“And we cannot change this order of things; but what we can do is to acquire stout hearts, worthy of good men, thereby courageously enduring chance and placing ourselves in harmony with Nature.”

—  Seneca the Younger, book Epistulae morales ad Lucilium

Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucilius), Letter CVII: On Obedience to the Universal Will

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 "And we cannot change this order of things; but what we can do is to acquire stout hearts, worthy of good men, thereby c…" by Seneca the Younger?
Seneca the Younger photo
Seneca the Younger225
Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist -4–65 BC

Related quotes

Karl Pearson photo

“That this change of view as to the basis of science cannot take place without misunderstanding, or without giving an opportunity to those who dislike science to decry its weaknesses, is only natural. To change the basis of operations during a campaign always gives a chance to the enemy, but the chance must be risked if thereby we place ourselves permanently in a position of greater strength...”

Karl Pearson book The Grammar of Science

Preface to the Second Edition
The Grammar of Science (1900)

Thomas Merton photo

“What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy if anything can.”

Thomas Merton (1915–1968) Priest and author

Letter to Dorothy Day, quoted in Catholic Voices in a World on Fire (2005) by Stephen Hand, p. 180.
Context: Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy if anything can.

Niccolo Machiavelli photo

“And truly it is a very natural and ordinary thing to desire to acquire, and always, when men do it who can, they will be praised or not blamed; but when they cannot, and wish to do it anyway, here lies the error and the blame.”

Niccolo Machiavelli book The Prince

Source: The Prince

“Nature is the greatest healer, by reconnecting back to nature, we begin changing the world all around us. We begin living from the inside out, breathing in the beautiful 'Chi,' becoming peaceful, developing serenity within ourselves, and that will make this planet a much more harmonious place to live in.”

Ralph Smart

William Motherwell photo

“And we, with Nature’s heart in tune,
Concerted harmonies.”

William Motherwell (1797–1835) British writer

Jeannie Morrison (c. 1832), Stanza 8.

Robert LeFevre photo

“We know that men cannot be compelled to be good. They can only be prevented from being bad—a negative condition. We know from bitter experience that men cannot be forced into doing the wise thing, for such a forcement is foolishness.”

Robert LeFevre (1911–1986) American libertarian businessman

Source: Nature of Man and His Government (1959), p. 81

Peter F. Drucker photo

“We no longer even understand the question whether change is by itself good or bad, …We start out with the axiom that it is the norm. We do not see change as altering the order… We see change as being order itself--indeed the only order we can comprehend today is a dynamic, a moving, a changing one.”

Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) American business consultant

Source: 1930s- 1950s, Landmarks of Tomorrow: A Report on the New 'Post-Modern' World (1959), p. 22

Barack Obama photo

“And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2011, Tucson Memorial Address (January 2011)
Context: If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.

Karen Blixen photo

“It's an odd feeling-farewell-there is some envy in it. Men go off to be tested for courage and if we're tested at all, it's for patience, for doing without, for how well we can endure loneliness.”

Karen Blixen (1885–1962) Danish writer

Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo

“We say that people and that things are changed;
Alas! it is ourselves that change : the heart
Makes all around the mirror of itself.”

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist

The London Literary Gazette, 1829

Related topics