On a Happy Life
28 chapters in Stewart
On a Happy Life is addressed to Gallio, Seneca’s brother. All men wish to live happily, the first chapter says, and few see what makes a life happy; the crowd is the worst guide. The first half of the dialogue sets the Stoic answer, a life in agreement with its own nature, against the pleasure of Epicurus, whom Seneca treats with more respect than his followers. The second half, from chapter XVII, answers those who reproach the philosopher for being rich: the wise man owns his riches, the fool is owned by them.
The English text here is Aubrey Stewart’s, in his Minor Dialogues of 1889. Stewart numbers the chapters from I to XXVIII, and Baillard’s French edition counts the same twenty-eight, chapter for chapter; an extract is cited as On a Happy Life, XX, with the line of the file. The extracts below come from Stewart’s text; the passages of this work in the app are counted, not listed.
Structure
| Book | Chapters | Concordance |
|---|---|---|
| I | 28 | chapter for chapter with Baillard, 1861 |
In the edition of Aubrey Stewart, 1889
You may observe the same thing in human life: no one can merely go wrong by himself, but he must become both the cause and adviser of another's wrong doing.
The happy man, therefore, is he who can make a right judgment in all things: he is happy who in his present circumstances, whatever they may be, is satisfied and on friendly terms with the conditions of his life.
You may, then, boldly declare that the highest good is singleness of mind: for where agreement and unity are, there must the virtues be: it is the vices that are at war one with another.
Let virtue lead the way and bear the standard: we shall have pleasure for all that, but we shall be her masters and controllers; she may win some concessions from us, but will not force us to do anything.
I will do nothing because of public opinion, but everything because of conscience: whenever I do anything alone by myself I will believe that the eyes of the Roman people are upon me while I do it.
You accustom yourself to them and cling to them as if somebody had promised that they should be yours forever, but a wise man never thinks so much about poverty as when he is surrounded by riches.
In Stoic+: 15 passages of this work, each with its reference.
Seneca and Epictetus are in Stoic+: 15 passages of this work in the app, each with its reference.