10.
Making a return means offering something to him from whom you have received something.
The phrase implies a voluntary return; he who has made such a return has served the writ upon himself.
The wise man will inquire in his own mind into all the circumstances: how much he has received, from whom, when, where, how.
And so we declare that none but the wise man knows how to make return for a favour; moreover, none but the wise man knows how to confer a benefit,—that man, I mean, who enjoys the giving more than the recipient enjoys the receiving.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On benefits
Location: Chapter 81, Section 10
Content:
10.
Making a return means offering something to him from whom you have received something.
The phrase implies a voluntary return; he who has made such a return has served the writ upon himself.
The wise man will inquire in his own mind into all the circumstances: how much he has received, from whom, when, where, how.
And so we declare that none but the wise man knows how to make return for a favour; moreover, none but the wise man knows how to confer a benefit,—that man, I mean, who enjoys the giving more than the recipient enjoys the receiving.