Letters 105.1

I shall now tell you certain things to which you should pay attention in order to live more safely. Do you however,—such is my judgment,—hearken to my precepts just as if I were counselling you to keep safe your health in your country-place at Ardea.

Reflect on the things which goad man into destroying man: you will find that they are hope, envy, hatred, fear, and contempt.

Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 105.1, translated by Richard Mott Gummere