8.
Attalus used to employ the following simile: “Did you ever see a dog snapping with wide-open jaws at bits of bread or meat which his master tosses to him?
Whatever he catches, he straightway swallows whole, and always opens his jaws in the hope of something more.
So it is with ourselves; we stand expectant, and whatever Fortune has thrown to us we forthwith bolt, without any real pleasure, and then stand alert and frantic for something else to snatch.” But it is not so with the wise man; he is satisfied.
Even if something falls to him, he merely accepts it carelessly and lays it aside.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On business as the enemy of philosophy
Location: Chapter 72, Section 8
Content:
8.
Attalus used to employ the following simile: “Did you ever see a dog snapping with wide-open jaws at bits of bread or meat which his master tosses to him?
Whatever he catches, he straightway swallows whole, and always opens his jaws in the hope of something more.
So it is with ourselves; we stand expectant, and whatever Fortune has thrown to us we forthwith bolt, without any real pleasure, and then stand alert and frantic for something else to snatch.” But it is not so with the wise man; he is satisfied.
Even if something falls to him, he merely accepts it carelessly and lays it aside.