad.
(p. 360) #sage #silence – To instill a mind with honorable ideas, nothing is more effective than good men’s company. One can get some benefit from a great man even if he is silent.
(p. 361) ⭐ #Concord makes small things great; #discord saps the strength of the mightiest.
(p. ?) Measure #wealth by how it is used.
(p. 375) #understanding – Even supposing that someone is acting properly, if he doesn’t know why he is acting, he will not do it consistently and regularly.
(p. 376) Without a #goal, life drifts.
(p. 378) Nothing is certain for people who rely on popular #opinion, the most unreliable of standards.
(p. ?) The #intention behind an action determines if it is good or bad.
(p. 382) ⭐ All the things that make us groan and get frightened are just the taxes of #life. Pay your taxes.
(p. 386) #crime – #Fortune exempts many criminals from punishment, but none from #anxiety.
(p. 387) #fortune ⭐ Whenever something turns out differently from what you were expecting, say, “The gods made a better decision.”
(p. 387) ⭐ The #fear of losing something is equivalent to the pain of its #loss.
(p. 391) #death – If a friend dies, don’t bury the #friendship# along with the friend.
(p. ?) #sadness #emotion – When the tears come, accept them. Do not force anything.
(p. 414) The worst thing about #death is the #fear that precedes it.
(p. 416) Running away is not helping you if what you are running from is with you or in you.
(p. 425) #will – #Fate guides the man who’s willing and drags the unwilling.
(p. 429) Some #habits are easier to break than to reduce.
(p. ?) ⭐ #Hope with #doubt, and doubt with hope.
(p. ?) #Greed hurts yourself more than others.
(p. 435) One good man will help another. Even the sage does not know everything.
(p. 437) #Virtue enjoins us to make the best of our present circumstances.
(p. 438) The worst #curse you can utter against anyone is to pray that he be his own enemy.
(p. 442) #freedom – The free person is not the one over whom #fortune has little power, but the one against whom fortune is powerless.
(p. 442) #desire – If you want to challenge God, who has no wants, you must want nothing.
(p. 450) #justice #disgrace #wisdom – You will often have to combine being just with being disgraced. Then if you are wise, you should take delight in the bad #reputation you have won by your good #behavior.
(p. ?) #Virtue manifests itself through actions.
(p. 457) #speaking – The great man speaks casually: his words are heartfelt, not carefully arranged.
(p. 461) ⭐ #Greed never goes unpunished. Greed suffers over what it lacks and over what it has acquired.
(p. 461) What #philosophy will do for you is the greatest gift or all: you will never #regret what you have done.
(p. 462) ⭐ If #pleasure is pursued for its own sake, it becomes #self-indulgence.
(p. 463) #Inability is just an #excuse; the real reason is #unwillingness.
(p. 468) #shame – Nothing seems more shameful than to pray for death.
(p. 472) Instead of treating other people’s problems, it is better to address one’s own.
(p. 476) #desire – Not wanting is just as good as having. In both cases, you will avoid anxiety.
(p. 481) #Carelessness can look like good nature, and #temerity like #courage.
(p. 492) #popularity – Extravagant people want their life to be talked about as long as they live, for if it goes quiet they think they are wasting their efforts.
(p. 494) #desire – No one can have everything he wants. What a person can do is give up wanting what he doesn’t have and use cheerfully the things that are available.
(p. 494) #opinion – Many of our problems stem from the fact that we live by conforming to other people’s standards, following fashion instead of taking reason as our guide.
(p. 497) ⭐ #Pleasure is a poor and pathetic thing, of no value.
(p. 497) #Glory is an empty thing, more fleeting and volatile than air.
(p. 497) #Poverty is only a problem for those who don’t accept it.
(p. 501) #disorganization – Something is disorganized <=> Something is capable of disorganization.
(p. 502) #happiness – Do not judge yourself to be happy until all your joys arise from yourself.
(p. 502) #fortune – You will possess your own good when you understand that the fortunate are really the least fortunate.
(p. 504) #wealth – What does it matter how much you have? There is much more that you do not have.

(Read 90) Letters on Ethics

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