Seneca the Younger Quotes

I always kept my expectations in life very tame.

There were times over the years when life was not easy, but if you're working a few hours a day and you've got a good book to read, and you can go outside to the beach and dig for clams, you're okay.

I live a pretty conservative life, so I probably really haven't done anything crazy.

All I ever wanted to do with my life was own a little house. I did that way back with 'Rocky,' so now everything I do is just icing on the cake.

I'll live a lush life in some small dive.

I live near San Francisco in the most beautiful spot on earth and enjoy myself in many ways. Yes, I love to work, which for now is to think and read and write, so it's all a dream come true.

When I was a kid, I used to think, 'Man, if I could ever afford all the ice cream I want to eat, that's as rich as I ever want to be.'

I'm not a guy who needs the spotlight. It's not something I have to have. I'm content to sit at home.

All I've ever wanted is a nice truck, and that's what I got.

And suddenly I rejoiced in the great security of the sea as compared with the unrest of the land, in my choice of that untempted life presenting no disquieting problems, invested with an elementary moral beauty by the absolute straightforwardness of its appeal and by the singleness of its purpose.

The truth is, until you know any different, the island is enough. Actually, I know different. And it's still enough.

The great Searcher of human hearts is my witness, that I have no wish, which aspires beyond the humble and happy lot of living and dying a private citizen on my own farm.

I never wanted to be a star, I never wanted to travel far / I only wanted a little bit of love so I could put a little love in my heart / I never wanted to be la-de-da, go to parties ‘avec le bourgeois’ / I only wanted to sing my song well so I could ring a small bell in your heart

Every man must be content with that glory which he may have at home.

A small heart hath small desires.

Happiness, the goal to which we all are striving is reached by endeavoring to make the lives of others happy, and if by renouncing the luxuries of life we can lighten the burdens of others.... surely the simplification of our wants is a thing greatly to be desired! And so, if instead of supposing that we must become hermits and dwellers in caves in order to practice simplicity, we set about simplifying our affairs, each according to his own convictions and opportunity, much good will result and the simple life will at once be established.

It is a curious fact, but nobody ever is sea-sick - on land. At sea, you come across plenty of people very bad indeed, whole boat-loads of them; but I never met a man yet, on land, who had ever known at all what it was to be sea-sick. Where the thousands upon thousands of bad sailors that swarm in every ship hide themselves when they are on land is a mystery.

How great, my friends, is the virtue of living upon a little!

A single day is sufficient for a man to discover what happiness is.

Let me posses what I now have, or even less, so that I may enjoy my remaining days, if Heaven grant any to remain.

The true peace of God begins at any spot a thousand miles from the nearest land.

Even those who venture to dip a toe in the pond of risk never allow themselves to get used to the water.

In short, it became possible - never easy, but possible - in the poet Auden's phrase to find the mortal world enough.

If one's life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements.

Another day in paradise' was his inevitable pronouncement when he settled his head on his pillow. Now I understand what that meant: the uneventful day was a precious gift.