“He that is a friend to himself, is a friend to all mankind.”

— Marcus Annaeus Seneca

Derived from Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium; Epistle VI of Seneca the Younger:
"I shall tell you what pleased me today in the writings of Hecato; it is these words: 'What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself.' That was indeed a great benefit; such a person can never be alone. You may be sure that such a man is a friend to all mankind." ["Interim quoniam diurnam tibi mercedulam debeo, quid me hodie apud Hecatonem delectaverit dicam. 'Quaeris' inquit 'quid profecerim? amicus esse mihi coepi.' Multum profecit: numquam erit solus. Scito esse hunc amicum omnibus."]
Misattributed

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "He that is a friend to himself, is a friend to all mankind." by Marcus Annaeus Seneca?

Marcus Annaeus Seneca 9

Roman scholar -54–39 BC

Related quotes

“He’s a friend indeed who proves himself a friend in need.”
Nihil agit, qui diffidentem verbis solatus suis. Is est amicus, qui in re dubia te juvat, ubi re est opus.

Plautus Epidicus

Epidicus, Act I, sc. 2, line 9.
Epidicus
Context: The man that comforts a desponding friend with words alone, does nothing. He’s a friend indeed who proves himself a friend in need.

“2437. He's a Friend to none, that is a Friend to all.”

Thomas Fuller (writer) (1654–1734) British physician, preacher, and intellectual

Introductio ad prudentiam: Part II (1727), Gnomologia (1732)

“God is the only lover and He loves in different forms - parents, husband, wife, friend, children, animals. All are His forms and He, Himself, has no form.”

Baba Hari Dass (1923–2018) master yogi, author, builder, commentator of Indian spiritual tradition

Source: Silence Speaks, from the chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass, 1977, p.9

“What a wretched sort of deception, when a man so lies to his friends that he dupes himself.”

Gottfried von Straßburg book Tristan

Ez ist ein armer trügesite,
der vriunden alsô liuget,
daz er sich selben triuget.
Source: Tristan, Line 12308

“He must not cultivate his friends, but cultivate his friendships within himself. They must be kept, cared for, watered.”

Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French moralist and essayist

“If a friend envies you, then he is not a true friend.”

Ali book Nahj al-Balagha

Nahj al-Balagha

“A Friend to all, is a Friend to none.”

Thomas Fuller (writer) (1654–1734) British physician, preacher, and intellectual

Introductio ad prudentiam: Part II (1727), Gnomologia (1732)

“He is worst of all, that is malicious against his friends.”

Pythagoras (-585–-495 BC) ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher

The Sayings of the Wise (1555)

“A warrior has only one true friend: himself.”

David Gemmell book Quest for Lost Heroes

So he feeds his body well; he trains it; works on it. Where he lacks skill, he practises. Where he lacks knowledge, he studies. But above all he must believe. He must believe in the strength of will, of purpose, of heart and soul.
Source: Drenai series, Quest for Lost Heroes, Ch. 3

“To be integrated in one another, each person should annul himself before the others. This is done by each seeing the friends' merits and not their faults. But one who thinks that he is a little higher than the friends can no longer unite with them.”

Baruch Ashlag (1907–1991) Polish rabbi

Selected Articles

“He that is a friend to himself, is a friend to all mankind.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Marcus Annaeus Seneca 9

Related quotes

Related topics