23.
Why do you marvel if it helps a man, and on occasion even pleases him, to be burned, wounded, slain, or bound in prison?
To a luxurious man, a simple life is a penalty; to a lazy man, work is punishment; the dandy pities the diligent man; to the slothful, studies are torture.
Similarly, we regard those things with respect to which we are all infirm of disposition, as hard and beyond endurance, forgetting what a torment it is to many men to abstain from wine or to be routed from their beds at break of day.
These actions are not essentially difficult; it is we ourselves that are soft and flabby.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On the supreme good
Location: Chapter 71, Section 23
Content:
23.
Why do you marvel if it helps a man, and on occasion even pleases him, to be burned, wounded, slain, or bound in prison?
To a luxurious man, a simple life is a penalty; to a lazy man, work is punishment; the dandy pities the diligent man; to the slothful, studies are torture.
Similarly, we regard those things with respect to which we are all infirm of disposition, as hard and beyond endurance, forgetting what a torment it is to many men to abstain from wine or to be routed from their beds at break of day.
These actions are not essentially difficult; it is we ourselves that are soft and flabby.