On the true good as attained by reason
124:1
Book Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Book Description: The final volume of Seneca's moral letters. Common Stoic themes emerge again and again: the unreliability of fortune, the ability to form Stoic resolve, and the importance of virtue.
1.
Full many an ancient precept could I give, Didst thou not shrink, and feel it shame to learn Such lowly duties.
But you do not shrink, nor are you deterred by any subtleties of study.
For your cultivated mind is not wont to investigate such important subjects in a free-and-easy manner.
I approve your method in that you make everything count towards a certain degree of progress, and in that you are disgruntled only when nothing can be accomplished by the greatest degree of subtlety.
And I shall take pains to show that this is the case now also.
Our question is, whether the Good is grasped by the senses or by the understanding; and the corollary thereto is that it does not exist in dumb animals or little children.
Book: Moral Letters Vol III
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On the true good as attained by reason
Location: Chapter 124, Section 1
Content:
1.
Full many an ancient precept could I give, Didst thou not shrink, and feel it shame to learn Such lowly duties.
But you do not shrink, nor are you deterred by any subtleties of study.
For your cultivated mind is not wont to investigate such important subjects in a free-and-easy manner.
I approve your method in that you make everything count towards a certain degree of progress, and in that you are disgruntled only when nothing can be accomplished by the greatest degree of subtlety.
And I shall take pains to show that this is the case now also.
Our question is, whether the Good is grasped by the senses or by the understanding; and the corollary thereto is that it does not exist in dumb animals or little children.