January 31 - Courage

There is no happiness where there is any fear.

Seneca's Epistles, lxxiv, sec. 5.

True courage will avoid danger, but not fear it.

Seneca's Epistles, lxxxv, sec. 26

Courage is careful to preserve itself, and ready to endure what is evil in appearance only.

Seneca's Epistles, lxxxv, sec. 28

January 30 - Courage

It is better to grow braver than more learned, but neither can be done without the other.

Seneca's Dialogues, book vi, chap, xxxii, sec. i

Throw away all anxiety about life, and so make it pleasant.

Seneca's Epistles, iv, sec. 6

A brave and wise man should not flee from life.

Seneca's Epistles, xxiv, sec. 25;

January 29 - Courage

Calamity is opportunity for courage.

Seneca's Dialogues, book i, chap, iv, sec. 6

That courage is most to be relied on which reflects long, and moves slowly, and carries out what has been settled deliberately.

Seneca's Dialogues, book iii, chap, xi, sec. 8.

What is noble? A soul brave and steadfast under adversity; not only indifferent, but hostile, to dissipation — neither seeking nor flying danger; knowing how to make Fortune, instead of waiting for her; meeting all her changes calmly, and being never overcome either by her tempests or by her splendors.

Naturalium Quastionum, book iii, praef., sec. 13,

January 28 - Courage

Courage does not consist in fearing to live, but in resisting great evils, and not giving way; for to die on account of them is to be conquered.

Speech of Antigone in the OEdipidi Fragmento, supposed to be by Seneca, line 190.

She who can be compelled knows not how to die.

Hercules Furens, supposed to be by Seneca, line 426.

It is to make us noble, that God gives us such opportunities of growth in strength and courage as can be found only in adversity.

Seneca's Dialogues, book i, chap, iv, sec. 5.

January 27 - Equanimity

Man does not value or despise any place as the cause of his happiness or unhappiness, but he makes the whole matter depend upon himself and considers himself a citizen of the city of God which is made up of men and gods.

Musonius Rufus, Lecture ix

Now, since, in general, toil and hardship are a necessity for all men, both for those who seek the better ends and for those who seek the worse, it is preposterous that those who are pursuing the better are not much more eager in their efforts than those for whom there is small hope of reward for all their pains... Shall we not be ready to endure hardship for the sake of complete happiness? For surely there is no other end in becoming good than to become happy and to live happily for the remainder of our lives.

Musonius Rufus, Lecture vii

January 26 - Equanimity

To distinguish between good and bad, advantageous and disadvantageous, helpful and harmful is the part of none other than the philosopher, who constantly occupies himself with this very question, how not to be ignorant of any of these things, and has made it his art to understand what conduces to a man's happiness or unhappiness.

Musonius Rufus, Lecture viii

January 25 - Equanimity

Nothing would be said to be living according to nature but what by its actions manifests the excellence peculiar to its own nature. For the nature of each guides it to its own excellence; consequently it is not reasonable to suppose that when man lives a life of pleasure that he lives according to nature, but rather when he lives a life of virtue. Then, indeed, it is that he is justly praised and takes pride in himself and is optimistic and courageous, characteristics upon which cheerfulness and serene joy necessarily follow.

Musonius Rufus, Lecture xvii

January 24 - Equanimity

Of the things that exist, God has put some in our control, others not in our control. In our control he has put the noblest and most excellent part by reason of which He is Himself happy, the power of using our impressions. For when this is correctly used, it means serenity, cheerfulness, constancy; it also means justice and law and self-control and virtue as a whole. But all other things He has not put in our control. Therefore we ought to become of like mind with God and, dividing things in like manner, we ought in every way to lay claim to the things that are in our control, but what is not in our control we ought to entrust to the universe and gladly yield to it whether it asks for our children, our country, our body, or anything whatsoever.

Musonius Rufus, Fragment xxxviii

January 23 - Equanimity

Always remember that very little is needed for living a happy life.

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, book vii, sec. 67

Whatever happens is an opportunity for acting reasonably and kindly; in short, becomingly, toward either God or man.

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, book vii, sec. 68

The soul has power to live most happily, if she will not be anxious about what is unimportant.

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, book xi, sec. 16

January 22 - Equanimity

Nothing that happens injures me, unless I take it as an evil; and it is in my power not to take it so.

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, book v, sec. 20

The mind turns every obstacle into an aid.

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, book vii, sec. 14

Man becomes better and nobler by making a right use of all that comes to pass.

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, book x, sec. 33

January 21 - Equanimity

How easy to drive away every thought that is troublesome, or unfriendly, and be at peace at once.

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, book v, sec. 2

Nothing comes upon any man which he is not formed to bear.

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, book v, sec. 18

Is it not better to use what you have, like a free man, than to long, like a slave, for what is not in your power?

