Seneca Quotes
Seneca was a Stoic philosopher, playwright and adviser to Emperor Nero. His Letters to Lucilius and the essay On the Shortness of Life are full of lines that still feel modern. Each quote below lists the work it comes from.
4 real Seneca quotes, with sources
“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”Seneca — Letters to Lucilius 13.4
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.”Seneca — On the Shortness of Life 1
“While we are postponing, life speeds by.”Seneca — Letters to Lucilius 1.3
“Hold every hour in your grasp. Lay hold of today's task, and you will not need to depend so much upon tomorrow's.”Seneca — Letters to Lucilius 1.2
Famous quotes Seneca never said
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”Not found in Seneca's writings. The line spread in the 20th century and is most often credited to American football coach Darrell Royal.
“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.”A lyric from the 1998 song “Closing Time” by Semisonic, not Seneca.
Who was Seneca?
One of the richest men in Rome and tutor to the young Nero, Seneca wrote practical philosophy about anxiety, time and death. Ordered by Nero to take his own life in 65 AD, he met death with the calm he had written about. Read more on Wikipedia.
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What is Seneca's most famous quote?
One of the best known is “We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.” (Letters to Lucilius 13.4)
Did Seneca really say “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”?
No. Not found in Seneca's writings. The line spread in the 20th century and is most often credited to American football coach Darrell Royal.
Did Seneca really say “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.”?
No. A lyric from the 1998 song “Closing Time” by Semisonic, not Seneca.
Where do these Seneca quotes come from?
Seneca was a Stoic philosopher, playwright and adviser to Emperor Nero. His Letters to Lucilius and the essay On the Shortness of Life are full of lines that still feel modern. Each quote below lists the work it comes from.
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