17.
Virtue is never lost to view; and yet to have been lost to view is no loss.
There will come a day which will reveal her, though hidden away or suppressed by the spite of her contemporaries.
That man is born merely for a few, who thinks only of the people of his own generation.
Many thousands of years and many thousands of peoples will come after you; it is to these that you should have regard.
Malice may have imposed silence upon the mouths of all who were alive in your day; but there will come men who will judge you without prejudice and without favour.
If there is any reward that virtue receives at the hands of fame, not even this can pass away.
We ourselves, indeed, shall not be affected by the talk of posterity; nevertheless, posterity will cherish and celebrate us even though we are not conscious thereof.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On the rewards of scientific discovery
Location: Chapter 79, Section 17
Content:
17.
Virtue is never lost to view; and yet to have been lost to view is no loss.
There will come a day which will reveal her, though hidden away or suppressed by the spite of her contemporaries.
That man is born merely for a few, who thinks only of the people of his own generation.
Many thousands of years and many thousands of peoples will come after you; it is to these that you should have regard.
Malice may have imposed silence upon the mouths of all who were alive in your day; but there will come men who will judge you without prejudice and without favour.
If there is any reward that virtue receives at the hands of fame, not even this can pass away.
We ourselves, indeed, shall not be affected by the talk of posterity; nevertheless, posterity will cherish and celebrate us even though we are not conscious thereof.