Seneca · c. 4 BCE – 65 CE
On Anger 2.24 — Seneca
Translation by Aubrey Stewart (1889)
Seneca, On Anger 2.24
Readiness to believe what we hear causes very great mischief; we ought often not even to listen, because in some cases it is better to be deceived than to suspect deceit. We ought to free our minds of suspicion and mistrust, those most untrustworthy causes of anger. “This man’s greeting was far from civil; that one would not receive my kiss; one cut short a story I had begun to tell; another did not ask me to dinner; another seemed to view me with aversion.” Suspicion will never lack grounds: what we want is straightforwardness, and a kindly interpretation of things. Let us believe nothing unless it forces itself upon our sight and is unmistakable, and let us reprove ourselves for being too ready to believe, as often as our suspicions prove to be groundless: for this discipline will render us habitually slow to believe what we hear.
Cite this passage
Seneca, On Anger 2.24, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1889)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-anger/2.24
Seneca, Dialogues, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887–1889). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesBeing too ready to believe what we hear, and to read slights into greetings, snubs and missed invitations, is a main cause of anger. Be generous in your interpretation, trust only what is plain and unmistakable, and scold yourself whenever a suspicion proves baseless, so you become slower to believe the worst.
Older wording
- “civil”
- — polite
- “aversion”
- — strong dislike
- “reprove”
- — scold or correct
Themes and situations
- Anger
- Judgements and impressions
- Emotions and the passions
- Friendship
- Being angry with someone
- Trouble with a friend
- Conflict at work
- Rejection
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