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, book ix, sec. 40

January 20 - Equanimity

Make your daily food, not of expense and trouble, but of frugality and joy.

Epictetus Frag. xxix, in Didot, not in Higginson

He is wise who rejoices in what he has, and does not grieve for what he has not.

Epictetus Frag., cxxix (Didot)

Fortify thyself in contentment, for this is a fortress which cannot be taken easily.

Epictetus Frag. cxxxviii (Didot)

January 19 - Equanimity

Ask yourself if you would rather be rich, or happy; for to be rich is neither good in itself nor wholly in your power, but to be happy is both good and possible.

Epictetus' Fragments, xix (Didot)

It is better to be healthy on a narrow bed than sick in a wide one; and so it is better to be contented with few possessions than have many and be discontented.

Epictetus' Fragments, xxiv (Didot)

It is not poverty, but covetousness, that causes sorrow. It is not wealth, but philosophy, that gives security.

Epictetus' Fragments, xxv (Didot)

January 18 - Equanimity

Of what use is your reading, if it does not give you peace.

Epictetus' Discourses, book iv, chap, iv, sec. 4

Not only ambition and avarice, but even desire of ease, of quiet, of travel, or of learning, may make us base, and take away our liberty.

Epictetus' Discourses, book iv, chap, iv, sec. 1

Wherever I go, it will be well with me, as it has been here, and on account not of the place, but of the principles which I shall carry away with me. They are all my property, and they will be all I shall need, wherever I may be.

Epictetus' Discourses, book iv, chap, vii, sec. 14

January 17 - Equanimity

The child who tries to take too many nuts and figs out of a jar with a narrow mouth, so that his hand is caught, must drop some to get out the rest. Have but few wants, and they will be supplied.

Epictetus' Discourses book iii, chap, ix, sec. 22

If you see anybody wail and complain, call him a slave, though he be clad in purple.

Epictetus' Discourses, book iv, chap, i, sec. 57

Freedom is not gained by satisfying, but by restraining, our desires.

Epictetus' Discourses, 3 book iv, chap, i, sec. 175

January 16 - Equanimity

This is education, to learn to wish that things should happen as they do.

Epictetus' Discourses, book i, chap, xii, sec. 15

The essence of good and evil lies in the direction of the will, for which all outward things are means to help it reach its own evil or good.

Epictetus' Discourses, book i, chap, xxix, sees. 1 and 2

If you choose to keep your will in harmony with nature you are safe and free from care.

Epictetus' Discourses, book ii, chap, ii, sec. 2

January 15 - Equanimity

He who has learned that prosperity and peace consist in not missing what we seek, or suffering what we shun, keeps down his desires, and shuns only what he can avoid.

Epictetus' Discourses, book i, chap, iv, sec. 1

Whoever shuns, or desires, what is not in his own power, cannot be either faithful or free.

Epictetus' Discourses, book i, chap, iv, sec. 19.

January 14 - Equanimity

Sickness is a hindrance to the body, but not to the will, unless that yields.

Epictetus' Enchiridion, chap, ix

If a little oil be spilt, or a little wine stolen, say to yourself, 'This is the price of tranquility and peace; nothing is to be had without cost.

Epictetus' Enchiridion, chap. xii, sec. 2

Everything has two handles, and can be carried by one of them, but not by the other.

Epictetus' Enchiridion, chap. xliii.

January 13 - Equanimity

My country is wherever I am happy; and that depends on the man, not the place.

Seneca, De Remediis, chap, viii, sec. 2.

Who has most? He who desires least.

Seneca, De Moribus, sec. 46.

The poor man much, the miser all things, needs;
Unkind to all, but worst for him his deeds.
That mortal needs the least who least desires;
He has his wish who, as he needs, aspires.

Quotations in Seneca's Epistles, cviii, secs. 9 and 11.

January 12 - Equanimity

Philosophy will give us the greatest of blessings - freedom from regret.

Seneca's Epistles, cxv, sec. 18

That which satisfies us is never too little, and that which does not is never much.

Seneca's Epistles, cxix, sec. 7

This is grand, to act always like the same man.

Seneca's Epistles, cxx, sec. 22

January 11 - Equanimity

Never is the soul grander than when she rises above all that is foreign to her, so as to find her peace in fearing nothing and her wealth in coveting nothing.

Seneca's Epistles,  lxxxvii, sec. 3

Liberty is not to be had gratis; if she be worth much to us, all things else will have little value.

Seneca's Epistles, civ, sec. 34

The grandest of empires is to rule one's self.

Seneca's Epistles, cxiii, sec. 30

January 10 - Equanimity

Whom am I to conquer? Not the Persians, nor the distant Medes, nor the warlike tribes who dwell beyond Dacia, but avarice, ambition, and fear of death, who subdue the conquerors of the nations.

