Seneca · c. 4 BCE – 65 CE
On Benefits 7.4 ¶1 — Seneca
Translation by Aubrey Stewart (1887)
Seneca, On Benefits 7.4 ¶1
“This,” say you, “is the very thing that I wanted! I have caught you! I shall be glad to see how you will extricate yourself from the toils into which you have fallen of your own accord. Tell me, if the wise man possesses everything, how can one give anything to a wise man? for even what you give him is his already. It is impossible, therefore, to bestow a benefit upon a wise man, if whatever is given him comes from his own store; yet you Stoics declare that it is possible to give to a wise man. I make the same inquiry about friends as well: for you say that friends own everything in common, and if so, no one can give anything to his friend, for he gives what his friend owned already in common with himself.”
Cite this passage
Seneca, On Benefits 7.4 ¶1, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-benefits/7.4.1
Seneca, Dialogues, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887–1889). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesAn opponent poses a puzzle: if the wise person already owns everything, and friends hold everything in common, then it should be impossible to give anything to a wise person or to a friend.
Older wording
- “toils”
- — snares or traps
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Friendship
Quote cards
The opening line of this passage as an image, with its citation — for sharing or keeping.