Desire & Wealth

Everything you're trying to reach — by taking the long way round — you could have right now, this moment. If you'd only stop thwarting your own attempts.

He who has a vehement desire for posthumous fame does not consider that every one of those who remember him will himself also die very soon.

What then is that which ought to be valued? To be received with clapping of hands? No. Neither must we value the clapping of tongues, for the praise which comes from the many is a clapping of tongues.

Vain pomp, plays on the stage, flocks of sheep, herds of oxen, mock combats, bones thrown to little dogs, crumbs into fish-ponds, labourings of ants and burden-carryings, runnings about of frightened little mice, puppets pulled by strings — all these are alike.

Think not so much of what thou hast not as of what thou hast: but of the things which thou hast select the best, and then reflect how eagerly they would have been sought if thou hadst them not.

I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others.

From my mother, piety and bountifulness; to abstain from evil deeds and thoughts; and simplicity in my way of living, far removed from the habits of the rich.

Soon, very soon, thou wilt be ashes, or a skeleton, and either a name or not even a name; but name is sound and echo. And the things which are much valued in life are empty and rotten and trifling.

Wipe out thy imagination: turn away thy desire: extinguish thy appetite: keep the ruling part of the soul in its own power.

Everything which is in any way beautiful is beautiful in itself, and terminates in itself, not having praise as part of itself. Neither worse then nor better is a thing made by being praised.

It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.

Everywhere means nowhere. When a person spends all his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many acquaintances but no friends.

Set aside now and then a number of days during which you will be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: 'Is this the condition that I feared?'

Animum debes mutare, non caelum. You must change your soul, not your sky.

Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness.

Cui cum paupertate bene convenit, dives est. Not he who has little, but he who craves more, is poor.

It is not the man who has too little who is poor, but the one who hankers after more.

It is my great pleasure to seek out wise men, but I am not going to sail past Africa in order to hear that Metrodorus was not so miserable as he thought he was.

Nowhere is he who is everywhere.

As soon as some men become impatient of poverty, they lay hold on riches, and then find themselves in more embarrassment than ever.

Slavery resides beneath marble and gold... Riches are the greatest cause of human sorrow.

Non qui parum habet sed qui plus cupit pauper est. He is not poor who has little, but he who wants much.

Ambition destroys many blessings.

It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.

It is not the man who has too little who is poor, but the one who hankers after more.

What is the proper limit to a person's wealth? First, having what is necessary, and, second, having what is enough.

If you wish to make Pythocles rich, do not give him more money, but diminish his desires.

The greatest wealth is a poverty of desires.

What is the proper limit to a person's wealth? First, having what is necessary, and, second, having what is enough.

Limiting one's desires actually helps to cure one of fear. Cease to hope and you will cease to fear.

No man has been shattered by the blows of Fortune unless he was first deceived by her favors.

No man is crushed by misfortune unless he has first been deceived by prosperity.

The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which depends upon tomorrow and wastes today.

You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire.

It is inevitable that life will be, not just very short, but very miserable, for those who acquire by great toil what they must keep by greater toil.

Nusquam est qui ubique est. He is nowhere who is everywhere.

Whatever course you take, you will fall foul of your own vices. Change of place does not diminish these; travel does not lessen them.

There is no greater cause of grief than the desire for too many things. Unbounded desires make the mind restless, and a restless mind cannot be tranquil.

It is not the poor man who lacks much, but the rich man who desires more, that is poor.

Poverty, exile, and sorrow are not evils; only a base mind can make them so. A good man carries his happiness with him.

Pleasure is not the good, but the good is not without pleasure. The wise man will enjoy pleasures when they come, but he will not seek them as the end of life.

True happiness is to be found in virtue alone. Pleasure is but the shadow of the good, not the good itself.

Do not seek to have events happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and your life will go on well.

Remember that desire demands the attainment of that of which you are desirous; and aversion demands the avoidance of that to which you are averse.

With regard to whatever objects either delight the mind or contribute to use or are tenderly beloved, remind yourself of what nature they are, beginning with the merest trifles: if you have a favorite cup, that it is only a cup; then if it is broken you can bear it.

It is a mark of want of intellect to spend much time in things relating to the body, as to be long in our exercises, in eating and drinking, and in the discharge of other animal functions. These should be done incidentally and our main strength be applied to our reason.

Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own. If a horse should be prideful and say, 'I am handsome,' it would be supportable. But when you are prideful, and say, 'I have a handsome horse,' know that you are proud of what is, in fact, only the good of the horse.

If you would improve, lay aside such reasonings as these: 'If I neglect my affairs, I shall not have a maintenance; if I do not punish my servant, he will be good for nothing.' For it is better to die with hunger, exempt from grief and fear, than to live in affluence with perturbation.

If you wish your children, and your wife, and your friends to live for ever, you are stupid; for you wish to be in control of things which you cannot, you wish for things that belong to others to be your own.

