Seneca · c. 4 BCE – 65 CE
On Benefits 7.32 — Seneca
Translation by Aubrey Stewart (1887)
Seneca, On Benefits 7.32
Suppose a man is ungrateful: he does not injure me, but himself; I had the enjoyment of my benefit when I bestowed it upon him. Because he is ungrateful, I shall not be slower to give but more careful; what I have lost with him, I shall receive back from others. But I will bestow a second benefit upon this man himself, and will overcome him even as a good husbandman overcomes the sterility of the soil by care and culture; if I do not do so my benefit is lost to me, and he is lost to mankind. It is no proof of a great mind to give and to throw away one’s bounty; the true test of a great mind is to throw away one’s bounty and still to give.
Cite this passage
Seneca, On Benefits 7.32, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-benefits/7.32
Seneca, Dialogues, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887–1889). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesAn ungrateful person harms himself, not you, because you already enjoyed the act of giving. Be more careful next time but give again, even to him, as a good farmer overcomes poor soil by care. The mark of a great mind is to have thrown away a kindness and still go on giving.
Older wording
- “husbandman”
- — a farmer
- “bounty”
- — generous giving
Themes and situations
- Kindness and forgiveness
- Gratitude
- Virtue and character
- Resilience and endurance
- Betrayal
- Trouble with a friend
Quote cards
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