Seneca · c. 4 BCE – 65 CE
On Benefits 4.25 — Seneca
Translation by Aubrey Stewart (1887)
Seneca, On Benefits 4.25
It is our aim to live in harmony with the scheme of the universe, and to follow the example of the gods. Yet in all their acts the gods have no object in view other than the act itself, unless you suppose that they obtain a reward for their work in the smoke of burnt sacrifices and the scent of incense. See what great things they do every day, how much they divide amongst us, with how great crops they fill the earth, how they move the seas with convenient winds to carry us to all shores, how by the fall of sudden showers they soften the ground, renew the dried-up springs of fountains, and call them into new life by unseen supplies of water. All this they do without reward, without any advantage accruing to themselves. Let our line of conduct, if it would not depart from its model, preserve this direction, and let us not act honourably because we are hired to do so. We ought to feel ashamed that any benefit should have a price: we pay nothing for the gods.
Cite this passage
Seneca, On Benefits 4.25, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-benefits/4.25
Seneca, Dialogues, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887–1889). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesThe goal is to live in harmony with the universe and follow the gods' example, who give daily without any reward through crops, winds and rain. So we should do good for its own sake, not as hired labour, and feel ashamed to put a price on kindness.
Older wording
- “incense”
- — aromatic substance burned as an offering
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Nature and the cosmos
- Kindness and forgiveness
- Gratitude
- Duty and roles
- An ethical dilemma
Quote cards
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