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Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.
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“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.”

Seneca

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Source
Moral letters to Lucilius
Date
c. 65
English wording
Richard M. Gummere — Translator · from Latin
Meaning

Meaning of “Begin at once to live, and count each…”

Seneca argues against postponing life into an imagined future and asks the reader to treat the present day as complete enough for deliberate living.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 101.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

Acceptance Quotes About Reality, Limits & ChangeAngerCalmDiscipline Quotes About Habits, Practice & ConsistencyGriefHealingHope Quotes About Possibility in Uncertain TimesInner PeaceLetting Go Quotes About Release & Moving ForwardLife Is ShortMindfulnessMoving OnOptimism Quotes About Constructive ExpectationPatiencePeacePositive Quotes About a Constructive OutlookPresent MomentSadSelf-Control Quotes About Restraint & JudgmentShortStoicStrengthTimeLife Goes OnProcrastination
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The mind is its own place.
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“The mind is its own place.”

John Milton · Paradise Lost · 1667
Voice: Poetic speaker · Satan
Meaning & context

The statement emphasizes how mental framing can alter the experience of circumstances, for good or ill.

Source details

Paradise Lost (1667), Book I, line 254; retained legacy short extract from the fuller Satan sentence beginning ‘The mind is its own place’ and continuing into line 255. It is the same underlying passage as the longer catalog record, not a separate fifth passage.

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It is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself.
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“It is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself.”

Marcus Aurelius · Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus · c. 170
Meaning & context

A person can create an inward pause even when external conditions are noisy, using reflection to restore order before returning to action.

Source details

Meditations, Book IV, in George Long’s translation; this is the central clause of the retreat passage.

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Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well.
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“Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well.”

Epictetus · Enchiridion · c. 125
Meaning & context

Peace is sought by aligning desire with reality rather than requiring reality to obey preference, a central Stoic distinction between response and circumstance.

Source details

Enchiridion, section 8; Epictetus applies Stoic acceptance to events outside personal control.

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