6.
There are these three serious elements in every disease: fear of death, bodily pain, and interruption of pleasures.
Concerning death enough has been said, and I shall add only a word: this fear is not a fear of disease, but a fear of nature.
Disease has often postponed death, and a vision of dying has been many a man’s salvation.
You will die, not because you are ill, but because you are alive; even when you have been cured, the same end awaits you; when you have recovered, it will be not death, but ill-health, that you have escaped.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On the healing power of the mind
Location: Chapter 78, Section 6
Content:
6.
There are these three serious elements in every disease: fear of death, bodily pain, and interruption of pleasures.
Concerning death enough has been said, and I shall add only a word: this fear is not a fear of disease, but a fear of nature.
Disease has often postponed death, and a vision of dying has been many a man’s salvation.
You will die, not because you are ill, but because you are alive; even when you have been cured, the same end awaits you; when you have recovered, it will be not death, but ill-health, that you have escaped.