Guest guest Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 The wise start each day with the thought Fortune gives us nothing which we can really own. Nothing, whether public or private, is stable; the destinies of men, no less than those of cities, are in a whirl. Whatever structure has been reared, by a long sequence of years, at the cost of great toil, and through the great kindness of the gods, is scattered and dispersed, in a single day. No, he who has said, 'a day' has granted too long a postponement to swift misfortune, an hour, an instant of time, suffices for the overthrow of empires. How often have cities in Asia, how often in Achaia, been laid low by the shock a single earthquake? How many towns in Syria, how many in Macedonia have been swallowed up? How often has this kind of devastation laid Cyprus in ruins? We live in the middle of things which have all been destined to die. Mortal have you been born, to mortals have you given birth. Reckon on everything, expect everything. Whenever someone falls at your side or behind you, cry out: 'Fortune, you will not deceive me, you will not fall upon me confident and heedless, I know what you are planning. It is true that you struck someone else, but you aimed at me'. -Seneca- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.