“Mucius put his hand into the fire. It is painful to be burned; but how much more painful to inflict such suffering upon oneself!”

—  Seneca the Younger, book Epistulae morales ad Lucilium

Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucilius), Letter XXIV: On despising death

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 "Mucius put his hand into the fire. It is painful to be burned; but how much more painful to inflict such suffering upon…" by Seneca the Younger?
Seneca the Younger photo
Seneca the Younger225
Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist -4–65 BC

Related quotes

James Frey photo

“Pain is the feeling. Suffering is the effect the pain inflicts. If one can endure pain, one can live without suffering. If one can withstand pain, one can withstand anything. If one can learn to control pain, one can learn to control oneself.”

James Frey My Friend Leonard

Source: My Friend Leonard

John A. McDougall photo

“The pain and suffering inflicted on children by the American diet is so brutal that if it were administered with a stick, parents would be put in jail.”

John A. McDougall (1947) American physician

“Vegan Diet Damages Baby's Brain—Sensationalism!,” in VegNews (March–April 2003), p. 10; as quoted in Will Tuttle, The World Peace Diet (Lantern Books, 2005), p. 66 https://books.google.it/books?id=BTqLjAOwsSMC&pg=PA66.

William Shakespeare photo

“One fire burns out another's burning,
One pain is lessen'd by another's anguish.”

William Shakespeare book Romeo and Juliet

Source: Romeo and Juliet

Ruth Ozeki photo

“No matter how much bullying they inflict on my body, as long as I have this hope, I can endure any pain.”

Ruth Ozeki book A Tale for the Time Being

Source: A Tale for the Time Being

Joseph De Maistre photo

“All pain is a punishment, and every punishment is inflicted for love as much as for justice.”

Joseph De Maistre (1753–1821) Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat

"Fifth Dialogue," p. 149
St. Petersburg Dialogues (1821)

“People who put principles before people are people who hate people. They don’t much care about how well it works, just about how right it is... they may even like it better if it inflicts enough pain.”

John Barnes book A Million Open Doors

A Million Open Doors (1992)

“Societies which inflict pain and discomfort upon their infants tend to neglect them as well.”

James W. Prescott (1930) American psychologist

"Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence" (1975)

Elie Wiesel photo

“They are committing the greatest indignity human beings can inflict on one another: telling people who have suffered excruciating pain and loss that their pain and loss were illusions.”

Elie Wiesel book Night

Misattributed <br class="br">Source: Robert McAfee Brown https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McAfee_Brown. Preface for the 25th anniversary edition of Night https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_%28book%29. Page v, Bantam Books paperback; 1982 reissue edition.

William Empson photo

“It is the pain, it is the pain, endures.
Your chemic beauty burned my muscles through.
Poise of my hands reminded me of yours.”

William Empson (1906–1984) English literary critic and poet

"Villanelle" (1928), line 1; cited from John Haffenden (ed.) The Complete Poems (London: Allen Lane, 2000) p. 33.
The Complete Poems

Borís Pasternak photo

“If it is so painful to love and to be charged with this electric current, how much more painful must it be to a woman and to be the current, and to inspire love.”

Borís Pasternak book Doctor Zhivago

Source: Doctor Zhivago (1957)

Related topics