34.
Do you ask what, then, the wise man has found out and what he has brought to light?
First of all there is truth, and nature; and nature he has not followed as the other animals do, with eyes too dull to perceive the divine in it.
In the second place, there is the law of life, and life he has made to conform to universal principles; and he has taught us, not merely to know the gods, but to follow them, and to welcome the gifts of chance precisely as if they were divine commands.
He has forbidden us to give heed to false opinions, and has weighed the value of each thing by a true standard of appraisement.
He has condemned those pleasures with which remorse is intermingled, and has praised those goods which will always satisfy; and he has published the truth abroad that he is most happy who has no need of happiness, and that he is most powerful who has power over himself.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On the part played by philosophy in the progress of man
Location: Chapter 90, Section 34
Content:
34.
Do you ask what, then, the wise man has found out and what he has brought to light?
First of all there is truth, and nature; and nature he has not followed as the other animals do, with eyes too dull to perceive the divine in it.
In the second place, there is the law of life, and life he has made to conform to universal principles; and he has taught us, not merely to know the gods, but to follow them, and to welcome the gifts of chance precisely as if they were divine commands.
He has forbidden us to give heed to false opinions, and has weighed the value of each thing by a true standard of appraisement.
He has condemned those pleasures with which remorse is intermingled, and has praised those goods which will always satisfy; and he has published the truth abroad that he is most happy who has no need of happiness, and that he is most powerful who has power over himself.