Letters 86.21

But all trees, he declares, which are, so to speak, “thick-stemmed,” should be assisted with tank-water; if we have this help, we are our own rain-makers.

I do not intend to tell you any more of these precepts, lest, as Aegialus did with me, I may be training you up to be my competitor. Farewell.

Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 86.21, translated by Richard Mott Gummere