24.
In the second place, this does not mean to me the taking-off of a friend or of a child; it is the mere taking-off of their bodies.
But a good can be lost in only one way, by changing into what is bad; and this is impossible according to the law of nature, because every virtue, and every work of virtue, abides uncorrupted.
Again, even if friends have perished, or children of approved goodness who fulfil their father’s prayers for them, there is something that can fill their place.
Do you ask what this is?
It is that which had made them good in the first place, namely, virtue.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On virtue as a refuge from worldly distractions
Location: Chapter 74, Section 24
Content:
24.
In the second place, this does not mean to me the taking-off of a friend or of a child; it is the mere taking-off of their bodies.
But a good can be lost in only one way, by changing into what is bad; and this is impossible according to the law of nature, because every virtue, and every work of virtue, abides uncorrupted.
Again, even if friends have perished, or children of approved goodness who fulfil their father’s prayers for them, there is something that can fill their place.
Do you ask what this is?
It is that which had made them good in the first place, namely, virtue.