Plain
Seneca — The Senator

Think about this: the same eyes that can only bear to look at the most colorful marble and freshly polished surfaces at home — eyes that won't look at a table unless the wood has beautiful grain patterns, and won't step on anything less precious than gold — these same eyes will calmly look at rough, muddy roads when they go outside. They'll see most people dressed poorly and houses with rotting, cracked, uneven walls, and it won't bother them at all. Why aren't they upset by sights outdoors that would shock them at home? It's simple: their mood is calm and patient in one case, but irritable and critical in the other.

On Anger, Book 3, Section 35 Book 3 · 103 of 121
Calm Your Mind Human Nature
Seneca — The Senator Original

Those same eyes which can only endure to see the most variegated marble, and that which has just been scoured bright, which will look at no table whose wood is not marked with a network of veining, and which at home are loth to tread upon anything that is not more precious than gold, will, when out of doors, gaze most calmly upon rough and miry paths, will see unmoved that the greater number of persons that meet them are shabbily dressed, and that the walls of the houses are rotten, full of cracks, and uneven. What, then, can be the reason that they are not distressed out of doors by sights which would shock them in their own home, unless it be that their temper is placid and long-suffering in one case, sulky and fault-finding in the other?

On Anger, Book 3, Section 35 Book 3 · 103 of 121
Seneca — The Senator

You poor thing! Why do you jump at the sound of a servant, or the clatter of metal, or a door slamming? No matter how refined you think you are, you still can't avoid hearing thunder. What I'm saying about your ears applies just as well to your eyes, if they've been badly trained to be picky. They get upset by stains and dirt, by silver that isn't polished enough, or by water in a pool that isn't crystal clear.

On Anger, Book 3, Section 35 Book 3 · 102 of 121
Knowing Yourself What Matters Most
Seneca — The Senator Original

Miserable one! why do you shudder at the noise of a slave, at the rattling of brass or the banging of a door? you cannot help hearing the thunder, however refined you may be. You may apply these remarks about your ears with equal truth to your eyes, which are just as dainty, if they have been badly schooled: they are shocked at stains and dirt, at silver plate which is not sufficiently bright, or at a pool whose water is not clear down to the bottom.

On Anger, Book 3, Section 35 Book 3 · 102 of 121
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Ancient philosophy, in plain English.

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