Seneca · On conquering the conqueror
Letters 30.15
I am glad to hear such words, my dear Lucilius,—not as new to me, but as leading me into the presence of an actual fact. And what then? Have I not seen many men break the thread of life? I have indeed seen such men; but those have more weight with me who approach death without any loathing for life, letting death in, so to speak, and not pulling it towards them.
Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 30.15, translated by Richard Mott Gummere