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Seneca
Moral Letters to Lucilius Section 21
Section 979 of 2,141
Canonical reference 76.21
Latin
Perseus canonical Latin TEI
Sequitur, ut quae ab inconsultis saepe contemnuntur, a sapientibus semper, ea nec bona sint nec mala. Unum ergo bonum ipsa virtus est, quae inter hanc fortunam et illam superba incedit cum magno utriusque contemptu.
French
Baillard 1914
Il s’ensuit que des choses méprisées souvent par des gens sans lumières, toujours par le sage, ne sont ni des biens ni des maux ; et que l’unique bien, c’est cette même vertu qui marche tête haute entre l’une et l’autre fortune avec grand mépris pour toutes deux.
English
Richard M. Gummere · Moral Letters to Lucilius
It follows that the things which are often scorned by the men who are moved with a sudden passion, and are always scorned by the wise, are neither goods nor evils. Virtue itself is therefore the only good; she marches proudly between the two extremes of fortune, with great scorn for both.
Concepts in this passage
Family
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Fortune
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Sin
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Suffering
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Virtue
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Wisdom
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