Seneca · c. 4 BCE – 65 CE
On Benefits 4.15 ¶1 — Seneca
Translation by Aubrey Stewart (1887)
Seneca, On Benefits 4.15 ¶1
Can we doubt that the converse of a benefit is an injury? As the infliction of injuries is a thing to be avoided, so is the bestowal of benefits to be desired for its own sake. In the former, the disgrace of crime outweighs all the advantages which incite us to commit it; while we are urged to the latter course by the appearance of honour, in itself a powerful incentive to action, which attends it.
Cite this passage
Seneca, On Benefits 4.15 ¶1, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-benefits/4.15.1
Seneca, Dialogues, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887–1889). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesDoing harm is to be avoided for its own sake, because the disgrace of the wrong outweighs any gain from it, and in the same way doing good is to be sought for its own sake, because of the honour that comes with it.
Older wording
- “converse”
- — the opposite
Themes and situations
- Kindness and forgiveness
- Virtue and character
- Justice and fairness
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