Let death and exile, and all other things which appear terrible, be daily before your eyes, but chiefly death; and you will never entertain any abject thought, nor too eagerly covet anything.

Has anyone been honoured above you at an entertainment, or in being saluted, or in being invited to a consultation? If these things are good, you ought to rejoice that he has got them; and if they are evil, don't be grieved that you have not got them.

If you are struck by the appearance of any promised pleasure, guard yourself against being hurried away by it; but let the affair wait your leisure, and procure yourself some delay.

These reasonings are unconnected: 'I am richer than you, therefore I am better'; 'I am more eloquent than you, therefore I am better.' The connection is rather this: 'I am richer than you, therefore my property is greater than yours.'

When you have brought yourself to supply the wants of your body at a small price, don't pique yourself upon it, nor, if you drink water, be saying upon every occasion, 'I drink water.'

As the propositions, 'It is day,' or 'It is night,' are of great value for the disjunctive argument, but of none in the conjunctive; so, at a feast, the propositions, 'It is good to eat of this dish,' are of great value for the enjoyment of the feast, but of none for the conduct of life.

The body is to everyone the proper measure of his possessions, as the foot is of the shoe. If, therefore, you stop at this, you will keep the measure; but if you move beyond it, you must necessarily be carried forward, as down a precipice.

When you are violently thirsty, take a little cold water into your mouth, and spit it out, and tell nobody.

He is free who lives as he wishes to live; who is neither subject to compulsion nor to hindrance, nor to force; whose movements to action are not impeded, whose desires attain their purpose, and who does not fall into that which he would avoid.

Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire.

If you wish to make Pythocles rich, do not give him more money, but diminish his desires.

Who is the man who is in a state of happiness? It is the man who has good desires, good aversions, who is not disappointed in his desires, who does not fall into that which he wishes to avoid.

If you would have peace, give no man the power over your passions. For as soon as you desire or fear anything, you become a slave to him who can give or take it away.

Do not seek to have all things happen as you wish, but wish all things to happen as they do, and you will go on well.

The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have. The more we value what is in our control, the freer we become.

No man who is a lover of money, a lover of pleasure, or a lover of glory, is likewise a lover of mankind. He is a lover of himself, and his love is narrow and selfish.

Do not be proud of any excellence that is not your own. If the horse were proud and said, 'I am handsome,' it would be supportable. But when you are proud of your horse, your house, or your clothes, you are proud of what belongs to another.

He who is not master of his passions is not free. He is dragged about by desire and fear, and is the slave of fortune.

No man is free who is not master of his own body. He who is overcome by pleasure is a slave to pleasure.

We will not look at what is sweet, but at what is good.

If one accomplishes some good though with toil, the toil passes, but the good remains; if one does something dishonorable with pleasure, the pleasure passes, but the dishonor remains.

If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labor passes quickly, but the good endures; if you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures.

If one were to measure what is agreeable by the standard of pleasure, nothing would be pleasanter than self-control; and if one were to measure what is to be avoided by pain, nothing would be more painful than lack of self-control.

What good is a great deal of food when nothing wholesome is eaten? Or a great deal of wine when nothing sober is drunk? So it is with much learning when nothing sound is learned.

The purpose of taking food is not pleasure, but rather nourishment. Health is the end.

Clothing is for the sake of the body, not for display.

The wise man lacks nothing, and yet needs many things; whereas the fool, on the other hand, needs nothing — for he understands the use of nothing — but lacks everything.

When a man fixes his hope upon what is to come, considering that what is present is sufficient and welcome, he gains the most.

The cause of all our troubles is that we follow the lead of our fellows, judging things to be best when they are most in fashion.

The use of wine in abundance is a freezing of the mind. The wise man will use it with moderation, or not at all.

Pleasure is not the good, but the good is not without pleasure. The wise man finds pleasure in the exercise of virtue.

The highest praise is to be called a good man. Riches, honor, and power are empty if they are not joined with virtue.

The wise man will eat to live, not live to eat. He will take food as a medicine, not as a pleasure.

I would not be given the opportunity to do wrong for all the gold in the world. For the loss of virtue is greater than the loss of wealth.

The soul has its own riches, and they are the only riches that cannot be taken away. A good conscience is the greatest of possessions.

Soon, very soon, thou wilt be ashes, or a skeleton, and either a name or not even a name; but name is sound and echo. And the things which are much valued in life are empty and rotten and trifling.

It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment.

Advice in old age is foolish; for what can be more absurd than to increase our provisions for the road the nearer we approach to our journey's end?

Wherever you go, you carry yourself with you.

The mind cannot be exiled.

Whatever is best for a human being lies outside human control.

Poverty is not the lack of possessions; it is the multitude of desires.

Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one's desires, but by the removal of desire.