Seneca the Younger Quotes on Truth
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, commonly known as Seneca the Younger, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist of the first century. This page collects quotes attributed to Seneca the Younger on the topic of truth, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
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“On him does death lie heavily, who, but too well known to all, dies to himself unknown.”
Thyestes | lines 401-403; ( Chorus ). -
“We often want one thing and pray for another, not telling the truth even to the gods.”
Letter XCV: On the usefulness of basic principles | Line 2. -
“I do not trust my eyes to tell me what a man is: I have a better and more trustworthy light by which I can distinguish what is true from what is false: let the mind find out what is good for the mind.”
Moral Essays | De Vita Beata (On the Happy Life): cap. 2, line 2 -
“Great also are the souls of the defenders—men who know that, as long as the path to death lies open, the blockade is not complete, men who breathe their last in the arms of liberty.”
Letter LXVI: On Various Aspects of Virtue