It would be just to describe as wretched those who are dulled by excessive good fortune, who remain at rest, as it were, in dead calm upon an untroubled sea: whatever happens to them will.come as a change.
Seneca, ‘On Providence’
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Doug Belshaw
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Doug Belshaw
Good fortune comes to common men and even to those of inferior talent; but only a great man is able to triumph over the disasters and terrors afflicting mortal life.
Seneca, ‘On Providence’
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Doug Belshaw
Fortune can make sport of the wisdom of brave men, but it is not in her power to break their courage.
Vauvenargues
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Doug Belshaw
Things depend on many circumstances, and what triumphs on one occasion, fails on another. But stupidity’s incorrigibility lies in the fact that it’s most groundless self-satisfaction flowers and its seeds sprout up everywhere.
Baltasar Gracián
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Doug Belshaw
More fortunes are hate by energy than by prudence.
Vauvenargues
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Doug Belshaw
Don’t vaunt your good fortune. It is more offensive to flaunt your position than yourself. To play the important person is detestable; it’s enough to be envied. The more you look for esteem, the less you will have. It depends on another’s respect, and ask you can’t simply take it, but must earn it and wait for it from others. High positions require the right amount of authority and without this they cannot be properly carried out. Maintain the authority required to fulfill your duties; don’t exhaust this, bolster it. All who play the great person in their job show they don’t merit it and aren’t up to it. If you want recognition, let it be for your excellent qualities, not for incidental trappings, for even a king should be venerated more for his person than his position.
Baltasar Gracián
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