Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.
Seneca The YoungerRead
Nothing will ever please me, no matter how excellent or beneficial, if I must retain the knowledge of it to myself. . . . . . No good thing is pleasant to possess, without friends to share it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True happiness and fulfillment come from sharing our joys with friends.
This quote by Seneca The Younger emphasizes the importance of friendship in experiencing life's pleasures. It suggests that no matter how wonderful a thing may be, its value diminishes if we cannot share it with others, highlighting the intrinsic human need for connection and the joy that companionship brings.
Themes
FriendshipSharingHappinessJoyCompanionship
In practice
Example use cases
During a toast at a wedding, to emphasize the importance of sharing life's moments.
More from Seneca The Younger
All quotes →No 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
To be able to endure odium is the first art to be learned by those who aspire to power.
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
Similar quotes
The act of quiet nighttime talking, illustrates for me more than anything else the curious alchemy of companionship.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
There is nothing more becoming any wise man, than to make choice of friends, for by them thou shalt be judged what thou art: let them therefore be wise and virtuous, and none of those that follow thee for gain; but make election rather of thy betters, than thy inferiors.
Walter RaleighRead
I dedicate the merit of the occasion to all beings. This gesture of universal friendship has been likened to a drop of fresh spring water. If we put it on a rock in the sunshine, it will soon evaporate. If we put it in the ocean, however, it will never be lost. Thus the wish is made that we not keep the teachings to ourselves but to use them to benefit others.
Pema ChodronRead
My true friends have always given me that supreme proof of devotion, a spontaneous aversion for the man I loved.
Sidonie Gabrielle ColetteRead
Loving friendships provide us with a space to experience the joy of community in a relationship where we learn to process all our issues, to cope with differences and conflict while staying connected.
Bell HooksRead
A good friend will always stab you in the front.
Oscar WildeRead