Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.
Seneca The YoungerRead
To be able to endure odium is the first art to be learned by those who aspire to power.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Enduring criticism is essential for those seeking power.
Seneca the Younger highlights the importance of resilience in the face of negativity when pursuing power and influence. The ability to withstand disdain and criticism is a fundamental skill for anyone who aspires to leadership, suggesting that adversity is an inherent part of the journey towards authority and success.
Themes
EndurancePowerCriticismResilienceLeadership
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about leadership, one might say, 'As Seneca the Younger wisely noted, to endure odium is the first art to be learned by those who aspire to power.'
More from Seneca The Younger
All quotes βNo tree becomes rooted and sturdy unless many a wind assails it. For by its very tossing it tightens its grip and plants its roots more securely; the fragile trees are those that have grown in a sunny valley.
Seneca The YoungerRead
Slavery takes hold of few, but many take hold of slavery.
Seneca The YoungerRead
Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.
Seneca The YoungerRead
Loyalty is the holiest good in the human heart.
Seneca The YoungerRead
We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.
Seneca The YoungerRead
Similar quotes
Perhaps the greatest mistake we can make, which causes loss of self-respect, is making the opinions of others more important than our own opinion of ourselves. You'll find no shortage of opinions directed at you. If you allow them to undermine your self-respect, you're seeking the respect of others over your own, and you're abdicating yourself.
Wayne DyerRead
I can see in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden.
Helen KellerRead
A glorious failure can sometimes be more life affirming than a cautious win.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
The amity that wisdom knits not, folly may easily untie.
William ShakespeareRead
Claret is the liquor for boys; port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.
Samuel JohnsonRead
After all, the past is our only real guide to the future, and historical analogies are instruments for distilling and organizing the past and converting it to a map by which we can navigate.
Michael MandelbaumRead