On consolation to the bereaved
99:6
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.
6.
There are countless cases of men who have without tears buried sons in the prime of manhood—men who have returned from the funeral pyre to the Senate chamber, or to any other official duties, and have straightway busied themselves with something else.
And rightly; for in the first place it is idle to grieve if you get no help from grief.
In the second place, it is unfair to complain about what has happened to one man but is in store for all.
Again, it is foolish to lament one’s loss, when there is such a slight interval between the lost and the loser.
Hence we should be more resigned in spirit, because we follow closely those whom we have lost.
Book: Moral Letters Vol III
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On consolation to the bereaved
Location: Chapter 99, Section 6
Content:
6.
There are countless cases of men who have without tears buried sons in the prime of manhood—men who have returned from the funeral pyre to the Senate chamber, or to any other official duties, and have straightway busied themselves with something else.
And rightly; for in the first place it is idle to grieve if you get no help from grief.
In the second place, it is unfair to complain about what has happened to one man but is in store for all.
Again, it is foolish to lament one’s loss, when there is such a slight interval between the lost and the loser.
Hence we should be more resigned in spirit, because we follow closely those whom we have lost.