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Moral Letters Vol III

Seneca

§ Section 43

On the usefulness of basic principles

95:43

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.

44.

I think, then, that there should be deeply implanted a firm belief which will apply to life as a whole: this is what I call a “doctrine.” And as this belief is, so will be our acts and our thoughts.

As our acts and our thoughts are, so will our lives be.

It is not enough, when a man is arranging his existence as a whole, to give him advice about details.