As in all things, we suffer from excess in reading too. Many books are a burden, not an ornament.
Quemadmodum omnium rerum, sic litterarum quoque intemperantia laboramus.
Philosophers
Seneca
Seneca (c. 4 BC - 65 AD), Stoic philosopher and Nero's advisor, wrote on time, anger, and adversity from the heart of Roman power. His Moral Letters and On the Shortness of Life remain practical self-mastery guides.
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Seneca's Other Quotes
It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.
It is hard to retain what you learn unless you practice it.
Anger, if not obeyed, fades; once it enters the mind and pervades habit, vice becomes law.
It is the quality of your life that matters, not its length.
Fire tests gold; adversity tests strong people.
Related Quotes
The pleasant life is produced not by endless drinking and revelry but by sober reasoning.
-- Epicurus
Tranquility arises for human beings from moderation in enjoyment and a balanced life.
-- Democritus
He who would be tranquil should not undertake too many things, either private or public.
-- Democritus
For those who want more, time is never enough.
-- Democritus
I fear the man of a single book.
-- Thomas Aquinas