Seneca's Epistles, lxxi, sec. 37

Take care not to make your pain greater by your complaints. If you will say, 'It is nothing,' or, at least, 'It is slight, and about to cease,' you will make it what you think it.

Seneca's Epistles, lxxii, sec. 4

What is really evil? To yield to what is called so, and give up our liberty, which ought to be kept at every cost. Farewell, freedom, if we do not scorn everything that would enslave us!

Seneca's Epistles, lxxxvi, sec. 28

January 9 - Equanimity

He has reached the supreme good who is never sad, or excited by hope, but keeps an even and happy frame of mind by day and night.

Seneca's Epistles, lix, sec. 14

The wise man's joy is woven so well as not to be broken by any accident.

Seneca's Epistles, lxxii, sec. 4

Fortune has not such long arms as we think; she seizes on no one who is not clinging to her.

Seneca's Epistles lxxxii, sec. 5

January 8 - Equanimity

Where there is contentment there is no poverty. It is not he who has little, but he who desires more, that is poor.

Seneca's Epistles, ii, sec. 6

Soldiers have gone without everything, and eaten roots and things we may not name, in order that some one else may reign over them; and can any man hesitate about enduring poverty, that he may set free his soul?

Seneca's Epistles, xvii, sec. 7

Which had you rather give up — yourself, or some of your troubles?

Seneca's Epistles, xix, sec. 4

January 7 - Equanimity

Nothing is so honorable as a great soul; but that soul is not great which can be shaken by either fear or grief.

Seneca's De Clementia, book ii, chap, v, sec. 4; 

The wise man will always know how to help the suffering. But sorrow prevents us from making distinctions, finding out what is useful, avoiding what is dangerous, and deciding what is just ; and, therefore, he will not himself yield to sorrow. He will do everything that could be done by the sympathetic, but he will do it calmly and cheerfully.

Seneca's De Clementia, book ii, chap, vi, sec. I.

What is noble? To be able to bear adversity contentedly, taking whatever happens, as if we had wished for it ; as, indeed, we should have done, since all things happen by the will of God. To weep or complain is to rebel.

Seneca's Naturalium Quaestionum, book iii, praef., sec. 12.

January 6 - Equanimity

He who is not mad with avarice or sensuality, the destroyers of all things, knows that there is no real evil in poverty. She will not harm him who despises superfluities, and she will do good to him who covets them, for she will heal him against his will.

Seneca's Dialogues, book xii, chap, x, secs, 1 and 3

A very little can satisfy our necessities, but nothing our desires.

Seneca's Dialogues, book xii, chap, x, sec. 11

He who longs to wear gold and purple is poor, not by fortune's fault, but by his own.

Seneca's Dialogues, book xii, chap, xi, sec. 2.

January 5 - Equanimity

What madness to be dragged along by the divine will, rather than follow it!

Seneca's Dialogues book vii, chap, xv, sec. 6

Fear and penitence for those who can neither rule nor obey their desires.

Seneca's Dialogues 6 book ix, chap, ii, sec. 8

It is better to look at common customs and vices calmly, without either laughing or weeping, since the former is a cruel pleasure, and the latter an endless grief.

Seneca's Dialogues book ix, chap, xv, sec. 5.

January 4 - Equanimity

Wisdom shows her strength by her peace amid trouble, like an army encamped in safety in a hostile land.

Seneca's ??, chap, xxi, sec. 4

In the upper air there is neither cloud nor storm, and so in the lofty soul there is always peace.

Seneca's On Anger, book iii, chap, iv, sec. 3

Peace of mind comes by meditating diligently over wise maxims, by doing our duty, and by setting our hearts on what is noble.

Seneca's On Anger, book iii, chap xli, sec. 2

January 3 - Equanimity

We become happy by not needing happiness.

Seneca's On Providence, chap, vi, sec. 5

Fortune conquers us, unless she is conquered utterly.

Seneca's On Firmness, chap, xv, sec. 3

He is free who arises above all injuries, and finds all his joys within himself.

Seneca's On Firmness, chap, xix, sec. 2

January 2 - Equanimity

What we bear is not so important as how we bear it.

Seneca's On Providence, chap, ii, sec. 4

The good man bears calmly much that is not evil, except to those that take it ill.

Seneca's On Providence, chap, iv, sec. 16

He yields to destiny, and consoles himself by knowing that he is carried along with the universe.

Seneca's On Providence, chap, v, sec. 8

January 1 - Equanimity

The wise man needs much, but wants nothing; the fool needs nothing, but wants everything.

Chrissypus, quoted in Seneca 's Epistles, ix , sec. 14.

Fight fortune with thine own weapons, for she will give thee none which can be used against herself.

Posidonius, quoted in Seneca's Epistles, cxiii, sec. 28

He is king who fears nothing and longs for nothing. Everyone may give himself the kingdom of noble thoughts.

Chorus in Thyestes, probably written by Seneca, line 388