19.
Nevertheless, you should not believe those whose noisy clamour surrounds you; none of these things is an evil, none is beyond your power to bear, or is burdensome.
It is only by common opinion that there is anything formidable in them.
Your fearing death is therefore like your fear of gossip.
But what is more foolish than a man afraid of words?
Our friend Demetrius is wont to put it cleverly when he says: “For me the talk of ignorant men is like the rumblings which issue from the belly.
For,” he adds, “what difference does it make to me whether such rumblings come from above or from below?”
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On the lesson to be drawn from the burning of Lyons
Location: Chapter 91, Section 19
Content:
19.
Nevertheless, you should not believe those whose noisy clamour surrounds you; none of these things is an evil, none is beyond your power to bear, or is burdensome.
It is only by common opinion that there is anything formidable in them.
Your fearing death is therefore like your fear of gossip.
But what is more foolish than a man afraid of words?
Our friend Demetrius is wont to put it cleverly when he says: “For me the talk of ignorant men is like the rumblings which issue from the belly.
For,” he adds, “what difference does it make to me whether such rumblings come from above or from below?”